Kolaveri echoes in hallways

Kolaveri echoes in hallways

In the corridors of hostel 2 at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, one can hear the constant jangling of a shehnai and the refrain - white skin-u girl-u girl-u/ girl-u heart-u black-u - being played on a loop. "In my two years in IIT, I have never heard a song catch on this quickly. In the last few days, dozens of people have come up to me asking to translate the song for them as I am a Tamilian," said Nivvedan, a second-year student at IIT, Powai.

With over three million hits on YouTube, the Tamil song Why this Kolaveri Di, has struck a chord with students everywhere. Its trippy, rhythmic drumbeats and nonsensical yet cheeky lyrics have quickly made it the latest Internet sensation, flooding newsfeeds on Facebook and trending day after day on Twitter.

While some students have quickly made the song their latest caller tune, others are poring over parodies of the song that are catching on as quickly as the tune itself. From politician Sharad Pawar to Hollywood actress Uma Thurman, personalities from various fields feature in Kolaveri spoofs. "I have been posting all kinds of jokes on the song on my friends' walls and they have all been a hit," added Nivvedan.

Sung by Tamil actor Dhanush, the title of the playful song literally translates to 'Why this murderous intent, girl' and will be featured in the upcoming movie '3' directed by his wife, Aishwarya Dhanush, who is incidentally the daughter of superstar Rajinikanth.

The Rajnikanth connection doesn't end there, as the song has been composed by his 21-year-old nephew Anirudh Ravichander, whose presence in the video is setting several hearts aflutter.

"For me the attraction in the video is definitely the good-looking music director. As soon as I saw him in it, I quickly started following him on twitter and joined his facebook fan page," said Kamakshi Sinha, 20.

Students who have not had the chance to hear it yet are keen to see what the fuss is all about. "I still haven't heard the song, but I have to, because I'm dying to find out why everyone is talking about it," said 19-year-old Jay Gorasia, a student of Ritambhara College, Juhu.

But for those who haven't jumped on the Kolaveri bandwagon, the song is a mild annoyance as "nobody seems to be talking about anything else".

Priyansh Gandhi, 19, believes that the three million hits on YouTube is a marketing gimmick, created to popularise an average song. "Sure, the tune is catchy and the composition fun, but the lyrics and vocals are strictly okay. It seems to me like it is just any other song, made popular because it is from Rajinikanth's daughter's movie," said the student of Mithibai College, Vile Parle.