16th November 2011, when film crazy Indians were busy celebrating the addition of latest member to the Bachchan family (considered Family 1 of Bollywood), and congratulating Abhishek Bachchan on Twitter, another phenomenon happened, in the most bizarre yet trendsetting form. Today as we celebrate 60 days of Beti B (Abhishek’s daughter), it’s time to reflect back on India’s first social media miracle, the viral magic called Kolaveri Di. The video is of a song (being recorded in studio) from the Tamil film 3 directed by Aishwarya R Dhanush, starring: Dhanush, Shruti Haasan, music by Anirudh. Surprisingly catchy tune and quirky & inane Tanglish (portmanteau word of Tamil & English) lyrics coupled with negative publicity in the beginning saw it being maddeningly shared across social media platforms. Not just common men, lot of celebrities sat up and took notice. While Amitabh Bachchan was smitten by the foot-tapping music and the crazy lyrics, popular lyricist Javed Akhtar tweeted:

“KOLAVERI-D. Everyone is praising the robes but the emperor is naked. Tune ordinary, singing substandard, words an insult to sensibility.”

People from branding, marketing and social media sphere have suddenly been gifted an interesting topic to talk about. Brent Coker, a marketing professor (University of Melbourne) said:

“There are four elements that need to be in place for a branded movie to go viral: congruency, emotive strength, network-involvement ratio, and paired meme synergy. These four are the basis of the branded viral movie predictor (BVMP) algorithm”

he added, Kolaveri had all of them. Rajeev Kumra, faculty of marketing, at IIM Lucknow, says,

“Companies have to be serious about viral marketing now, which is an upcoming area in marketing. We were discussing in class how the beautiful strategy used by Kolaveri Di can be used by company to leverage their marketing activities. The video of Kolaveri Di is watched with rapt attention and got transmitted like virus”.

Given that, India is a country with 35% of the population less than 28 years of age, anything that is targeted to the young generation that matches their taste, when promoted properly, is bound to go viral. The latest achievement it bagged was not surprising. The song has been listed by YouTube under ‘Recently Most Popular (Gold)’ videos awarded for its high engagement on YouTube.
The great thing about the song is, that it not only went on to become the most shared video from India (standing at a pretty 36million+ views right now), but the best thing it did, was breaking the cultural and geographical divide however small existed. Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Devotional, Tom & Jerry, Rap, Reggae versions started coming up. That it has become an international hit was evident from the Japanese, Dutch, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nigerian versions that suddenly started getting uploaded on YouTube as well. On the completion of second month, let’s look back at a collection of myriad versions of the Kolaveri Di video that we have managed to bring to you.
Arranged in order of no. of views -

Title: Why This Kolaveri Di Full Song Promo Video in HD
Artist: Dhanush K Raja
Current views: 36,684,137
Facebook page: NA
The original trendsetting video which sensationalized video promotions and gave viral marketing a new meaning.

Title: Why This Kolaveri Di – English R&B Remix
Artist:  Arjun
Current views: 3,604,151
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/arjunmusic
The best rendition  of the Kolaveri Di song according to me. Excellent western touches, well mixed and composed, brought a new flavour to KD. Thumbsup !

Title: KOLAVERI DI – KID VERSION!
Artist: Neevan Nigam
Current views: 2,641,395
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Businessofcinema
The cutest of the lot. Sonu Nigaam’s son trying his hand at singing his (milk) version of Kolaveri Di. Must watch.

Title:Why this Kolaveri Di ( Punjabi Fied ) – Desi Touch ft. JSL Singh [HD]
Artist: JSL Singh
Current views: 1,664,592
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/jslsingh
Original Punjabi version of Kolaveri Di. Well rendered. The lyrics are quite well written too. Video is interestingly shot.

Title: why this kolaveri kolaveri di chipmunks dance version
Artist: (Remixed by) santhoshamborep
Current views: 643,574
Facebook page: NA
Excellent video editing. Very thoughtfully and carefully done. A joy to watch. The voice modulation done to the song is very fitting.

Title: WHY THIS KOLAVERI DI – ROCK & ROLL FEMALE VERSION – Why this kolaveri DA
Artist: ArchanaChannel
Current views: 393,607
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Archana/264977103525697
Can be slated as an answer to Kolaveri Di. A rock version of KD sung by a girl from a female perspective. Not bad at all.

Title : why this kolaveri di- tom and jerry style..VERY AWESOME!!!
Artist: AkshaiRolz
Current views: 228,754
Facebook page: NA
Funny. Cute, but repetitive in patches. Looks like done in haste. Tad forced, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Title : Why This Kolaveri Di – Club Remix
Artist: Charles Bosco / Jackson Bosco & Arjun
Current views: 144,403
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/boscomusic
Different rendition to the song inspired by both the original and Arjun’s version. Lot of harmony, reverb & flange ! Enjoy..

Title : Kolaveri Di (HINDI VERSION) featuring HiGH NOTES in HD
Artist: HiGH NOTES
Current views: 143,259
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/HiGH-NOTES/155129944588035
Very nicely done Tapori version of Kolaveri Di. Fresh voice, neat lyrics. Funny too. Worth listening to.

Title : Kolaveri Di (Tigerstyle UK Bhangra Remix)
Artist: TigerstyleOnline
Current views: 114,685
Facebook page: NA
The official remix of the Kolaveri di track. Sony approached Scotland based music production duo Tigerstyle to give KD a authentic bhangra flavor. They did jolly well.

Title : Kolaveri (Bhajan Version) (Hindi) “Ambe Ji”
Artist: Prasang Misra
Current views: 31,715
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/prasangmisra
Nothing to write home about. Not the most melodious rendition. Included in the list primarily for the genre it targeted. Devotional.

Title : Why This Kolaveri Di – Hard Metal ROCK
Artist: punjabirapperSHARS
Current views: 28,713
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SHARS/145679276407
As the singer himself claims, a parody of the multiple attempts done by people to cash in on Kolaveri Di’s success. Ironically, this is also a similar attempt.

Title : Why this Kolaveri Di – Krazzy 4 version
Artist: SprEdits
Current views: 289
Facebook page: NA
The least circulated of the lot. Also the only one with a fusion of  a popular dance no. coupled with Kolaveri Di. Crisp & decently edited.