It was one of the night outs that I will always remember for the number of people involved and moreover all of us were from Office. We were a group of 15 hanging out at ‘Raastha Café’ one of the very few places we have around Bangalore to visit at odd hours in the night. Prior to this was a movie for which I have posted review below. We had a great time there talking about so many things and publicly displaying the aspiring singers in each one of them. The night was going just fine when the music stopped for a sec and started again but a different song. It’s an easy guess.
All of us hummed the song in the café until the last few lines of the song. We were as well making it look like an ‘Action song’ by making signs of moon and pointing at one of our black colored sweatshirt. When the last few lines arrived, a lady dressed in black came out of her seat and put some Dhinkachika steps for the song. But it did not last long and left us wanting for more. So as soon as the song ended there was sudden roar from the crowd there. ‘Once more’, ‘Once more’ and after umpteen number of shouts and requests the staff agreed to play it again. We were not sitting anymore and trying to shake a leg to the song. Soon many people who were blowing away the flavored hukka smoke joined and people kept on joining.
People of different kinds, different tastes, different color, different caste, and different languages had joined in to dance. I felt there is something else apart from cricket that makes people in India sing the same tune. Irrespective of all the differences, some that I have mentioned and some that I have not all of us there shared the same emotion. Each one of us looking at a stranger and copying his step and a cheer by people who were still sitting. It really did look like a flash mob. What made me wonder was the ease at which we mingled with each other without any apprehension. Soon the song ended and we got back to our tables displaying thumbs up to everyone who participated.
I rode back home alone in the chilly morning of Saturday with thoughts of the song. The song has become a huge hit and when I was brainstorming the reasons for it, I felt the simplicity was the major reason. It incepts dreams in a common man that you can make it big someday. The complexity of the song is less and even a non-Tamilian can connect to it. Even a person who knows few English words can connect to it. I must agree that it has got a catchy music which is the soul of the South India cinemas. Making such diverse people dance for it at the same time without a second thought in the mind isn’t it an achievement for the song? For me it is, what more do the makers of it need. As I reached home and glanced through the newspaper I read the legendary Javed Akhthar’s comments on the song, It said, “Kolaveri_D’. Every one is praising the robes but the emperor is naked. Tune ordinary, singing substandard. Words an insult to sensibility.” Despite criticism from all quarters (some tweets alleging that his own songs were worse), he stood by his words and went on to add, “Even If bad taste is in the cover of “personal taste” at least I don’t find acceptable.” With all due respect to him and his works i would say Connecting to so many people, rather masses without any Chammak Chalo kind of publicity is really appreciable. It does make you feel it has got substance in it. When movies have certain stories/scenes which do not make sense which rake in the moolah, why not songs?
True anil… i too agreee wit u… such songs r gettin more popular des days as dey r easier 2 understand… n also wen songs r assimilated wel, dey can b rememberd easily…
c in dis song nobdy has 2 put efforts 2 remember, only 1ce u hear it n d next moment its in yo mouth… thats d best part… n coming to d lyrics, typical poets n writers will obviously find it rubbish… but yes wat i feel is dhanush has put sumthin in it dat has reachd evry1's hearts…:-)
Mast post che ! 😀
My take … its more to do with masses looking for something different. With so much cross cultural effect coming in society, people relate to every language now.
And if people could like funny lyrics, dressing sense and bizarre music like Bhag bhag DJ Bose etc etc lately where music and wordings were weird …. Why not WTKD ? 😀
Was it coz there is no Aamir Khan attached ?
or is it coz controversies make films higher grosser in first week at box office ?
Again a case of what do you do to showcase it as a success story !!