White skin-u girl-u girl-u, girl-u heart-u black-u... It's the all too familiar refrain of a young South Indian man ardently in love, a story we have heard a million times before and will no doubt hear again.
And it's phrased more honestly than one expects! To be caught in the throes of passion for the very first time is a staggering experience, more so for a naive young boy who doesn't know the first thing about it.
What: Why this Kolaveri di concert
Where: Tripuravasini, Palace Grounds, Mekhri Circle, Bengaluru
When: On Feb 12, 7pm onwards
The honesty of the song is what sets Why this Kolaveri Di apart, the simple story of a young man with neither good looks, class or knowledge of romance - a soup boy. No pretenses of any sort, just good old plain speaking, no doubt play a big role in making the song the sensation it is today.
It might be 'Kolaveri' or 'murderous rage' that took Anirudh Ravichander to superstardom, but there isn't a trace of it in this mild-mannered, extremely polite young boy. "I was just an average college kid before Kolaveri happened," he says.
Today, there isn't a single aspect of his life that hasn't been blown up by the media and Anirudh has already come to terms with the fact that fame is a fickle friend. "Now I have so many girls flirting with me," he laughs, adding, "But I know it's because of my success. It will only take me a day to go right back to zero."
With that bit of wisdom in hand, Anirudh is all set to use his newfound platform to make his career. He calls his degree from Loyola College, Chennai a 'backup', in case his musical career didn't pan out quite the way he wanted.
"People take years to make it in one industry and a lifetime to find fame internationally, if it happens. But here I am, getting Bollywood offers after one song. I feel very lucky."
His journey was well begun and he's determined not to let the old adage hold true for him. Ask Anirudh if he has any projects lined up and he says, "Actually, I'm concentrating on finishing the background score for 3. The visuals have turned out so well that I want to give it my all, so I'm not signing on anything until it's done."
The concert in Bengaluru, which will be held in support of Global Animal Rights, promises to be a star studded one, with Dhanush and Anirudh as the highlights of the evening. "We're performing Why This Kolaveri Di and another song, Come On Girl, which I'm singing," says Anirudh.
The song might not have any complex harmonies, intricate rhythms or flowing lyrics, which, some feel is a point of criticism. But there are more soup boys than Mozarts in this world, that's for sure and Anirudh agrees wholeheartedly with the theory that it's the honest simplicity of the song that makes just what it is.