What makes a cult a cult? Is there a formula to grab the attention of the masses? Every young artist worth his salt in the country wants the answer to that question. And the man behind the recent rage, Dhanush seems at a loss himself when it comes to fathoming the mystery of his viral song. We thought maybe we could find some answers in his antecedents.

Born Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja on 28 July 1983, the son of Kasthuri Raja, a popular Tamil cinema director, this 28-year-old married the daughter of iconic South Indian Actor Rajinikanth, Aishwaraya Rajinikanth in 2004 and has two sons, Yatra and Linga. Coerced into acting by his brother Selvaraghavan, he has won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his role in the 2011 film Aadukalam as well as bagged the Vijay Award for Entertainer of the Year for his role in Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008).

But it is his song 'Kolaveri Di' from his upcoming film 3, essentially about the perils of falling in love and the inevitable heartache that follows, that has taken the nation by storm and spread well beyond Indian borders, worming its way to the clubs in Japan after creating quite a stir in America. 

A promo video for the song was released on YouTube on 16 November, 2011 and became an anthem overnight. #kolaveri featured on top of the list of Twitter’s Indian trends while the YouTube video got more than eight million views, with the number only rising. The song has also been listed as the most listened to song on the Internet. The first link you find on YouTube will show that this official HD viral video has 32,126,334 views, 204,208 likes and barely 11,322 dislikes, last we checked.

The star recently performed for the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda at a dinner hosted by PM Manmohan Singh at his New Delhi Residence. Even Big Boss 5’s newest inmate, Japanese Sumo Wrestling Champion Yamamotoyama, has expressed his fondness for the beat. And recently, the 'Kolaveri sensation' went oriental with a Japanese version now available online.

However, the Tamglish version doesn’t seem enough for Dhanush’s hungry fans. To cater to the discerning tastes of his ever-increasing fan base, he has come up with a Hindi version to this chartbuster. But it doesn’t stop there. Recently, actor Abhishek Bachchan sang his own version for the television show Love2HateU.

And where there is a star, there are followers. Sonu Nigam’s son Neevan’s rendition of the same got him 4,668,365 views. The People's Party of Punjab (PPP) has even created a Punjabi version of 'Kolaveri Di', titled ‘Saade dilan vich vas gayi hai PPP’  which translates to PPP has found a place in our hearts. So when that happens, you know you have a hit on your hands.

So in case you are still wondering what it means, simply deconstructed… Kolaveri – Fire-like rage; Soup song – A song about failure in love; Soup boys – Boys who failed in love. But the question still remains, why is this song all the kolaveri?