The song was officially released on 16 November 2011 and instantly became popular on social networking sites for its quirky "Tanglish" (portmanteau word of Tamil and English) lyrics.

Following its huge success and nationwide popularity, Dhanush, the singer of the original track, was invited by then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a "Guest of Honour".

[7][8] According to composer Anirudh Ravichander, the film's director Aishwarya R. Dhanush wanted a light-hearted song about love failure.

[6] In a party to The Times of India, Dhanush said: "When I was writing down the lyrics, I kept in mind all the English words that are used in the Tamil vocabulary.

He used the nadaswaram, shehnai, saxophone urumee and thavil drums, acoustic guitar, keyboards mixed with electronic synths and scratches.

While singing, Dhanush creates a tone of being drunk, when he repeatedly asks why she (refers to Shruti Haasan's character) hurt him.

[13][14][15] Soon after its release, the song was played on US radio station KZYX FM by Mister X, on his show, Music Out of Bounds.

[24] Police officers in India used versions of the song and its title to combat road rage and encourage bike riders to wear helmets.

The popularity of the song was also reported by international media like BBC and Time magazine, who attributed its major crossover world appeal to its universal theme, catchy tune and unique lyrics.

[5][25] Top business schools like Indian Institutes of Management conducted studies to figure out the popularity of this song.

[32] In April 2012, a petition was filed in the Kerala High Court seeking a ban on the song citing negative influence on children, claiming to inciting violence and aggression.

[33] The excessive use of "Tanglish" in the song, symbolic of the degradation of the Tamil Language caused Sri Lankan singer S.J.

[34] "Why This Kolaveri Di" popularised the soup-song genre, which resulted in many filmmakers and actors having such sequences and songs in their films.

[37] A police complaint was filed against Simbu and Anirudh by the All India Democratic Women's Association from the Coimbatore wing, taking offence over the objectionable and sexist lyrics.

[45] An R&B version by London-based artist Arjun was uploaded on YouTube 10 December 2011 and received 1.5 million views within a week.

[47] The song "Where is Democracy Di" was aired by Geo TV on its popular programme Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain, a popular satire in Pakistan on Geo TV which is aimed at exposing the wrongdoing of the government in a lighter vein was based on Why This Kolaveri Di.

[48] Abeer Vajpayee, a journalist turned Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, wrote, composed and sang a parody of the Kolaveri Di targeting the corruption and gross financial mismanagement under the United Progressive Alliance regime.

[49] Vishnu Wagh, veteran poet who joined BJP, penned the lyrics which have been fitted in the "Kolaveri di" tune.