'Kolaveri Di' top song of 2011, says CNN

'Why This Kolaveri Di?' from upcoming Indian film 3 has been named as the top song of 2011.

The Tamil-English track, sung by Dhanush, is the song of the year, according to CNN.

"Song of 2011, you would probably think it was won by Adele, Pitbull, or maybe even Justin Bieber. But the most popular song of the year could be one you have never heard of," said the news channel.

"The song, which roughly translates as 'Why this murderous rage?' has racked up over 28 million views."

The film track has also spawned many hundreds of imitations and cover versions.

UK based performer Nakkeeran has uploaded a pure Tamil version called 'Yean Intha Kolaveri', which has received almost 300,000 hits. British Asian singer Arjun also remade the song as an R&B track.

Bollywood star Mallika Sherawat is expected to perform to the track at a New Year's Eve stage show in Mumbai.

The original song, which features Dhanush with wife Aishwarya Rajinikanth, composer Anirudh and Tamil actor Shruti Hassan, was uploaded on to YouTube on November 16.

Watch the video for 'Why This Kolaveri Di?' below: