DECONSTRUCTING CREATIVITY |
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WITH THE INCREASING ACCEPTANCE AND LEGALIZATION OF THE THIRD SEX IN INDIA , WHY WAS IT NECESSARY TO CREATE THE 6 PACK BAND ? Legalization is just one aspect , societal acceptance by society is the main issue . Today the transgender community has to fight for every small thing ... What ’ s needed is acceptance at scale . Music plays a very important role in our lives . On every social occasion be it with family , festival or friends , music is very much a part of the occasion . Music has the power to straddle socio-economic classes , geographies and cultures . India has a very rich culture of music . We love and accept those who entertain us . For transgendered people to be truly accepted , we wanted them to be part of the entertainment ( music ) world .
WHY WERE “ HIJRAS ” ( TRANSGENDERS ) CONSIDERED FOR THE BAND ? Brooke Bond Red Label Tea is positioned as the “ Tea that brings people together .” This is beautifully encapsulated in the promise “ Taste of Togetherness ” It promises that the world could be a more welcoming place if one could put aside one ’ s prejudices and accept others in the spirit of friendship / brotherhood . Our task was to make the “ Togetherness ” promise come alive in a way that it affects society .
For generations , we , the “ normal ” people , have been conditioned to , believe that the Transgender is “ different ” and cannot be part of our lives . This was the very thinking that we wanted to break . Hence we considered transgenders for the band .
HOW WAS THE 6 PACK BAND FORMED ? Y Films our content partners had interesting stories to tell us about “ casting .” We looked across cities : Mumbai , Surat , Indore and Chandigarh . The six-monthlong hunt for the band members included both informal efforts — the team looked for the right faces at traffic signals , in trains , in slums
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— and structured methods such as auditions and talks with pro-LGBT NGOs ( like Humsafar Trust ) and people who ’ ve worked on books and documentaries on this subject .
“ HAPPY ” SEEMS LIKE AN APT CHOICE FOR THEIR MOST POPULAR VIDEO . CAN YOU PLEASE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE ADDITIONAL LYRICS IN THE VIDEO ? We had a music director and lyricist who wrote the additional lyrics . The “ Happy ” song reflected who they really are . Despite the ill treatment meted out to them , they find ways to live their lives , to survive despite ostracization . The chorus very beautifully captures their spirit .
APART FROM OSTRACISM , WHAT OTHER ISSUES DO HIJRAS CURRENTLY FACE ? DID THESE POSE A PROBLEM DURING THE PRODUCTION PROCESS ? What can be worse than ostracism ? Their families have disowned them . They don ’ t have proper housing , no education . Children are afraid of them . They are forced to beg or get into the sex trade . The issues are countless .
The band members have had no training , no experience . We placed them in front of a camera and made them sing and dance . Imagine the complexity of emotions — fear , apprehension , joy , intimidation , uncertainty . They appeared with Bollywood ’ s superstars . At any other time , it would have been a ‘ life-altering ’ proposition an ‘ impossible dream ’ but put a mike in front of them and camera on them and everything changes . However , they rose to the occasion and delivered to the best they could .
THROUGHOUT THE VIDEOS , THE BAND MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS PORTRAYED IN A DIGNIFIED , RESPECTFUL MANNER , WHICH IS REFRESHING . Our objective was to drive acceptance for this community . Acceptance comes with respect and a sense of friendship . To quote Aditya Chopra , head of
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Yash Raj Fims , “ Make sure we do not caricaturize these guys . We do not want ‘ pity views .’” Every single person associated with the project wanted them to have the utmost respect and be treated with the utmost cordiality
DOES THE GRAND PRIX WIN AT CANNES AFFIRM THE VALUES AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE PROJECT ? Yes . But more than that , it ’ s given the project worldwide acceptance . It has brought the issue out of the “ Indian Closet .” And for us , it ’ s given us the courage and confidence to do more projects . Projects that give our brands stature and grow relevance . Projects with a purpose .
CREDITS
Mindshare Fulcrum , Mumbai Concept work Shameer Tandon Project curator Ashish Patil ( Y-Films ) Producer Yash Raj Films Brand Partnerships and Talent Management Asha Jagtap , Bhavika Patil , Chandni Suvarnakar , Fida Khan , Komal Jagtap , Ravina Jagtap , performing with Sonu Nigam . 6 Pack Band Shameer Tandon Music composition / direction Nishant Nayak ( Y Films ) Filming director Mithun Gangopadhyay Director of photography Niharika Bhasin Khan Costume designer Nikhil Taneja Associate producer Mariam Munir Video story writer Farooq Hundekar Editor Varun Chaphekar Executive producer Nishant Bhat Choreographer Prasun Chakraborty , Sushant Panda Production designers Sakshi Gurnani Assistant producer
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THE WORK
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July - August 2016 | adobo magazine |