Do you like Desi music? Do you like Bollywood? Do you believe in social equality? We do too, but we still somehow can’t get ourselves to fully fall in love with the first two tunes from Six Pack Band. But who cares? A lot of other people are loving them, and in this case the message they’re delivering is more important than the media.
You really have to watch Hum Hain Happy, if only for the pec dancing.
The two videos were produced by Y-Films in conjunction with Brooke Bond Red Label Tea, to help further the cause of gender equality in India. Y Films is the youth division of one of Bollywood’s oldest production houses, Yash Raj Films. If you haven’t heard of Yash Raj, they are responsible for Indian box office hits like Dhoom 3, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, and Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Yeah. We know. You haven’t heard of those either. But there’s a good chance you’re not the target market here. No matter how progressive you think you are on LGBT and trans issues, or how much you like Indian-influenced pop culture, these videos might hit an odd tone for you. In the states, our monocultural progressive views on trans issues may lead us to expect either more “camp”, or more political correctness. And in these videos, the Hijra singers are just having a good time being what they uniquely are.
The two videos released so far (five are planned, the next on February 6) were performed by six members of India’s Hijra community. The singers were selected over six months from a field of over 200 for their unique voice textures and quality, with one member chosen for her regional Marathi singing, another for her Sufi style, the third for her skills in Bollywood songs, and the fourth for being able to sing English numbers. The Hijra have a long history (see video further below) in India, originally being revered for spiritual reasons, and in many ways treated like royalty. Until of course, the prudish and repressed British arrived, and literally outlawed their way of life in the nineteenth century. To this day, Hijra are treated as one of the lowest social classes by many, and often turn to begging or the sex trade to maintain subsistence living.
The Videos
“Hum Hain Happy” is a fun spin on Pharrell Williams’ Happy. We can’t knock the message and the vibe, maybe we’re just a little weary of the tune itself 😉
Okay, on a second listen we are actually really loving this one. “Sab Rab De Bande” is based on a couplet in the Guru Granth Sahib, and reflects the central Sikh tenet of “we are all children of God”.
For a little more insight into the Hijra plight, the clip below covers things fairly quickly, if a bit superficially.
