If you're a netizen, then you've probably heard of the fuss been made of Coldplay's latest single, "Hymn for the weekend". The video for this song was shot in India, and there has been an internet backlash regarding the way India is portrayed in this.
Well if you ask me, being a massive Coldplay fanatic, this news did come as a disappointment to me. I immediately stopped all my work, looked the video up and spent the next 4 minutes watching it. The next thing I did was, scroll down the comments section for the video and comment in there. I typed, " It's Coldplay's best single yet. Loved every bit of it."
But as the internet has it, some of our fellow countrymen took offense in watching that video. They accused Coldplay of stereotyping India in the typical manner westerners often do. The video showcased Indian slums, half naked kids running on streets and throwing colors at the lead man Chris Martin and also a kid on the street dressed up as a deity. They also pointed out that it portrayed India in a negative light. There was furore over the entire content shown in it.
I beg to differ. From my perspective, I think the video contains pretty much of that part of India, which is devoid of the modern urbanised city life. Yes, I agree that India is no longer just a country of snake charmers and backwardness, and we are one of the fastest developing nations in the world with immense growth in technology. We are a force to be reckoned with and there is a lot more to India than what was showcased in the video. But...
We just can't deny the fact that the scenes shown in the video do very much exist in India. There are two sides to this nation. The urban, fast developing and modern India, whereas on the other hand , we can see dire poverty in this same nation as well. So here I am sitting in a comfortable room with a smartphone in hand and typing out what's on my mind, but I bet, there are thousands of kids out there in my country who probably have no homes and are just wandering around the streets begging for money.
Speaking of clichés, I strongly believe that we Indians stereotype our own countrymen too. Our Bollywood movies often show south Indians as people with phoney accents and probably a man named as Muthuswamy and his lungi is usually an object of ridicule. Similarly, the maid of most of the households is usually some Sakhubai, a typical illiterate Marathi woman. Most of the times a Punjabi is showcased as a dumb person in the movies, too busy drinking lassi and eating parathas. When our own countrymen are stereotyped by their fellow countrymen, nobody bats an eyelid. But if a foreigner stereotypes us, all the firangi drama and lectures on colonialism begin.
Coming back to the video, it does showcase a part of India. That part very much exists here. I don't think a foreigner would come to India and start filming near the Worli sea link. He'll pretty much be interested in the things that capture his attention. So quite honestly, I think all the uniqueness of India was shown beautifully in this video. In fact I even read a comment from a Brazilian guy who said he didn't know that India was so unique and would definitely love to come here and be part of our color throwing festival(Holi). Doesn't that showcase our uniqueness and also promote tourism?
Anyway, the only thing I found annoying in this video was Sonam Kapoor's blink- and-you'll-miss-it cameo. Yet, her enthralling beauty did add glamour. Also, Beyonce looked stunning in her Indian outfit playing a Bollywood actress.
Ok. I do realize there are at least 50% of you readers who do not agree with me. Anyway, I'm entitled to my own opinions. So I strongly choose to defend this video. On this note, I'd like to end this post! :)
P.S. : Ohh yes, the title of this post also has some significance. Decide for yourself if the video was culturally appropriate or does it deserve appreciation? :)
