Curry-Nation: Empowering the LGBT community in India

The campaign, created for the United Nations Human Rights Office, has clocked more than two million views on YouTube and has 'officially' become the most watched UN video ever

Sarmistha Neogy | Mumbai | July 28, 2014

Click on the image to watch the TVC.

Curry-Nation Brand Conversations, the Mumbai-based advertising agency, has created a campaign for the empowerment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in India. The video campaign was created for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as part of its global fight against homophobia.

Homosexuality is considered an offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Those not abiding by the law could even face life imprisonment. The LGBT community, the much-neglected section of our society, is often subjected to physical, emotional and even economic violence.

The two- and-a-half minute, Bollywood-style video, titled 'Welcome', stars actor Celina Jaitley. She was appointed as the 'UN equality champion', last year, in recognition of her support to the LGBT community. The Bollywood classic song, 'Uthe Sab Ke Kadam' has been recomposed and remixed by Neeraj Sridhar of Bombay Vikings and Longi (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) has choreographed the dance sequence. The video is about a young man who brings his boyfriend home to meet his family for the first time.

Priti Nair

“The first thing which struck our mind when we were approached by the UN Human Rights Commission, to make a video for the empowerment of the LGBT community in India, was that the theme should be Bollywood. The reason being that Bollywood not only enjoys a huge fan following in India, but also abroad. Once the theme was finalised, everything fell into place,” says, Priti Nair, Co-Founder, Curry Nation. The music video was made in just over a month.

“It is amazing that despite the widely prevalent social stigma and ostracism faced by the LGBT citizens, the video has clocked nearly two-million views on YouTube and is also 'officially' the most watched United Nations Human Rights campaign video ever,” she exclaims. The video may not be aired on television, unless a music channel buys the rights from OHCHR .

Commenting on the video, Jaitley, says, “It is an honour to partner with the United Nations on the incredibly timely and important Free & Equal campaign. I have been working for LGBT rights for many years, and I am honoured to contribute my musical debut to such a good cause. Music is a universal language. It can engage people's passion and that's when good things happen."

Talking about the need for such a campaign, Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, says, “LGBT people have historically been marginalised and subjected to discrimination and violence in India and elsewhere. But change is coming. In the past few months we have seen an unprecedented level of public debate relating to the rights of the LGBT community. As awareness grows, attitudes will change. We need to do all we can to hasten change by challenging the myths and misinformation. That is what this campaign aims to achieve.”

The Video:

https://img-cdn.thepublive.com/filters:format(webp)/

Credits:

Planner: Nagessh Pannaswamy

Creative: Sushant Dharwadkar

Creative Director: Priti J Nair

Production House: Perfect 10

Director: Raylin Valles

Producer: Showik Basu

Music: Neeraj Shridhar

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com