A ‘hymn’ on skewed stereotypes

Coldplay’s new music video Hymn for the Weekend was met with mixed responses in India.

When British rock band Coldplay visited India a few months ago, they sent social media into a tizzy with people constantly trying to guess their exact location, plan of action and so on. A few stills from a music video that they were said to be shooting at that time floated around on the Internet for a while before the excitement died down, as lead vocalist Chris Martin and his boys embarked on their return journey.

The video has just been released and Coldplay is back to being one of the top trending topics on social media. And this time, for all the wrong reasons. Going by the reactions on the Internet, for a majority of the band’s Indian fans, the excitement surrounding the video was fully lost within the first few minutes when India unravelled itself in age-old stereotypes — colours of Holi juxtaposed with the poverty-struck slums — in poetic slow motion. Titled Hymn for the Weekend, at the centre of the video is American pop queen Beyonce Knowles dolled up in a dupatta and bindi, covered in many layers of jewellery. And breaking the monotony is Chris Martin looking around in awe, covered in the colours of Holi. Adding to the Indianness is a miniscule shot of Sonam Kapoor, again in traditional attire, running in slow motion.

Both Chris and Beyonce have been slammed for cultural appropriation with fans terming it as a poor attempt at portraying India.

Some did make a feeble attempt to defend the band, calling the video an artistic expression and not a documentary but they were few in number as compared to the “offended” populace.

Speaking of what she thought of the video, popular VJ and actress, Anuradha Menon agrees that it does project a stereotyped image of India but she also says that the outrage is unwarranted. “We’ve become a people who take umbrage quite easily. We need to realise that what they’ve shown is their impression of India, which is bound to be very different from ours. When foreigners come to India, the three things they first notice are cows, traffic and the sheer number of people while for Indians all these things are par for the course,” she says.

Prominent sociologist Shiv Viswanathan explains why stereotypes aren’t necessarily bad. “The truth is that people love stereotypes. But another facet is that it is indeed a ‘music’ video, so the visual is only secondary. The question we need to ask is whether or not those who are complaining about the video also dislike the song.”

Explaining how stereotypes are unavoidable, Anuradha, whose Lola Kutty, a caricature of the Malayali woman became a household name, says, “They are a music band and they have to look at what works for them. Even in the case of Lola Kutty, the act worked because it was stereotyped. If I had portrayed a modern and chic Malayali girl, then people probably wouldn’t have liked it as much.”

Indian pop star Anushka Manchanda, however, feels that the disappointment could also be because of the song and not just the video. “The song seems quite average as compared to previous Coldplay songs. As far as the video is concerned, I don’t think we can judge whether what they’ve shown is right or wrong. It is their interpretation. As an artist, they should be given the freedom to express what they want. We should look at the merits. Yes, there are things about it that I did not like, for instance I felt that Beyonce’s part in it was quite cheesy. But some of the other imagery was quite stunning and beautifully captured, such as the shots of the Mumbai kids break-dancing.”

Fans don’t seem to be as benevolent though. Priyadarshini Patwa feels that it is the stereotypes that rob the video of all freshness. “Agreed that the video was shot with an intention to focus on the Indian milieu, but presenting the same old snippets wherein you see children wobbling around and a woman who is over-decked doesn’t do any real justice to the song. Besides, Sonam Kapoor's almost negligible presence was nothing more than a cherry on top — only ornamental and almost without purpose.” However, Chris Martin’s mere presence in the video may have saved the day for a few. Niyati Singh, a web designer, says, “It seems they tried to fit in a little too much of India. But even though the whole Holi cliché went over the top, seeing Chris roaming around with his band, dancing with kids did put a smile on my face. The video looks a little surreal but I guess that's what makes it visually pleasing.”