After watching only a few seconds of this music video, we encounter dancing, singing, vibrant colors and, of course, romance. Yup, this can only mean one thing: Bollywood.
Who doesn’t love good Bollywood? In fact, this music video, produced by the United Nations’ Free & Equal Campaign, has already picked up more than 2 million views since being uploaded onto YouTube a few months ago.
“The Welcome” begins with a family preparing for a wedding. “Today, Sir is coming with his special friend,” one relative says in excitement as he puts up decorations. After much suspense, the groom-to-be finally arrives, but is met with stunned expressions from his relatives as his “special friend” turns out to be a man as well. The two join hands and wait for the verdict from a stern-faced grandmother.
Bollywood star Celina Jaitly intervenes and sings about a “new look” and a “new attitude” which accepts all forms of love.
After her initial hesitation, the grandmother decides to welcome the two men with a smile and they get their Bollywood happy ending after all – complete with dancing, music and a smile on every face.
As you may have already guessed, the video was created to promote LGBT rights. Specifically, this video is in response to India’s Supreme Court decision on December 2013, which reenacted Section 377 of India’s Penal Code, which states, “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
The decision was opposed by many human rights activists, including the United Nations who chose to express their opinion in this delightful music video.
Popular actress, model and beauty queen Jaitly is not the only Bollywood celebrity to openly fight for LGBT rights. Just a few months ago, the beautiful Sonam Kapoor argued that India’s legal stance on homosexuality does not align with their cultural stance.
“We’ve regressed instead of progressing,” Kapoor said while discussing the possibility of homosexuality on the big screen. “I think movies can influence the way people think sometimes and if we do start making love stories, or we start making movies about people who are amazing human beings, people who have done something in life, people who are inspirational who aren’t necessarily only straight, I think people will start appreciating them more.”
Although this music video is not on the big screen, it’s certainly a step towards an accepting future.
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