On Friday, 25 November 2016, singer Bhavya Pandit released her video of her rendition of the song “Kuch Toh Log Kaheinge, Logon Ka Kaam Hain Kehna” which featured transgender rights activist Shreya Reddy who identifies as a hijra along with renowned equal rights activist Harish Iyer in pivotal roles as a couple.
This particular idea was the brain child of Bhavya Pandit who even as a college student had organised a musical extravaganza called De Taali for the hijra community at Bandra Carter Road. Speaking about the seed of the thought Bhavya says, “Once we had locked this beautiful melody (Kuch Toh Log Kahenge), a transgender woman going out on a date was the very first concept (for the video) that occurred to me. It just gelled well with the beautiful lyrics, that so exquisitely negate unfair societal judgments. It bothers me immensely that sexual minorities have to live a closeted life simply because of their personal preferences. I’m not reaching for the stars by wanting a world where they can openly hold hands, share meals and flaunt their romance, just as easily as a ‘straight’ couple can.”
Shreya Reddy was overjoyed when she was invited to be a part of this music video and was explained that this was a scene of a date between a hijra person and her panthi (Panthi is a term used by the hijra community to describe their male lovers) . When asked about her view about the music video she turned teary eyed and said, “Mera sapna thaa ki main ek baar toh shaan se mere panthi ka haath pakdu public mein aur koi mujhe gandhi nazar se naa dekhein. Is music video ke dwaara sapna poora ho gaya sets mein”. (I always dreamt of holding my boyfriend’s hand in public with no one frowning at me, through this music video the dream has been fulfilled)
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