Why I couldn't bear to watch Coldplay and Beyonce's India video
Disclaimer: I should begin by stating that I have fan-girled over Coldplay and Chris Martin for years and years now. Now that we have got that out of the way I can move on to the harder parts - as much as I love Coldplay and Chris Martin I still feel that we need to call them out for cultural appropriation and misrepresentation.
Coldplay teams up with Beyonce Knowles for their latest song "Hymn for the Weekend". The song has been widely anticipated since it was shot in India and depicts the British rock band and Beyonce immersing themselves in the true "Indian spirit".
Or so the creators thought they were doing. Except, after watching the four-minute-long video, I couldn't help but cringe at the exoticisation that was taking place. The video begins innocently enough with a breathtaking shot of ancient ruins with a peacock (because how can you come to India and not see a peacock, right? Wrong!). As the frame widens, we see two sadhus, clad in all their saffron glory, walking along rather purposefully.
Shots of temples, more sadhus, a boy dressed as Lord Shiva, Beyonce adorned in "traditional" Indian clothes and jewellery, a Holi sequence and of course, the customary view of the Ghats later, I am convinced that Coldplay failed horribly at showcasing their supposed love and admiration for my country.
However, the biggest damage that was done was by "Queen Bey" herself - Beyonce. Yes, that is right. The "goddess" faced criticism over the internet, especially Twitter, for trying to portray herself as a Bollywood actress and therefore appropriating Indian culture. Tweeples were quick to point out that the decision to doll her up in Indian "costume" and jewellery was not the best move.
The entire video, and not just Beyonce's part, got me thinking about the contentious debate surrounding cultural appropriation. Here are a few points that I feel made it difficult for me, as an average Indian fan of Coldplay, to fully appreciate the depiction of my country:
1. India is more than a land of sadhus and snakes. It is also a lot more than the "Hindu" culture. Yes, a large part of mainstream Indian culture is steeped in spirituality. However the West's obsession with how exotic, mystic, and "unique" our people are reeks of condescendence.
The spiritual realm may not always play a large part in everyone's daily lives and we really need to move beyond associating temples and Hindu saints with all that being Indian is.
Hey, in today's day and age the autorickshaw-wala using his smartphone to listen to the latest Bollywood hits is as much a reality as the sadhus on the streets. And believe me, the songs have got very little to do with religion.
2. At the end of the day, these cultural stereotypes help generate profit. Except the curious part is that it's not the average Indian who gains profit from endorsing their culture but people like Chris Martin and Beyonce rake in the moolah while using elements of a culture that isn't their own.
Whether it's the fascination with Bollywood, the obsession with sadhus, the almost fetishisation of hena - all these help the West generate profit, not people like you and me.
3. I do like Beyonce, but the point of showing her as a Bollywood actress was lost on me. She looked absolutely stunning, I agree, and of course sings like a dream. But at the end of the day, she isn't an Indian woman. Just because she is a woman of colour does not mean she can authentically represent an Indian woman.
Yes, it's definitely a shade better than showing a white woman prancing around awkwardly in a sari but it still isn't authentic. For her, the Indian attire is nothing but a costume, a costume that many find beautiful, but still something that can be removed.
4. Lastly, keeping aside political correctness and arguments of cultural appropriation, I really did expect a little more creativity and originality from Coldplay.
The majority of their video consisted of shots of a Holi sequence. A bunch of Indian kids and white dudes playing Holi on the streets. How original? Come on Chris Martin - you've seen India, you've seen our clubs and our version of the Hipster culture (aka Hauz Khas Village), you've seen a lot of really cool and interesting aspects of our culture.
Is Holi and the ghats really the best you can do? Throwing around colour is great and a lot of fun, but it's a trope that's been used and re-used over and over again; one that we need to let go off now.