Once upon a time, a girl was sitting with a boy in a park, in the city of Ghaziabad. What should have been a pleasant afternoon of day-dreaming and hand-holding took a drastically different turn, however. A policeman grabs the boy, and the girl is slapped by a policewoman. This was Operation Majnu, a police initiative to rid the city of eve-teasing and prevent girls from behaving in a “bad way”. The couple had cameras pointed at them during this operation, and were humiliated on television. This is not the first time wild judgement calls of these ‘guardians of Indian culture’ have changed the course of people’s lives. Whether it’s 40 couples being raided in a private hotel near Mumbai, or a fatwa issued against Sania Mirza for her un-Islamic attire on court, the moral police’s roots go deep, even insitutionalised across political and religious groups, not to mention real law enforcement. One only has to skim the surface to imagine the kind of far-reaching impact such state-sponsored violence might be having on the psyche of the youth in this country.
Of the many people and groups disturbed by the stigma attached to the expression of love in the country, the Kiss of Love protest stands out. Started by a group called ‘Free Thinkers’ in Kerala in the wake of a restaurant’s vandalism by volunteers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (the youth wing of BJP), who were outraged by the ‘immoral activities’ taking place in its premises, the non-violent protest, people used kisses as their ammunition. An act that is, according to the moral police, as good as “walking around naked.” Suhrid Manchanda aka Su Real, a bass producer and DJ from New Delhi was moved deeply by this protest, and drew inspiration for his video of the track “Soldiers” from it. The video in question is stylised as an adult swim-esque animation that addresses a band of ‘love soldiers’ dancing for the freedom of expression. Homegrown had the chance to breakdown the process that led to the creation of this video with the artist himself.
As far as the musical arrangement went, Su Real was sure he wanted to channel Major Lazer’s festival-anthem style from the get-go. “I wanted both male & female vocals on the track, and fortunately when I approached my friends Tanya and Zorawar they both understood the concept right away. We worked on the lyrics together, trying to keep it simple and direct. After recording the vocals I went back and re-arranged some parts, built up some other parts. All in all, I’d say the music took about 3-4 months,” he explains. Once this was done, he reached out to Sinbad Richardson of Vienna Pitts for the video, who became a willing collaborator almost immediately. Fast forward another three to four months in, and the animation was complete with the video all set for release.
Having come from a family that granted him much freedom to explore the world and make what he wanted of his life, he returned from Canada to India only to be confronted with the truth that not everybody was blessed enough to have been raised in similarly accepting environments. That stark contrast is what explains just why the Kiss Of Love protests resonated with him so strongly. “On a more personal level, I remember clearly my first true love, when I was 19 in Montreal. We never let go of each other’s hands for like a whole year. We necked everywhere. After we were separated for the summer - her at her mom’s, and me at mine - when we met up again outside the bus station we hugged and kissed for a really long time before we realized we were in the middle of the road surrounded by oncoming traffic!” So when he heard about the rise of the movement in Kerala, he really took to them standing up for their freedom and the symbolism of the kiss that they had used.
Moral Policing in India is no covert affair. Spend just a little time doing as you would on a normal day just about anywhere else in the world, and you’re sure to encounter it first hand. “Moral policing affects us all on a daily basis, it shapes the world we’re allowed to see. Turn on the TV, look at the newspapers, look at the clothes people wear, take a walk outside... It’s a little less apparent in a too-cool-for-school city like Mumbai, but in most parts of India, it’s depressing,” Su Real admits. “It is this kind of moral policing that actually leads to the prevalence of rape culture and sex trafficking. The Indian state-sponsored approach to issues of love and sex seems to be don’t talk about it ever, then get married to someone for the rest of your life, don’t worry we’ll explain to you how to make a baby on your suhag-raat, and after you’ve popped out a couple of kids you don’t have to ever “do it” again, just watch TV instead... how is that any kind of practical way to live or raise children? In general, it contributes to this xenophobic attitude where everyone fears and mistrusts each other.”
Crafted as though it was an anthem to snap people out of the constraints we’ve snared ourselves in, the video has used animation in a way that appeals to large numbers of people. “I think the decision to make an animated video was largely just because I love cartoons and it’s been a lifelong dream to have an animated version of Su-self,” Su Real says with candour. But why this song with such a seemingly important message, you ask? He tells us that he “hoped this song could reach as wide an audience as possible. The song has a message that’s relevant for young folks today and tomorrow - and even oldie goldies who were young folks once upon a time. I also figured that using illustrations could help us broach some sensitive, complex topics for Indian society without being perceived as NSFW or 18+.” Often, this juxtaposition of a strong idea with visual treatment like animation makes for a powerful message. One of the stronger elements in the video is this army of love soldiers, and Su Real describes them as an army that congregates on the dance floor and shoots out psychic laser hearts from their hip thrusts. He has always marked the dance-floor as a safe haven, free of any discrimination. He says, “When I see people kissing, hugging, grinding on my dancefloor, I know I’m doing something right.”
Ultimately, Su is clear that his expectations fall short of believing this video might change somebody’s life but it has We asked Su Real about any interesting reactions he may have gotten post the release of the video. He told us he didnt really expect to hear how his song has changed someone’s life, but the usual hate that gets spewed out has not been missed. Thats a win for sure. Wrapping up, he says “Cultural change on the level of whole societies seems to happen in watershed moments - over years and years single droplets of water accumulate until finally they burst thru the dam. Well I just poured in a bucket’s worth into the love soup, how about you?” We don’t know about you guys, but this Love Army is one we wouldn’t mind being drafted to.