Sniti Mishra
Youngsters come out with music video to promote use of natural gulal - THE TELEGRAPH
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Go herbal to play with colours, have a safe Holi :
Youngsters come out with music video to promote use of natural gulal:
By Anwesha Ambaly in Bhubaneshwar
screenshot from the music video, Hori Hori. Telegraph picture
Bhubaneswar, March 15: A group of youngsters from the city have come out with a music video to promote the use of herbal colours this Holi.
Odia singer Sniti Mishra came up with the idea to do something on the occasion. She lent her voice to the song that has been used in the video - Hori Hori - originally written and composed by Padma Shri awardee Balwant Rai Bhatt. The song is based on Lord Krishna's Holi celebrations with natural colours. Eight-year-old Ayush plays the protagonist in the video, which also features Sniti.
"I first heard the song from my music teacher and I loved the composition. I decided to record it some day and I am really happy that I finally did it," said Sniti, who received training in Hindustani classical music from Raghunath Sahoo.
The 27-year-old, who reached the finals of the reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, joined hands with documentary film-maker Pranab Aich to make the video that aims to revive the use of natural colours.
Fusion artist Ravi Iyer also lifted the song with his contemporary touches. "We conducted around two to three jam sessions before recording. We recorded the song at Yash Raj Studios. It took around six months for the entire process to take shape," said Sniti, who has performed a number of national and international concerts.
The music video was shot at various rural locales in Jajpur. "After listening to the song, I immediately decided to work on it. There is something very subtle in the song and I could feel an immediate connection. The video shows the original essence of Holi and how it came to be celebrated," said Pranab, who was pulled to the project by his friend Sniti.
He has made several documentaries on social issues. Recently, his films - City's Step Child and The Dump Hill Dream - were selected for the Ekotop Film Festival held in Slovakia.
"The video tries to convey that festivals are above caste and religion, especially a festival like Holi that celebrates unity," added Pranab, who runs a production house - Studiowaala - that was also involved in the project.
He said around 30 artistes took part in the video and most of them were local children. The video also shows the making process of these natural colours and how it has gradually been replaced by synthetic colours over the years.
Sniti, who is now based in Mumbai, jumped at the chance to return to her home state for the video shoot.
"The experience of shooting the song was amazing. I got nostalgic visiting the place," said Sniti. The video will be released on social networking sites and showcased at a number of educational institutions across the country and abroad.
The teaser of the video was released last week and it has already become a hit on social media. Odia actress Swapna Pati is also hosting a herbal Holi at a city hotel on March 23. A number of youth groups in the city will also celebrate the day with natural colours at special schools and orphanages.