Sing along, be cheerful

Sheetal

Often in the worst of times, emerges the best of creative talent; be it comedians, singers or other artistes. Well, what is bad for the economy is not at all bad for entertainment! On the brighter side, from Vir Das’s live video sessions to Ugandian Bobi Wine’s awareness song to Bohemia’s latest track Phir Ek Tera Pyar to Papon’s re-launch of his 14-year-old song, there is a lot that celebrities are offering in these times of lockdown.

Corona effect

Most of the content produced at the moment is either to raise awareness about the pandemic or to create positivity in these times of distress. Ugandian singer and opposition leader in Uganda, Bobi Wine released a song Corona Virus Alert, urging Africa’s people to wash their hands to stop the spread of coronavirus. This song has catchy lyrics, which help you take precautions against the virus. Criticising African governments for not maintaining better health care systems, Bobi has killed two birds with one stone!

In India also, there are many regional artistes who have come up with awareness or comic songs, for example, the Bhojpuri song Hello Kaun Corona Virus by singer Khushboo Uttam and Pravin Uttam. And who can forget the song Corona by comedian, write and actor Naveen Richards, where he himself is posing as an infectious Casanova virus in the video. Then there are the likes of Himachali folk singer Karnail Rana, who is helping in raising awareness in their region by singing instructions on a folk tune. Singer Yanboy has gone to yet another level in his song Yaar Tera Corona Warga!

Laugh it off

Recounting the old days and pondering upon the future, Vir Das’ new song See You Outside’s lyrics seem apt:

I will see you outside in the sunlight instead; and we will walk a while; and baby we can smile about these days; if it takes too long then all I know is; either way I will see your face again my friend.

“There will be plenty of time to be racist and negative after the lockdown. So, try to spread as much positivity as you can,” says Vir Das. He has come up with a short video Bright Side, which has snippets of his daily thoughts on the lockdown. With another special in the pipeline plus the The Loved Tour once the scare is over, he has turned to singing besides creating comic content. He adds, “While stand-up comedy requires a live audience, this lockdown period is best suited for writing. I am using this time to ingest the content since better part of the year is there to put out the content. It is good to take a pause.”

Testing other skills

Singer Papon has released a self-made video of a 14-year-old gem Din Guzrein Woh. The Moh Moh Ke Dhaage singer has managed to shoot the video at home in just five hours! He says, “A friend of mine, Ronnie Lahiri, posted the audio of this song on social media, which I had created 14 years back. I have always loved this song, as it was one of my first compositions. I got re-inspired and made a video. I hope everyone enjoys this special song.”

Virtually there

Choreographer Ashley Lobo is now connecting with his students and aspiring dancers through IGTV, a feature available on Instagram handle and their page is Danceworx. He says, “Everything has come to a standstill right now, including our dance studio, but I think desperate times require desperate measures. So, going online became a necessity to teach and to keep all the students positive.”

Let’s collaborate

Neha Kakkar, Jaani and B Praak have teamed up for a new track, Jinke Liye, which was released on Tuesday. Neha shares, “I have worked with Jaani in the past on a few songs and he’s a really gifted artist. His composition and lyrics touch your heart. In recent times, I have sung a lot of dance numbers and Jinke Liye is a complete shift from that. In fact, it’s a heartbreak song that everyone will be able to relate to.”