Herbal Hues and Holi Blues!
Picture a mischievous gang of little kids sprinting along the streets of a neigbourhood. Armed with pichkaris that ooze rich colour, the leprechauns don’t spare a soul, not even strangers as they spray jets of coloured liquid on everybody. If legends of Lord Krishna playing Holi with Radha and the gopis are to be believed, the picture wouldn’t have been much different in those times.
“We still play Holi with the same childish fervor and spirit of camaraderie. But, what has changed is the colours. Unlike our ancestors, today we play with chemicals instead of natural colours,” exclaims documentary filmmaker Pranab Kumar Aich.
Pranab’s recently released music video Hori Hori, jointly produced with SaReGaMaPa Singing Superstar fame singer Sniti Mishra, talks about making it a Herbal Holi this year.
Shot in Jajpur, Odisha, the camera follows a spirited Nandlal (Ayush Samal), a modern-day version of Lord Krishna, as he smears colours on people he comes across. In snatches, the viewer is shown how the colours are extracted and ground out of things like turmeric, roses, tomatoes, neem leaves and Palash flowers.
Sung by Sniti, who also co-stars in the video, the song based on raag Adana is a famous composition of Pandit Balwantrai Bhatt, a Padma Shri awarded Hindustani classical exponent, also known as Bhavrang.
“When Sniti approached me in 2014, I was left mesmerised by the spiritual energy the music held. Deciding on the theme was no great deal. Here was Lord Krishna playing with colours made out of haldi and kumkum and with the theme of herbal Holi staring at me, I couldn’t think of anything better,” says Pranab.
Stating that the work is also an attempt to explain the science behind Indian traditions and festivals, Pranab says Holi had a big medicinal theory to it. “Why do you think our ancestors celebrated Holi in the spring? The answer is simple. It’s because spring brought along a slew of diseases and a daylong play with colours extracted out of medicinal plants and herbs served as an antidote to these diseases,” says Pranab, a recipient of Sony World Photography Award Cannes-2009.
Talking about the song, Sniti says, it is a tribute to composer Bhatt, whom she calls her ‘dada guru’. “The inspiration to make the video came after I recently met Bhatt in Benares. Although a composer of great pieces, he is a classical musician who is not very well known. The video is a small attempt to make his compositions famous,” she adds.
For a cause
Known for his documentaries on social issues, Pranab’s films Citys Step Child and The Dump Hill Dream have been officially selected for environmental film festival EKOTOP in Slovakia, Europe
Rockstar
Born in Balangir district of Odisha, Sniti has sung for Nila Madhab Panda’s Bollywood flick Babloo Happy Hai
A fitting tribute
The video is also a tribute to Pandit Balwantrai Bhatt
Lights! Camera!
The video was shot in a span of 25 days
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