So last week, British rock band coldplay released the video of 'hymn for the weekend' featuring uncredited vocals from the Queen bey herself. The song is a single from their latest studio album 'A head full of dreams'. First things first, let's just take some time to appreciate how good the song is. It's absolutely pleasing to the ears and vocals provided by two of the world's biggest musical powerhouses- Chris Martin and Beyoncé are nothing less than a beautiful, magical, and melodious dream.
    Now, let's move on to the video. Its video was shot in Indian cities including Mumbai, Varanasi and Kolkata. When I was made familiar with the fact that its video was going to be shot in India, I knew it would have all the typical Indian stereotypes and boy, was I right! Everything you might expect a western video shot in India would have could be seen! You name it, we got it!
1. Sadhus on the streets. Check.

2. Half naked kids jumping around in ponds. Check.

3. Single screen theatres. Check.

4. People dressed up as gods and deities. Check.

5. Traditionally dressed women. Check.

6. People playing holi. Check.

7. And this guy....

    Obviously, as Indians, we had to be offended because come on, the most Indian element to the video could be provided only by us Indians and that is by taking offence. Many complaints began surfacing like,"India is always portrayed in a very bad light, only the poor India is featured, not everybody dresses up as gods". Well guess what, many of us do! These things and practices are not that obsolete as of yet. And secondly, there is nothing wrong with it. India is known to be the land of gods and yes, we do celebrate our culture and heritage a lot, up to the point that people outside of India notice it. And that's what makes us unique, different from the rest. If they had to shoot skyscrapers and highways, why would they have bothered to come to India for that? Every country has them and so it's natural of coldplay to show the unique, vibrant, and colorful side of India. I realise that there is much more to India than what was featured, but then again, it was not a video for Mumbai darshan or India's tourism. Not everything can be summed up in a 4 minute video. Why Chris Martin would opt for a single screen theatre when there are multiplexes around is beyond my understanding, but he did! Do we really need to know why? So, instead of getting butthurt by every single thing, just enjoy the song and its colors and magic!