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Indulekha Warrier in the music video, Freedom
Induleka Warrier’s new Malayalam rap video Freedom speaks for all those who are judged, criticised and even harassed for what they wear, how they look, how they speak, their attitude and what not. The song ‘Ente chiri, ente make-up, ente body, ente vakku…. ente style, ente freedom…’ (My smile, my make-up, my body, my words…, my style, my freedom), emphasises that it is an individual’s choice to be who she or he is.
The musician, who has also written the song, points out that the track is not meant for women alone even though it was released to coincide with International Women’s Day. “It is a gender-neutral song. Apart from men and women who are targeted for how they walk, dress or speak, it also applies to transpersons who are often ridiculed. There are a lot of people who can’t stop themselves from passing remarks if they see someone dressed in a particular way,” she says.
Singer Indulekha Warrier
Indulekha adds that many viewers, especially women, could relate to the lines she has written, be it about body shaming, freedom of expression or freedom of movement.
“The song, with beats by Jeffin Jestin, was recorded and shot last year itself, but we were not able to find a producer. So I decided to produce it. I was unable to find a proper platform to release it, so I brought it out on my new YouTube channel, Indulekha [she already has a channel with travel vlogs and poetry renditions],” she says.
Making her mark
A trained musician and playback singer, Indulekha got noticed as a rapper in 2020 when her track ‘Penn Rap’ went viral. The song came down on society’s patriarchal notions about how a woman is expected to behave. Her next rap number, ‘Poymukhangal’, which was about the dangerous side of the cyber world, also got noticed.
The singer says that rap has always been a favourite genre. “Theatre practitioner Jayaprakash Kuloor, my father’s [actor, caricaturist and stand-up comic Jayaraj Warrier] teacher, used to say that I should write such songs. But it took a while for me to do that and that’s how ‘Penn Rap’ came out. After it got noticed, I have not stopped writing,” she says.
The musician says that she always ends up writing for and about women. “Since my wish is to do something for women’s empowerment, my thoughts are invariably related to women and the obstacles they face,” she says.
She has been at the receiving end of cyber attacks, Indulekha adds. “Some have problems with a playback singer doing rap; some find fault with my surname; some comment that my writing is too literary; some say that my voice doesn’t suit rap. The comments did take a toll on me. But I didn’t want to let the fire inside me burn out and my family, especially my husband, stood by me,” she says.
Her latest outing as a playback singer was the song ‘Suryangam,’ in the Malayalam version of Prabhas-Prithviraj-starrer Salaar.
Freedom, directed by Mridul Madhav and shot by Naveen Najose, is streaming on YouTube.
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