The hypocrisy of 'Mumbai River Anthem', starring Amruta and Devendra Fadnavis
There are few spectacles in India that are anywhere as entertaining and funny as our political class; even if that is almost always unintended. But a new “music video” making waves (pun unintended) is both for reasons intended and otherwise. Enter Amruta Fadnavis, the wife of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, armed with her new T-Series-produced song, “Mumbai River Anthem”.
For more reasons than one, this song, its video and the whole idea is an exercise in how not to make anthems.
The video begins at the chief minister’s residence, where Mrs Fadnavis can be seen pensively reading what appears to be a newspaper cutting of an article on river rejuvenation on the Mumbai page of a nondescript newspaper. She gives this grave situation some thought, gathers her resolve, stands up and next thing you know she’s been transported to some lush green river bank.
Supported by chief minister, state minister of finance and planning and forests Sudhir Mungantiwar, commissioner of police Datta Padsalgikar and Mumbai municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta and powered by the gripping vocals of Mrs Fadnavis and Sonu Nigam, this anthem will make the cheesy '90s family music videos shot by Sooraj Barjatya for the silver screen seem underwhelming.
Sample this:
“Chal chal Mumbai, sang chal. Kehta nadiyon ka ja. Hum aaj agar mil jaaye, toh behtar hoga kal (Come on Mumbai, let’s go. Says the water of rivers. If we get together, the future shall be better)”. Yes. The so-called anthem does lose a bit of its magic in the translation. But that’s not the main issue with the video. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) severely criticised Fadnavis over the video, saying, “It is shocking. The chief minister, the police commissioner and municipal commissioner are used as props to promote Amruta Fadnavis’ singing career? How can she get permission to use government bungalow Varsha as a set for a music video.”
Others criticised the video for too gimmicky and embarrassing — after all, it is not every day that one gets to see a CM brave weird dance poses, while lip-syncing Sonu Nigam’s vocals.
Trudeau and bhangra ain’t nothin. Have you seen the song video of @CMOMaharashtra @MumbaiPolice Commissioner and BMC Municipal Commissioner all in one song video? #mumbairiveranthem चल चल मुंबई चलकहता है नदियों का जल https://t.co/RyGfHxmuxB
— Ajit Ranade (@ajit_ranade) February 26, 2018
Mumbai River Anthem featuring Devendra and Amruta Fadnavis https://t.co/2YFnvMi0C9 Seems like Sushma Swaraj's Twitter-seva where her personality takes precedence over (puts a face on the) process; here political personalities take precedence over actual talent.
— Karthik (@beastoftraal) February 26, 2018
Mumbai was so sorely lacking in celebrity-power that the CM and his spouse had to step in https://t.co/m9zMoRpjfb
— Suvojit (@suvojitc) February 26, 2018
Calling the video an excuse to boost the music career of Amruta Fadnavis might be going too far. After all, what they are crooning about is a critical issue. The dire conditions of Mumbai's waterbodies need our immediate attention. According to a report published by Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Mithi and Ulhas rivers are considered dead zones, the oxygen levels in them are too low to support aquatic life. “The Mithi River is a glorified sewer serving small workshops, slums, housing developments, and a business centre,” it notes.
In fact, just as Amruta Fadnavis says in the song, the problem and the solution, contrary to popular belief, lie with the people of the city and not just factories and the municipality. “We cannot blame the municipal corporation for inaction and for allowing the rivers to get polluted. It is us people who are also responsible for polluting the rivers. When we decide to act together to save our rivers, the students play an important role," said Gopal Jhaveri, organiser of the River March, a movement started four years ago by the city's activists to save Mumbai's four rivers — Dahisar, Poisar, Oshiwara and Mithi.
The problem, however, also lies in the cherrypicking of environmental problems by the chief minister. He chooses to concern himself with rivers, while neglecting Mumbai's forests.
Cry me a forest
For quite some time now, citizens of Mumbai have been actively protesting against the plans to deforest 33 hectares of the green cover in the Aarey Milk Colony, where the CM plans to construct the a Metro car shed and station. Many of Mumbai's citizens and environment activists, in fact, went on a rather Munnabhai-Gandhian form of protest by calling the CM’s office relentlessly with a telephone campaign. They circulated the official contact numbers of the suburban collector Deependra Singh, as well as managing director of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation, Ashwini Bhide, urging people to call and express their dissent.
There is a Change.org petition called “Mumbai’s climate and ecology is in danger. NO, it is not due to Diwali”, which has 1,28,541 signatures. The petition states that “3,500 trees are set to be cut and we want the government to rethink the location of the car-shed. There are many viable options, mentioned in their own studies, which have no environmental destruction involved. Experts from NEERI and IIT have suggested Kanjurmarg, Backbay and Kalina as an option. They have clearly warned of the consequences Mumbai will face in terms of flooding and loss of open space & wildlife, if the depot is built in Aarey”.
Even actor and social activist Shabana Azmi recently spoke about the issue. She tweeted: “Aarey forest is the lung Forest for Mumbai. 3500 trees in Aarey forest will be cut to build a metro car shed if we don't raise our voice. Ask CM Fadnavis and Ashwini Bhide, MD of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation to look for alternatives.”
And it is not just trees, the forest is also a haven for wildlife. According to a NewsClick report, the Aarey forest is spread around 1,300 acres of land in North Mumbai and home to several species of birds, insects, reptiles and leopards. There are about 29 tribal hamlets located within the forest. According to a state-led survey, the Aarey forest is the fifth important zone in terms of ecological importance in the city.
So, why is the CM turning a deaf ear to all of this? No one can deny that the city's waterbodies need help. But at the same time, deforesting a huge chunk of the city's green cover will only make things worse for an already gasping Mumbai. Is the CM wrong to be championing the cause of clean rivers? No. But is he guilty of willfully ignoring a potential environmental catastrophy? Yes.
One step in the right direction cannot negate going 10 steps back in the wrong one.