RITU JHA
The rousing Chale Chalo song from the Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan will exhort Indian Americans to go out and vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the presidential election, thanks to Ajay & Vinita Bhutoria.
The Bhutorias, Silicon Valley-based supporters of Biden, have released a video with a version of the song, with footage of Biden and Harris and Indian Americans voicing their support for the Democratic candidates in different Indian languages.
“The video was envisioned by me and Vinita, who tweaked the lyrics to: Chale Chalo, Chale Chalo, Biden ko Vote do/Biden ki Jeet Ho Unki Haar Haan,” Ajay Bhutoria said.
“It is a fighting song, drawing from the energy of Indian celebrations, inspiring our community to awaken and vote for Biden-Harris in November.”
The song was sung by Silicon Valley-based singer Titli Banerjee, and the video was created by Awesome TV.
“We wanted to make it simple, make it memorable, make it inspirational and make it awesome,” said Ritesh Parikh, founder of Awesome TV.
Ajay Bhutoria, who is also on national AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) leadership council and the national finance committee of Biden for President 2020, said: “Trump has pushed America into the darkness for too long. He has brought hate, fear, anger, division, and violence to our country. Now, America is starving for hope, unity, change, healing, and leadership.”
“Over half of working Americans are out of work,” he added. “We face devastating unemployment, a historic health crisis, and continuing violence, injustice, and indignity, destructive to black Americans and diminishing the soul of our nation.”
“Trump has no idea what’s going on in our country. He has no sense of the pain that his people are facing. He is utterly oblivious to the human toll of his indifference.”
Bhutoria continued: “He speaks of having the best relationship with India and Prime Minister Modi. Yet he is yet to sign a trade deal with India. He suspended H-1B visas for our people. Green-card backlogs have skyrocketed, as have hate crimes against mandirs, masjids, gurudwaras, churches and other holy sites. Trump even lied that Modi invited him to help resolve the Kashmir issue!”
Joe Biden, Bhutoria said, “will bring hope, unity, change, and healing to the country. He will restore the soul of America and its glorious position on the world stage. He will be the best friend of India and Indo-Americans. He will streamline H-1Bs, remove green-card backlogs, sign new trade deals, implement climate change agreements, protect us against hate crimes, guard our places of worship, and ensure that South Asians are well represented in his administration.”
The video outreach is supported by South Asians for Biden, Impact Fund, They SeeBlue, Indians for Biden National leadership council, and several other South Asian Organizations and will be shared by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for the Biden team, a statement said.
“Getting the right message across during elections through music has been a long-held tradition in India,” said the singer Banerjee. “I am glad that I was able to contribute through my voice in recreating that experience and hope that the message to go out and vote for the future of America reaches all Indian Americans.”
