Shusmita Anis and Arnob’s rendition of ‘Joy Hok’ sends a powerful message
The official music video of "Joy Hok" by Shusmita Anis and Shayan Chowdhury Arnob was released on March 24. The modern rendition of Kazi Nazrul Islam's iconic song presents a powerful narrative on womanhood. The original song by Nazrul focuses on the emancipation from the human vices and celebration of the human virtues.
Arnob directed the music for this rendition. The music video, directed by the renowned Piplu Khan, emphasized on the oppression and violence against women, 50 years into Bangladesh's independence. The video featured Azmeri Haque Badhon, whose powerful portrayal of womanhood reflected the hidden feelings of every woman.
"We have achieved freedom 50 years ago, but I wanted to make a point about in what degree are the women actually free?" shares Shusmita Anis. "The burning issues of early marriages, oppression and violence against women are still evident in our society, are the women actually free?"
The music video celebrates womanhood, as well as raising questions about equality, freedom and oppression. "This song depicts the duality of this issue, on one side we are celebrating women empowerment, women's progress and at the same time I wanted to portray the negative aspects as rape, oppression and violence against women," adds Shusmita Anis.
"Through this work, I had the chance to express my anguish, pain and anger among other feelings; these feelings are true for every woman, some of us can express them and many cannot because of our social system," shares Azmeri Haque Badhon. "This was a mixed experience for me, the work gave me peace, as well as giving me a platform to channel all my aggression, suffocation and anguish."
Talking about how women are still struggling and facing various obstacles in their lives, "I don't want my child to grow up in a society where she has to fight for her freedom every day," expresses Badhon. "I have to struggle continuously to break these obstacles in life and those true feelings were portrayed in the video."
Released under the label of ChaShingara Lab, the video is available on Shusmita Anis's official YouTube channel, and her social media pages.
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