I-Day Special: The Micromax Unite Anthem

The 'Roobaroo Micromax Unite Anthem' brings together 10 artistes, singing one song in nine languages.

No one has ever doubted the diversity of India's languages. What may be surprising is the number of languages in use. A new study, the People's Linguistic Survey of India, says that the official number (122) is far lower than the 780 that it counted and another 100 that the survey suspects, exist.

Now, if a company wants to target this diversity as the USP of a product, what better occasion to promote the product than the country's Independence Day? Nothing symbolises patriotism better than celebrating the country's wide ethnic composition through its languages and unifying it with music.

Handset player Micromax has done exactly that by unveiling the 'Roobaroo Micromax Unite Anthem' in a first-of-its-kind initiative bringing together 10 artistes, singing one song in nine languages. The anthem is live on digital video platforms and will also be extended on music and TV channels.

Launched in association with Sony Music Entertainment India, the Micromax Unite Anthem is based on the extremely popular AR Rahman track, Roobaroo (from the movie Rang de Basanti), which has been rewritten with new lyrics. It brings the sounds of a United India covering genres like classical, folk, beat boxing and rap. The artistes are Benny Dayal, Raghu Dixit, Neeti Mohan, Brodha V, Voctronica, Sanam Puri, Swaroop Khan, Kamaal Khan, Apekhsa Dandekar and Shruti Pathak.

The recreation is an extension of the campaign for the Unite 2, a phone that offers users 21 languages. In May, Micromax had launched a campaign for Unite 2, which featured people from different regions of India, who speak different languages, proudly congregating at a spot to celebrate the freedom of being able to converse in their own language.

Speaking about extending the campaign, Shubhodip Pal, chief marketing officer, Micromax says, "The Roobaroo Micromax Unite Anthem celebrates the spirit of unity in diversity bringing alive the versatility of India where myriad cultures merge to form the country's identity.

According to Pal, the anthem was initially conceptualised as an online initiative by Interactive Avenues, but after realising the power and the potential of this unique concept, they decided to execute a 360-degree campaign directed to engage with the target audience by instilling a sense of pride in using their mother tongues. "With Sony Music's help, we have been able to identify Roobaroo as an iconic anthem that connects emotionally with the youth and was most suited to deliver the message of unity," adds Pal.

"We are glad to partner with a dominant brand that understands and leverages the power of music to engage meaningfully with the youth of today," comments Kiran D'Cruz, national head, Brand Solutions, Sony Music Entertainment India. Says Amardeep Singh, CEO, Interactive Avenues, "For the Unite 2 campaign, we wanted to highlight the most appealing feature of the phone - giving users the freedom to express themselves in their mother tongue. We are sure that it is going to strike a chord with every citizen of the country."