Brooke Bond Red Label sings a song of 'happy'ness

The tea brand launches India's first transgender band.

India has now got its first transgender band called 'The 6 Pack'. The brand has rolled out its debut single number 'Hum Hain Happy', which is a rendition of the original popular English song Happy, sung by the American singer Pharrel Willliam.

Launched by Y-Films (the youth wing of Yash Raj Films), in association with Hindustan Unilever's tea brand Brooke Bond Red Label, the video has already gone viral garnering 5.2 lakh views on YouTube.

Conceptualised by Mindshare Fulcrum, the peppy video features the six band members Asha Jagtap, Bhavika Patil, Chandni Suvarnakar, Fida Khan, Komal Jagtap and Ravina Jagtap. The track has a dash of Hindi lyrics which are quite amusing to the listener. It goes "Because I'm happy, khush raho, nacho gao, aao bajao taali..". The video, which has been shot at various locations, starts with a voice over by Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. "In India, the third gender is ignored by most, tolerated by some, misunderstood by all. In India, the 'hijras' are a community almost in exile," she says.

The video is an initiative created and driven by Y-Films to help further the cause of gender equality in India. The brand Brooke Bond Red Label finds a fit in the initiative as its core philosophy is brewing togetherness. Hence, it celebrates togetherness and depicts a more welcoming world.

Shiva Krishnamurthy, category head - tea, Hindustan Unilever Limited says, "Brooke Bond Red Label believes in making the world a more welcoming place by diffusing socially awkward situations. We encourage people to live those little moments that bring us all closer by breaking barriers over a cup of tea. This time we chose the medium of music to spread this message. We are happy to partner with Y-Films, Yash Raj Film’s youth films wing, to present the Brooke Bond Red Label 6-Pack Band and hope that it will be loved by one and all."

The band will release a total of six tracks curated by composer Shameer Tandon with a video. The band's next track will feature Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam.

The Hijra (the word is the Hindi slang for eunuch) community was officially recognised by the Indian government in 2014 as the third gender, and gave it special status under the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, for the purpose of education and employment.