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Watch Sonam Kapoor and Beyonce team up for this Coldplay video set in India

Watch Sonam Kapoor and Beyonce team up for this Coldplay video set in India

It's beautifully shot, but does the video serve up a cliched version of Indian-ness?
Updated 30 Jan, 2016

This week we discovered exactly what Coldplay had been up to during the band's recent visit to India -- the musicians were shooting a music video featuring none other than Beyonce and Sonam Kapoor!

That very same video for song 'Hymn for the weekend' is out now, and it looks luscious.

Taking its cue from everyday life in India the video take us through alleyways and up on rooftops, with both Beyonce and Sonam (and Chris Martin too!) in some pretty spectacular outfits. Also making an appearance is a vividly decorated taxi — the very same taxi that featured in last year's project Taxi Fabric.

A little bit from Pakistan: This taxi's upholstery and interior has been designed by Pakistani artist Samya Arif!
A little bit from Pakistan: This taxi's upholstery and interior has been designed by Pakistani artist Samya Arif!

'Rang' -- a tradition often used in pop culture to India-fy a setting -- features prominently in the video, with Martin goofing around with Indian children who play with the coloured powder.

As for Beyonce, she's decked out in a matha patti and a headdress and she's wearing an Abujani Sandeep Khosla outfit.

Sonam's bit - blink and you'll miss it!
Sonam's bit - blink and you'll miss it!

Sonam unfortunately only features for a hot second or two, and after all that hype we're disappointed.

While the video is a visual delight we can't help wondering if it wouldn't have been cooler if it hasn't pandered to a foreign audience's conception of what India may be -- a smokey, mystical place populated with yogis and gurus and temples, you know?

Ah well, even Coldplay can't get it right every time.

Comments

SK Jan 30, 2016 10:56am
No other country is as colourful as India!
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Indian Jan 30, 2016 10:58am
Dont like the song much.but video was beautiful..
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Ahmed Jan 30, 2016 11:34am
cultural appropriation to its height.
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