''Dekh Le'' is a
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
dealing with the subject of men ogling women in India. It was produced by
film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies.
...
students at
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
-based
Whistling Woods International Institute of Film, Fashion & Media and released on 16 December 2013, the first anniversary of the
2012 Delhi gang rape
The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South West Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 22-year ...
. It garnered one million hits in its first week on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Background
On 16 December 2012, a
horrific gang-rape of an Indian girl took place in a crowded moving bus in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, the national capital of India. The event was followed by various
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
s in which masses took to the streets in various Indian states, demanding the government to form stricter laws regarding women's public safety. The media industry voiced its concern in its own way. One such way was the women-empowerment
ad campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...
'Dekh Le', launched one year after the incident.
Content
The 90 second video shows four different scenarios where women are made to feel uneasy and uncomfortable by male gaze in everyday life situations. It shows women at a red light, in a bus, on a train and at a cafe, being subjected to
leering
Looking is the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something, for the purpose of obtaining information, and possibly to convey Interest (emotion), interest or another sentiment. A large number of Troponymy, troponyms ...
male eyes. In order to retaliate, these women show mirrors to the men; on seeing how bad they look while staring at a girl, realize their mistake and are forced to take their eyes off. The video concludes with the four empowered women going about their business, free from prying eyes.
Song
The
jingle
A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...
was sung by
Sona Mohapatra
Sona Mohapatra (born 17 June 1976) is an Indian singer, music composer and lyricist. In addition to her own material, Mohapatra has recorded remixes of songs by David Bowie, with " Let's Dance", and INXS, with "Afterglow", with the latter provin ...
and composed by Indian composer
Ram Sampath
Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for Mumbai-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' ( ...
. The
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
line "Dekh Le Tu Dekhta Hua Kaisa Dikhta Hai" translates as "Look how you look while you are looking at me."
Reception
The advert received a lot of media coverage, both on online news websites and blogs, as well as in physical newspapers and magazines.
Rheana Murray from
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
described the video: "Video from Indian arts group shows leering men what they look like."
Deepa Kunapuli from Upworthy wrote "It's meant to start a conversation about what empowerment for women looks like."
Emma Cueto from Bustle writes, "The video is great, both in its very realistic – and uncomfortable – portrayal of men staring at young women, and also in the message it is trying to send. Hopefully it has a big impact, and not just in India."
Aditi Shome Ray from DNA described the ad: "This ad on women empowerment will make men cast their eyes down in shame."
IBNLive described the ad as " The commercial sends out a strong message to show how ridiculous men look like while ogling at women."
As of 8 December 2018, the video stands at more than 6.1 million views on YouTube and has also hit the theatre screens of India.
References
External links
*{{YouTube, SDYFqQZEdRA
Indian advertising slogans
2013 neologisms
2013 films
Feminism in India
Indian feminist films
Films about social issues in India
Indian short films
Public service announcements
Sexual harassment in India
Viral videos