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Rhythm for change

Sunita Rao

Time has a powerful influence on life. So feels Sunita Rao, and that’s why her new album is titled Waqt. “It’s a salute to life and time,” she says. Sunita tells you she has used her classical training for t his album, which has raga-based contemporary tunes with a very “folksy feel”. “There is, however, something else which is special about this album, and that is the video of her first song Sun Zara, dedicated to the girl child.

The video, shot by Jason West and directed by Rachel Reuben, depicts a young pregnant woman being pressurised to find out the sex of her baby. Suchitra Pillai portrays the woman. Sunita herself appears as a symbolic archangel figure, who switches off the ultra sound machine, giving the woman the right to choose life for her baby. The song, says Sunita, has a rhythmic, anthem-like feel to it, which will quickly catch on with the listeners, and therefore reach out to their hearts.

Being the official spokesperson of the Laadli campaign of UNFPA, Sunita says she feels deeply about women’s issues. Ask her about women who have inspired her and she says… Dr. Mithu Alur, founder of the Spastics Society of India, and goes on to M.S. Subbalakshmi, Oprah Winfrey, Asha Bhosle and Shabana Azmi.

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