If you’re looking to know what’s trending in the world around you, or for that matter, closer home, in your city, you’ve got to look no further than the internet, Facebook in particular. For a few weeks now, you would have noticed your timeline bearing posts from friends of yours who were listening to American singer and producer Pharrell William’s ‘Happy’ from Despicable Me 2 soundtrack album which also serves as the lead single from Williams’ second studio album, G I R L. And over the last week or so, the Bangalore version of it went viral, creating a whole new happy wave and vibe in the online world.
The Oscar-nominated song turned into a global phenomenon with people from different cities around the globe putting their own moves to the number. New York, Budapest, London, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna and Moscow were among the forerunners and now Bangalore has joined the ‘Happy’ brigade.
Agratha Dinakaran, an entrepreneur and blogger says: “Bangalore is a fun city to be in, and the people are generally nice, so I think the ‘Happy’ video goes really well with the city.”
Nissy Thomas, a collegian, says: “2014 started on quite a happy note, at least online with the 100happydays photo challenge that I’m still faithfully part of. And then came this upbeat video. I think the song suits a city like ours because we’re a happy lot for reasons that range from summer showers in parts of the city to the extended deadline pubs now enjoy. I’ve so many friends from other cities/countries who think the best thing about Bangalore, apart from its superb weather, is its cheerful and congenial citizens.”
“Bangalore is a happy city on a daily basis. For example, how many of us have looked out the window and said ‘what beautiful weather...so right for a picnic’. Now we may not actually go for a picnic but just the thought of going for one uplifts your mood! The video makes you want to do the same thing,” says Amit Punjabi, motivational speaker and founder of Sankalp Academy.
To coincide with the release of the single, >24hoursofhappy.com was launched, featuring a visual presentation of ‘Happy’ promoted as being “the world's first 24 hour music video”. The video comprises the four-minute song repeated with various people dancing around Los Angeles and miming along. The artiste himself appears 24 times on the hour and there are a number of celebrity cameos.
And now that it’s come to Bangalore, would a video like this do some good for the city’s image? According to Agratha, “We're not a boring IT city, but the people in the video show what a melting pot of cultures Bangalore is, and simply how happy-go-lucky we are. I love the video! I actually wished I were a part of it.”
For the sceptics who believe the song will have its fair share of fame and run its course like a common cold, Amit reasons: “If Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ could make students burn schools and a song like ‘Hakuna Matata’ can make you forget all your worries, the ‘Happy’ song is bound to make you smile!”
So ‘Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof…Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth…Clap along if you know what happiness is to you!’
