Within three weeks of its release on YouTube, the music video by Hiphop Tamizha on Jallikattu has gone viral on social media, touching over 22,00,000 views and shares. The 12-minute video is a mix of catchy dialogues, swift camera moves and a racy script. Shot in the villages around Madurai, Tiruppur and Coimbatore, the video retains a rustic look and puts across a strong message against the ban on Jallikattu. The video starts by explaining how banning Jallikattu will erase the identity of Tamils. From there, the short film pans into the deeper issues of losing native breeds and the socio-cultural significance of bulls in rural Tamil Nadu.
“During last Pongal, I felt strongly about the cause and went around Alanganallur, Avaniyapuram and Palamedu in Madurai District, Kangayam in Tiruppur and some villages around Coimbatore, looking for people who own bulls. That’s when we understood the ground reality, that Jallikattu is actually much more than just a sport. We met over 50 families of bull owners and they all share a unique bond with the animals. At houses in Alanganallur, we were touched to see samadhis erected in the backyards in remembrance of champion bulls,” says Devesh Jeyachandran, who has directed the video. “I belong to Madurai and relate with the cause. We spoke to activists campaigning for Jallikattu to understand why the sport shouldn’t be banned. They elucidated the speciality of each of the native breeds of bulls and how stopping Jallikattu will lead to the eradication of the entire species.”
The bulls are regarded as family members and given utmost care and respect. The village youth regard the animals as their brothers and spend nearly Rs.500 on a daily basis for fodder and grooming, adds Devesh. “The format of the film is not that of a documentary, but we have added some drama to the script. For instance, the short fight sequence interspersed with images of the Jallikattu bulls.” The entire process of conceptualisation and shoot took three months and the video was released on YouTube on June 25.
HipHop Tamizha Aadhi has scored the music for the video apart from acting in it as the main character. “My roots are in independent music and I have made many music videos for social causes before. Jallikattu is one issue I identify myself with. I was born and raised in a village near Coimbatore and I have grown with bulls and cows. I wanted this video to be the voice of the farmers,” says Aadhi, who has made music for movies like Thani Oruvan, Aambala and Aranmanai. “Earlier, I have done a video called ‘Vadi pulla vadi…’ on casteism and honour killing and one on India Against Corruption, as a tribute to Anna Hazare.”
“I don’t promote Jallikattu as a cultural symbol or tradition. It’s a breeding science that was formulated ages ago in order to create a strong gene pool. It’s not a show of valour or bull fighting as the media projects it, but an art of embracing the bull,” says Aadhi.
“Through Jallikattu, the best of bulls is made the ‘Kovil maadu’, used for breeding, thus passing on the best of genes to the next generation. Unfortunately, it’s being compared to bull fight in Spain in which the bulls are killed. It’s heartening to see more youth understanding the core of the issue and supporting Jallikattu. I am now directing a feature film involving the same team who worked on the Jallikattu video.”
