Monica Dogra's much awaited and somewhat controversial music video, SHIVER from her latest album SPIT is out. This latest work ignites fire around a very important conversation.
The concept revolves around a girl who goes to audition at an old theater full of symbolism and archetypal characters depicting an array of feminine expressions. The video examines survival, admonishment, and whether or not these protected characters truly want to be other'ed simply because they are different.
The central character has been essayed by Reshma Gajjar, a renowned dancer of Indian origin in the west who has worked with likes of Madonna and Ricky Martin. The team behind the video boasts of several talented individuals including the director - Navzar Eranee who's been an assistant director on films like Guru, the choreographer - Jasmine Albuquerque Croissant who happens to be a profound international dancer having been a part of Ryan Heffington's (Sia/ FKA Twigs choreographer) dance troupe Fingered, Shanker Raman, the director of photography for the video is a National Award winning Cinematographer.
Creative direction and executive production has been done by Monica herself who has roped in 11 influencers from India who she has personally cast because of their true life representation of what the video is aiming to communicate. The names featured in the video include the likes of Adhuna Akhtar, Rabanne Jamsandekar, Deepti Datt, Navya Singh, Chandni Sareen, Elton Fernandez, Justine Mellocrasto, Rufy Ghazi, Saket Sharma, Tania Aggarwal and Lara Saluja.
Speaking on the release, Monica said, "Shiver is my largest collaborative effort to date and I have to say I truly understand the value of community and artistic camaraderie as a result of finally making this work....I roped in artists from all over the world from choreographers and dancers from California and a cast that exemplifies true influence in the realm of making space for a multitude of feminine expressions. My hope is that this art will quietly enter people hearts and minds, starting very necessary conversation. But for me, the gift was just creating it. That was just pure magic".
Shiver encourages a healthy conversation around various social justice compartments like homosexuality, feminism, equality, survival, and embodiment.