Asifa Lahore releases cover of Bollywood hit Tum Hi Ho, featuring an Asian gay wedding.
Drag artist Asifa Lahore is releasing her latest and most politically significant music cover to date, using her position as a global activist to promote gay marriage, family acceptance and to speak out against Section 377 in India.
Unlike her previous videos, Asifa’s latest offering has been funded completely by her fans and followers, in a bid to tackle the lack of South Asian LGBT role models.
After recording her version of Bollywood love song Tum Hi Ho, Asifa called for support in crowd funding a music video about acceptance and gay marriage. The campaign raised £3426 in under 30 days with the majority of donations coming from the South Asian LGBT community, highlighting the relevance and need for this exposure.
The Tum Hi Ho music video depicts a same sex couple attending a friend’s wedding with their parents, who are adjusting to this unconventional relationship.
Asifa says: “The song is a beautiful Bollywood ballad about unconditional love crossing boundaries and giving support, a message that anybody, gay or straight can relate to.”
The new music video sees Asifa step out of her trademark camp cheeky persona, adopting a more serious tone to relay the issues that many hold so dear.
She continued: ”My fans may be surprised by my serious role, but in order to do justice to the song, I decided to strip it back and deliver a performance that is raw and relatable”.
“The Tum Hi Ho video has been released to coincide with the first same sex marriages in the UK. But as we celebrate in the UK, the video highlights the ongoing plight in India, where Section 377 has been reinstated, banning gay relationships that were legalised only three years earlier.”
“My version of Tum Hi Ho is about equal love and is a counter action to the stigma, discrimination and anti-LGBT laws being instated in India, Russia, Uganda and Nigeria. The concept of marriage is embedded in South Asian culture and I want to show that South Asian LGBT communities are ready to embrace Gay Marriage in the UK.”
The song has received much acclaim and been played on the BBC Asian Network, where Asifa has spoken out about gay marriage, bullying and Section 377. “This is a topic that means a lot to so many people, within and outside of the LGBT community. I only hope I have done it justice and that we continue the conversation and the fight for equality, here, in India, Russia and wherever people are seen as unequal.”
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About Asifa
Asifa Lahore is the leading British Asian drag artist. As a hostess, performer and DJ, Asifa mixes together elements of her Asian background and British upbringing. She hosts and performs at two of London’s most successful LGBT World Music nights, Club Urban Desi and Disco Rani.
Asifa is a global pioneering figure and highly visible spokesperson for the gay community in the UK and South Asia. She uses social media to advocate LGBT activism and pushes boundaries through her music videos.
Asifa is also available for interview, to provide comment For more information contact Asifa on Facebook (link). Twitter or on (email and telephone)
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