Sonu Nigam leaves India’s first transgender band in tears

Noted playback singer Sonu Nigam today launched Y-Films’ transgender music group 6-Pack Band.

Reportedly, Happy hain Hum is just the first offering among a total of six tracks and their respective music videos that have been composed by music composer Shameer Tandon.

6 Pack Band, who sing in Hinglish – a patois of Hindi and English, is comprised of six transgender women from Mumbai and were selected from 200 auditionees.

At the press conference, we were all encouraged to join hands and “clap” in their signature style, which is a traditional identification mark associated with the eunuch community.

“It used to sadden me very much, that is there no way we can’t give them (Transgenders) a respectable job, proper business…”

Sonu added that he felt bad about the fact that transgenders are stereotyped in the society.

“When I was a child, I used to think what if I was born in a planet where people like me were in minority and others were majority…” What would happen to me and my family because of that?

We’ve seen this theme reflect across popular culture across the globe – be it with Laverne Cox picking up multiple awards for “Orange in the New Black” and being on the cover of Time magazine, or Transparent the series cleaning out the Golden Globes & Emmys. Why do we see them on the streets and at marriages? “It used to pain me a lot”, he told reporters”, Sonu told reporters here.

The Indian Supreme Court recognized transgender people as a “third gender” and an economically and socially backward class in April 2014. “YRF brought the members together”.

Renditions of Pharrel William’s blockbuster track Happy, have no doubt been done to death, but this particular one is sure to bring a smile to your face.