Tinder, Ritviz and Jugaad Motion Pictures create ‘Raahi', a music video for the pride of LGBTQIA+ identity

Tinder collaborated with electronic music producer Ritviz and production house Jugaad Motion Pictures (best known for their work on Prateek Kuhad’s Cold/Mess music video and Ritviz’s Liggi) to create ‘Raahi’, a Pride anthem and music video to celebrate LGBTQIA+ identities and Pride at Home.

The music video features real people across the gender, sexuality, and gender expression spectrum, exploring the assertion of identity and the freedom to live authentically. As we know, the world’s largest and most important Pride events have been postponed, and everything looks and feels different this year. In the absence of any IRL Pride meetups, Tinder is committed to rallying social solidarity from home. Everyone deserves to be seen for who they are, meet someone new, and do so as their authentic selves.

Taru Kapoor, GM, India-Tinder and Match Group, said, “We are continuously making changes and improvements to help all members feel recognised and welcomed on Tinder, and this includes using our platform to tell real stories from members. When we think of what Pride means to us, it comes down to identity, and the freedom to live and love how you want. Everyone’s identity is valid, legitimate, and equal, and this drives all our decisions at Tinder. This video features real community members and displays how human connections are enduring and transcend community, physical, geographical, gender, and sexuality barriers. While the current circumstance is unprecedented, it is hard to ignore just how ‘all in it together’ we really are, and our members are showing us how having to stay at home doesn’t mean disconnecting.”

Music producer Ritviz on creating Raahi as a celebration of Pride From Home, commented, “For me, this was a no brainer. When Tinder and Jugaad approached us with the idea for the film, I couldn't say no. I'm humbled to be part of this celebration, and it feels amazing to be able to contribute in my own way.”

Director Dargai, Producer Dheer, and the team at Jugaad Motion Pictures, added, “During a time like this when self-love, self-esteem and confidence levels are running at an all-time low, this film was exceptionally important to us. It was our way of standing up, supporting, and being allies to the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride to us means to love and support each other. It’s a celebration as well as a form of resistance. We needed to represent the community in its most real form and tell real-life stories. Each member on our team operated from a space of deep empathy of the general human condition. We felt truly inspired by all the diverse sexual orientations and genders that the community encourages.

“Going into this project, we knew it was going to be an immense challenge. To find real people from the community, to arrange cinematographers in their city, to conduct a virtual pan-India production from our homes! But fortunately, we were blessed with a super understanding and accommodating cast, who made daunting tasks a lot easier. Eventually, we fell in love with each of the cast members and felt a deep connection with each of them, even though we haven’t met any of them in person yet.”