Lady Gaga is the Queen of pop music as it stands and has slowly but surely become a political and cultural activist as well with her unique take on societal norms, ideals and her unique performance art pieces that act as social commentaries. Lady Gaga is huge and she is everywhere, and in order to continue to dominate the world, Gaga has planned to target South Asians through a strategic plan that will help bring her closer to India and to the world of Bollywood. India and Bollywood films are considered hot property at the moment. The 2011 IIFA Awards will be held in Toronto, Canada this year and artists such as Akon and film stars such as Denise Richards and Sylvester Stallone have all participated in Bollywood projects within recent years.
Gaga states, “The reason I’m going to India now is because I can…I didn’t have the money or the resources before to travel and bring all of my things with me and reach an entire new territory of fans.” Lady Gaga is only the latest international star who is planning to reach out to Indian audiences. It has been reported that Gaga has reached out to DesiHits, a very popular entertainment marketing company that produces and markets content to South Asian audiences.
The co-founder of DesiHits, Anjula Acharia-Bath makes a very interesting yet valid point when she states that Bollywood is a territory that must be explored and navigated in order to reach the masses in India. Unlike the North American music industries, the music industry in India is driven mainly by the film industry, Bollywood being the genre that has driven many unknown artists into national singing icons and Bollywood films attracting artists such as Akon to be apart of Bollywood projects. Thus, Bollywood films are the way in which artists such as Lady Gaga can penetrate pop culture.
Last month, DesiHits released two official remixes of ‘Born This Way’ one mixed by Salim-Sulaiman, known for their work on films such as Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aaja Nachle and the other remix completed by a Canadian based production team called Culture Shock. Just recently, DesiHits released a unique remix on ‘Judas’ created by Panjabi MC and one by Salim-Sulaiman. These remixes are just the beginning of Lady Gaga’s venture into the land of song and dance. It’s about time she reached out to her Little Monsters in India.
Salim Sulaiman – Born This Way Remix – Desi Hits
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Salim and Sulaiman Judas Remix – Desi Hits
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