‘Curious Kumar’ Deepavali ad shines on social media

 

“Questions are like the lights, if properly answered they will illuminate our lives and open up our minds.” With this theme, a video greeting for the festival of lights, Deepavali, scripted and produced by a local private university, has touched the hearts of Malaysians to the core.

As of now, Curious Kumar, the three-minute clip produced by Taylors College in Petaling Jaya, has garnered more than 742,000 views with 11,000 positive comments across its social platforms on its daring move to raise questions about Malaysia’s own brand of racism, which many of us often tend to ignore.

Instead of the run of the mill advertisement showing Malaysians of all races attending open houses with put-on smiles and fake laughter which often do not depict the actual situation on the ground, these young producers and scripters decided to take the risk of going for the jugular.

They have successfully used this auspicious occasion to highlight the hidden agony the Indian community often goes through in their home called Malaysia.

The message is indeed powerful, with the essence being the derogatory stereotype often attached to the community, mainly because of their generally dark complexion.

Incidentally, this thought provoking ad was released last Friday, exactly on Budget 2021 day. The budget caused an uproar among the Indian community as only RM100 million was allocated for the Indians while the allocation for the Bumiputeras ran into the billions.

This social media clip features a young dark-skinned Indian boy called Kumar innocently asking many questions to his parents as they make preparations for Deepavali. What he asks are indeed troubling but pertinent questions.

Among his questions, which shock and at times annoy his parents, are why Deepavali is a one-day holiday compared with two days for Hari Raya and Chinese New Year, the absence of Indian faces in advertisements, signs for room-to-let specifying “no Indians”, and certain children being threatened that “apuneneh” (referred to a dark Indian man) will catch them.

I’d be lying if I say the questions asked were an exaggeration because most Malaysian Indians, at some point or the other, would have asked themselves or their parents about these biases practised in our society.

According to the Taylor’s team, the decision was not made overnight as they were aware it might ruffle some feathers.

“After several challenging conversations, the team decided that we should take more risks by touching on real human and cultural insights which can be controversial,” said Taylor’s University group chief marketing officer Ben Foo.

“We hope that the video will not only unveil painful and hidden truths in the community but also help the audience to realise that the status quo should not stop at just questions, but serve as an impetus for improvement and change for the better.”

On why the clip focused on questions, he said if they wanted to educate the next generation to believe that the truth would set them free, the only way was to practice and ensure our freedom to ask questions.

“Questions that seek not to tear others down but to illuminate the hidden truths so that others can see light and hope.”

Jeremy Teo, Taylor’s creative content head said the “Black Lives Matter” movement in the US had a bearing when they planned the ad. “The thrust of the questions which may not have been answered are ripples that we create to eventually reach out to all Malaysians to understand and change. The only way for a society to evolve is to change,” he said.

Eleven-year-old Bavishan Nair Padmanaban, who played Kumar says he felt it was his actual self in the role and that he thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I felt that it was meant for me as I always ask such questions to my parents and brothers. They get annoyed but I don’t stop. My role has made me think harder about our plight and to work harder to be recognised,” said the pupil of SK Seksyen 2 in Bandar Kinrara

Some had asked why there were no answers to any of Kumar’s questions in the whole episode. It’s pretty obvious I would say, for the answers to all these questions lie in the hearts of each and every Malaysian responsible for this situation.

While some of us have been guilty of being a racist at one time or another, certain communities take some real hard knocks because of their colour, poor socio-economic background, racial profiling and policies that do not favour them.

Unfortunately, Indians largely fall into this category.

So let us as Malaysians first provide some honest answers to all the Curious Kumars out there – that everyone is equal and that this is our only place, one we call home.

The film ends on a positive note with Kumar’s sister urging him to “never lose the light in you”.

As we light up our paths on this auspicious day, Happy Deepavali and may the light shine on the darkness of racism and religious bigotry that is tearing the nation apart. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.