PANAJI
Goa’s assembly elections are going to be musical this time as most of the parties and individual candidates have opted for songs, jingles, bytes and ‘sawal-jawab’ modes of campaigning through social media platforms, thanks to the pandemic which has restricted large physical gatherings at corner meetings.
“It is a new trend to reach out to the voters through 90-second jingles which can be easily shared in three parts of 30 seconds each,” said Akshay Naik who has offered his studio services to all parties and around 25 candidates.
A professional, Akshay does dubbing, mastering, mixing, music production and music programming, and had initiated this service five years ago in the last election, which had clicked. Over the years his studio gained name and fame, so this time he is busy up to his neck.
“We have to act quickly and do our job in a limited frame of time, also keeping in mind that it should be appealing to the voters. I had to keep 8 tracks ready in one night, working from 9 pm to 4 am. We did the recording of all 8 songs during the day, and by evening the CD was ready,” shared Akshay who charges Rs 30,000 for each assignment. In the past few weeks, he provided half-a-dozen ‘sawal-jawabs’ and over two dozen jingles to different candidates and parties.
Akshay, who is a professional, looks at it as a business that is creative in nature. Pointing out that this time innovative forms have emerged apart from songs and jingles, he said, “This year candidates are opting for ‘sawal-jawab’ mode and bytes as well. In ‘sawal-jawab’, one candidate says something in a song, and within hours the opponent comes with his reply. We have to act swiftly and provide them with the recording as a thorough professional.”
It is to catch the attention of the younger generation who are active on social media, as much as to the elderly who are now well-versed with WhatApp and Instagram, thanks to the lockdown and pandemic.
John Aguiar, who has penned the jingle for the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), agrees that it is the new trend to reach out to the voters. “We are promoting ethical voting and aiming at enhancing the voting percentile. Due to the lockdowns, most of the election campaigning is online and people have responded well to it. We have released a Hindi jingle today (February 10) through the CEO office. The Konkani version of this jingle will be released tomorrow (February 11). People look out for innovation and variation, and we have to adapt to the digital era,” said Aguiar.
A new video song has been released by election icon Mukesh Ghatwal requesting the people of Goa to vote wisely and fearlessly.
“It is our right and duty to vote and we are trying to educate the people through music which appeals easily,” says Ghatwal, noted Goan singer, adding: “The music of this song is arranged in fusion style like Goan, Western and Indian, with a hip hop and disco touch genre.”
Ghatwal, who was the election icon last time too, says, “Each year we give one tag line as an icon, and for this year’s election my tag line is “ Experience the power of your vote.”
The studios across Goa are currently being booked for recordings and mixing mastering. Some of the singers compose the song too. The candidates furnish their requirements and background, and the lyrics are penned accordingly. Jingles are short, quick and easy to remember. As big meetings are not allowed this time, candidates can send their message across all sections of the society at one go through social media handles. Things go viral in seconds and the message travels fast, so more and more candidates are adopting this trend in the 2022 assembly elections.
