Chennai-born rapper Sofia Ashraf has pulled a Nicki Minaj-inspired stunt to bring more attention to Kodaikanal’s burgeoning environmental issues, allegedly caused by Hindustan Unilever’s stint in the hill station.
On 30 June, NGO Jhatkaa released a video on Youtube that is set to the tune of Nicky Minaj’s popular hit ‘Anaconda’ titled ‘Kodaikanal Won’t’ as a petition against Unilever. In the video Ashraf directly tackles the Anglo-Dutch company for its failure in cleaning up the toxic mercury contamination, and the damage caused to workers who have been affected by the company’s (now-defunct) thermometre factory.
Most recently, on Monday, afflicted ex-workers also staged a protest at the company’s headquarters in Andheri, Mumbai, when the Annual General Meeting with shareholders was held. This was an attempt to convince the shareholders to make the company address its liabilities (the death toll stands at 45 workers of the Unilever factory besides 12 of their children).
Starting off with ‘Kodaikanal won’t step down until you make amends now’, Ashraf raps for just over two minutes about how the company hides behind its fake PSAs and Pepsodent smiles, punning on the various brands such as Lifebuoy and Fair and Lovely in her lyrics.
Here’s a look at the video:
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