Summary
- Air India’s new inflight safety video beautifully blends essential safety information with India’s rich cultural diversity.
- Indian classical dances like Bharatnatyam and Kathak are used to creatively demonstrate various safety instructions onboard.
- Titled ‘Safety Mudras,’ the video was conceptualized by Prasoon Joshi and showcases the storytelling ability of Indian dance forms.
On Friday, the 23rd, Air India released its new inflight safety video, designed to keep passengers engaged by showcasing many of India’s classical dances and art forms while providing essential safety information.
The interaction between safety and culture
Dances have served as a form of storytelling in the past, and these Indian classical dances showcase the same storytelling ability. The video features eight different Indian dance forms from across the country: Bharatnatyam, Bihu, Kathak, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Odissi, Ghoomar, and Giddha.
Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officier and Managing Director of Air India, spoke about the video:
“As a flagbearer of the country and a longstanding patron of Indian art and culture, Air India is delighted to present a work of art that is designed to deliver essential safety instructions while showcasing India’s rich cultural diversity to travelers around the world. Our guests will find this inflight safety video to be more immersive and informative, and a warm welcome to India from the moment they step onboard.”
Each dance is choreographed to a specific safety instruction. Bharatnatyam is used to depict the seatbelt safety and cabin baggage instructions. It is followed by Kathakali and Mohiniyattam, which express the prohibition of smoking and the use of electronic devices onboard.
Photo: Air India
Kathak shows passengers where to find emergency exits and how to use oxygen masks. Next, Bihu and Ghoomar dancers demonstrate the use of the safety jacket. Finally, Gidda dancers show passengers where they can find their safety cards.
About the video
The video is titled ‘Safety Mudras.’ Mudra is a Hindi word that translates to ‘gestures,’ while some mudras involve the entire body, they are primarily done with the hands and fingers. These hand gestures are one of the more prominent features in most Indian classical dances.
A team of talented and recognized individuals from India who are all heavyweights in their respective fields produced the video. The main credits of the video go to the following:
- Conceptualization: Prasoon Joshi of McCann Worldgroup India
- Music: Shankar Mahadevan
- Director: Bharatbala
- Director of Photography: Marc Koninckx
- Choreographer: Brinda Master
Photo: Air India
Prasoon Joshi, also a celebrated writer and lyricist, spoke about how he came up with the idea for the video:
“Tasked with the challenge to create a concept that keeps passengers engaged, embody Indian culture and elevate the Air India brand globally, we went to great lengths to poise the essential and the evocative. Indian classical dance forms have one unique dimension – storytelling. And that is what made me think of this idea of using these Indian dance forms to deliver the safety instructions for air travel. I am fortunate that this idea found resonance with the fantastic Air India team.“
Air India will first showcase the video on its Airbus A350 aircraft with high-definition in-flight entertainment systems. It will be progressively adopted fleetwide in the future.
