NEW DELHI: A Bollywood-style music video featuring United Nations Equality Champion Celina Jaitly which promotes equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community received more than a million views online.
The two-and-a-half minute video, titled ‘welcome’ has become one of UN’s most watched videos. Jaitly was named UN Equality Champion by Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay last year for her support for LGBT rights.
The video tells the story of a young man who brings his boyfriend home to meet his family for the first time. Charles Radcliff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) tweeted that the video had become one of the “UN’s most watched ever”.
Jaitly, who made her music debut in the video, also took to Twitter to express her gratitude for the response. “As my song/video for @UN @free_equal #thewelcome crosses one million views on @YouTube I feel so blessed in the holy month of Ramadan! Thank you all,” she said.
The 32-year-old also expressed the hope that the video would spread the broader message of the need to change not just laws but also attitudes and to challenge stereotypes about the LGBT community in light of the threats and discrimination the community faced in India and across the world, the Press Trust of India reported.
Jaitly, a mother of two-year old twins, has said that she has received threats for supporting gays and lesbians but will continue to work towards achieving equality for the community.
Born to a Punjabi father and an Afghan mother, Jaitly was crowned Femina Miss India Universe in 2001. Her breakthrough film role was in the 2003 thriller Janasheen. She rose to fame in the late 2000s following roles in the films Silsiilay (2005), No Entry (2005), Tom, Dick, and Harry (2006) and Golmaal Returns (2008).
She is married to Austrian businessman Peter Haag and the couple has two-year-old twin boys Winston and Viraaj. Jaitly divides her time Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore.
