Air India has unveiled a new in-flight safety video that integrates safety instructions with mudras, or dance expressions, in eight diverse forms.
The video was developed in collaboration with poet and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, musician Shankar Mahadevan and film director Bharatbala, reported the Press Trust of India.
Each featured dance – bharatnatyam, bihu, kathak, kathakali, mohiniyattam, odissi, ghoomar and giddha – presents a specific safety instruction, providing vital information in an engaging and culturally immersive manner, the airline said in a release.
Highlights of the video include bharatnatyam becoming “the living canvas for seat belt and cabin baggage instructions”, with kathakali and mohiniyattam “eloquently expressing the prohibition of electronic gadgets and smoking on board” against a backdrop of the backwaters of Kerala.
Safety jacket instructions are provided by bihu dancers from Assam, while gidda dancers in the fields of Punjab draw attention to the importance of the onboard safety card.
The project took six months to complete, and involved creators visiting various locations throughout India.
Initially, the safety video will be accessible on Air India’s A350 aircraft.
According to the airline, the key objective is to engage passengers and showcase the diversity and depth of the Indian culture while delivering essential safety information.
Joshi said: “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 to use these dance forms to deliver the safety instructions for air travel.”
Air India, though, is not the first one to do so. Sister airline Vistara, soon to be merged with it, started the trend with a yoga-themed video that went on its in-flight aircraft screens in 2020.
Indo-Asian News Service
