Casteless Collective becomes Genderless Collective for a day

After a power-packed debut earlier this month, The Casteless Collective, a band that brings together genres of rap, rock, and gaana by musicians hailing from varied backgrounds, will deliver a special performance under the name Genderless Collective, on Sunday.

The 19-member band, The Casteless Collective (TCC), an initiative of director Pa Ranjith, will perform at the screening of the documentary Ladies and Gentlewomen. Music producer Tenma, who has formed the band with Pa Ranjith says, “Apart from the main idea to promote independent music and musicians no matter where they come from, we want to make use of music as a tool to drive change. So, we want to address issues that plague our society, issues that are often brushed under the carpet. This is an attempt in that regard.”

Ladies and Gentlewomen, Malini Jeevarathnam’s pioneering documentary on lesbian love in Tamil Nadu, has won numerous awards at film festivals both in India and at international events. Malini, who is also an LGBT activist, says, “TCC is performing a gaana song called Kalakalappa Oru Kalagam which explains the problems faced by the LGBT community. Instead of just confining themselves to caste issues, they have come forward to support our documentary with their brand of music. They are calling themselves Genderless Collective to blur the lines that hold no good in today’s world. We hope to collaborate with them in the future as well.”

Incidentally, it was director Pa Ranjith who produced this documentary in an attempt to support the community. She says, “While issues about gay men have seen representation in popular culture, when it comes to lesbians, all you get to see is very inaccurate portrayal in pornography. This will change only when we mainstream our attempts. When someone like Pa Ranjith puts their weight behind our work, it will definitely reach a wider audience.” The documentary will be premiered at Prasad lab on January 21.