Wilbur Sargunaraj has become a YouTube sensation for exploring Canadian cultural stereotypes in his music video.
The snow-covered streets of chilly Ottawa got some Indian spice this winter.
Indian rockstar Wilbur Sargunaraj recorded The Canada Song music video during Winterlude, showcasing the city’s quirks, as well as the Rideau Canal.
The Bollywood-style tune, which can be viewed on Sargunaraj’s site, www.wilbur.asia, begins with the typical Canadian stereotype: “Snow. Blizzard. Minus 40.”
But whereas we Canadians moan about it, Sargunaraj puts it into song.
“The snow is amazing and winter has its own beauty. So much space and so quiet,” he says.
However, he did admit the cold was the harshest part of his first-time visit to Ottawa.
“The least favourite is of course the cold and I mean the minus-40 central Canada cold.”
An Ottawa Tourism staff member is a Sargunaraj fan and when he found out the singer was coming to Canada, he invited him to visit Ottawa and skate – try to skate – on the Rideau Canal, says Jantine Van Kregten, a spokesperson for Ottawa Tourism.
The singer also saw Parliament Hill, played hockey, danced with ice sculptures, saw First Nations performances, and of course enjoyed an Ottawa culinary classic.
“How can one not write a song about a food item called a Beavertail?” he says.
He did all these activities and filmed the entire music video in one day, but he wrote some of the lyrics in Toronto while he was organizing his Simple Superstar CD launch, which will be distributed exclusively in India by Virgin EMI.
So far, the video has garnered over 57,000 YouTube hits.
Its popularity is “all in the rhythm of the song. It makes you want to dance.”
“I also think it’s popular because it was shot in (high definition),” he jokes.
“My first HD video. I am a simple person used to (standard definition).”
But there’s more to his music than catchy tunes and funny lyrics.
Sargunaraj wants his beats to increase people’s “CQ,” or cultural intelligence.
He has created songs about different countries and cultures and shares them with the world, hoping to create better understanding between peoples and nations.
Canada’s ability to do this was the most remarkable thing he noticed while he was in Ottawa for the video shoot.
“My favourite thing about Canada is the peace that the people can enjoy here and the potential to be an even better cultural community,” he says.
The superstar was born and raised in India and now splits his time between Madurai, India and Toronto. Sargunaraj recently returned to India to launch the Simple Superstar world tour beginning in Chennai, India. He’s also shooting a surprise music video while he’s home.