SOTY 2: You Can Hate On The ‘Hook Up Song’ But It’s Not Sexist

It’s annoying, yes. But not sexist.

Is the Hook up song sexist?

(Photo: YuoTube/Zeemusic altered by The Quint)

Whether or not you have seen Student of The Year 2, you could not have escaped from Karan Johar’s latest idea to terrorise listeners with: the Hook-Up Song.

Most radios, music channels on television and clubs have been been playing it on repeat, non-stop. On YouTube, the original upload on Zee Music’s channel has crossed 48 million views already.

(GIF: Giphy)

It’s catchy, so you can get ‘hooked’ on it. And with Dharma Productions’ unparalleled promotion machinery to get hashtags trending, the song was on everyone’s timeline as soon as it launched on 31 April.

Hook up Song Draws Flak for Being Sexist

The song is franky quite annoying, and many took to Twitter to express exactly that – annoyance.

But there were some who called it out for being sexist.

Infact, someone has written a rousing, scathing open letter to Karan Johar for always portraying women in a sad light in his movies, with the ‘Hook Up’ song being the ultimate slap on feminism.

An excerpt from an open letter written to Karan Johar on ‘Hook Up’ song,.(Photo Courtesy: Instagram/rosetinted_glasses)

The blog has about 2,000 likes and sparked a fiery debate in its comment section. You can read it here.

While I agree with most of what the blog says about Karan Johar’s inability to cast women as more than sidekicks or eye candies, I beg to disagree that this song is sexist.

Yes, it is cringeworthy, laced with innuendos and direct sexual jibes. And of course, it is crammed with half-clad actors and dancers breaking a leg to over-the-top music. But, being sexually explicit is not sexist.

‘Sexism: Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex.’ 

While I understand the problem with reducing a powerful actor such as Alia Bhatt to a cameo in this song, her skimpy clothes and sexy moves don’t qualify as sexism in my dictionary. Or anybody’s, for that matter. There is another word for it. ‘Objectification’.

And guess who else is equally objectified in this song? Tiger Shroff.

Checkout them abs.(Photo Courtesy: Youtube/ZeeMusic)

Now coming to the lyrics. I took one for the entire humankind by putting it on replay, until I had decoded every bit of the lyrics. My conclusion? It is not sexist!

In fact, if anything, it promotes consensual sex.

‘Hook Up’ Song Promotes Consensual Sex?

Don’t believe it? I couldn’t either, until I looked up a ‘lyric video version of it.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/ZeeMusic altered by TheQuint)

After the initial pole dancing session, you’d be surprised to know that it’s the girl who offers her number in this song for a possible hook-up.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/ZeeMusic altered by The Quint)

In case the hook-up culture is not your cup of tea, this song will put you off for sure. Especially if you come from a school of thought that frowns upon women being vocal about their sexual desires.

But a girl showing interest first and giving verbal consent in a music video that speaks of sex is something so refreshing, I almost fell off the chair watching it.

The male version of the chorus/hook is exactly the same.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/ZeeMusic altered by TheQuint)

For the rest of the song, the girl and the boy sing of how they are popular, have lots of options to choose from and have multiple partners. This points out that they are both probably promiscuous, but that, again, is not sexist.

(Photo: YouTube/ZeeMusic altered by TheQuint)

Also, remember 101 of feminism? It’s about equality and respect of individual choices.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube/ZeeMusic altered by TheQuint)

So there you go. The Hook Up Song from Student of The Year 2 has given us many reasons to hate it: its annoyingly catchy beats, the dearth of creativity, and its cringeworthy lyrics.

It promotes a dating culture that may clash with your sense of morality, and it objectifies the actors in it. Heck, you can even complain about the number of times Alia Bhatt changes clothes in this song.

But, that doesn’t make it sexist. If anything, it is surprisingly candid.