Watch Avanti Tackle Conservative Mindsets in Heartfelt ‘He Makes Me’ Video

With her previous single “The Long Way,” Mumbai/Boston pop artist Avanti Nagral (who goes by her first name) shared a personal story about her long distance relationship. Now, with her latest song “He Makes Me,” the singer and songwriter opens up with a coming-of-age story about how a girl conveys her ideas of love to a somewhat conservative father. 

The airy pop song produced by Harshit Jain is accompanied by a video directed by filmmaker Shaun Kolah, with brand event ace Harshad Chavan essaying the role of Avanti’s father. Told through the arch of a young girl who falls in love and is told off by her father for picking an American as her boyfriend, Avanti offers a slice of life perspective about navigating differences. Walking a balance between sharing personal experiences and also making it accessible, “He Makes Me” is structured as a letter to her father, who was yet to accept Avanti’s partner of four years. “It’s always hard navigating changing relationships with family when romance enters the picture, but even harder when it involves someone who is hard for them to initially accept. In terms of the clean and palatable form, it’s important for me for my songs to spark something, whether that is a feeling, emotion, or a conversation,” she says. 

With the video bringing forward elements of recorded video messages and internet calls, Avanti notes that they shot in January, with a lot of post-production and editing work taking longer due to the pandemic. “We wanted the vibe to be nostalgic and slice of life, and with our low budget had to figure out how to make magic happen in one set and one room. The casting process was also fascinating – for one, finding a Caucasian actor to play my partner, and of course, finding the girls to play my mini mes. I was pretty shocked at how similar we all looked,” the singer says. 

“He Makes Me” has its origins in a class assignment that Avanti had during her Harvard/Berklee College of Music dual degree program, with a piano-led acoustic demo. She’s now polished up the song with Jain but also releasing an acoustic version on November 18th. She adds that there’s more music and content lined up for several months, including Hindi songs and an English language EP. “…A few collaborations, and songs, stories and conversations around mental health, gender equity, societal norms, sexual health and much more,” she says.

Watch the video for “He Makes Me” below. Stream on more platforms here.