Mann ke Manjeeré was an album, music video, and ultimately and entire campaign created by human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 organization Breakthrough

Breakthrough (human rights)

Breakthrough is a global not-for-profit organization that uses pop culture to promote human rights. Breakthrough's stated mission is to "empower individuals and communities to stand for universal human rights by using multimedia tools that transform hearts and minds." They promote a message of...

 which promoted women's rights. Breakthrough was launched with Mann ke Manjeeré: An Album of Women's Dreams, which won the 2001 National Screen Award in India for best music video. The full campaign, focused on promoting women's rights and bringing attention to domestic violence, is based on the music video and album of the same name. The aesthetically and emotionally powerful music video was shot by Sujit Sircar and Gary and tells the true story of Shameem Pathan, who courageously broke out of her abusive marriage and became a truck driver to support herself and her child away from her violent husband. The album features five songs by Shubha Mudgal

Shubha Mudgal

Shubha Mudgal is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and popular Indian Pop music.She has been awarded the 1996 National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction for 'Amrit Beej', the 1998 Gold Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music,...

, composed by Shantanu Moitra

Shantanu Moitra

Shantanu Moitra is an Indian music director who has composed music for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his score in films Parineeta , Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi , "Lage Raho Munnabhai" and 3 Idiots , and private albums, Mann ke Manjeere and Ab ke Saawan sung by Shubha Mudgal.-Early...

, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi

Prasoon Joshi

Prasoon Joshi is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter and advertising copywriter. A prolific Writer-Poet whose first book of 3 books "Main aur Woh" was published when he was 17 years of age, an internationally acclaimed Indian advertising professional, Bollywood film songwriter, as well as a...

. The record was released through Virgin

Virgin Records

Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...

 records. Mita Vashisht

Mita Vashisht

Mita Vashisht is an Indian television, film and theatre actress, who graduated from National School of Drama , New Delhi in 1987.-Early life:...

 stars in the music video, which was viewed by over 20 million people worldwide. The Hindu

The Hindu

The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...

described the impact of Mann ke Manjeeré saying, "Mann ke Manjeeré has made a breakthrough by claiming public space for women's aspirations."

Awards and Recognition

Best Indipop Music Video—Screen Awards (Mann Ke Manjeere), 2001

Best Cinematography—U Judge It! Film Festival (Mann Ke Manjeere), 2003

Link TV Award for Best Music Video (Mann ke Manjeere and Babul), 2005