Last June, Russia’s Dima Bilan dropped his latest single, “Ne Molchi” (Don’t Be Silent). Back then we thought it was simply a case of a love story gone wrong, where problems were left unspoken and everything was ruined. However, with the recent release of the official music video, proceedings take on a completely different meaning. There’s now much less cliché and a lot more soul.
The video begins in a fairly standard fashion. Girl meets boy at a party, they fall in love, boy goes in for the kiss… girl pushes him away and does a runner! Ok, not so typical after all. But this isn’t a modern Cinderella story. The woman is in fact a single mother to a child with mental disabilities. She fears that others won’t accept herself and her daughter, so shuns them to avoid any hurt. However, the male protagonist refuses to let her get away that easy, opting instead to prove his love for the entire family unit.
Dima Bilan “Ne molchi” (Official Video)
The Eurovision 2008 winner, created the video with the help of Natalia Vodianova, a Russian model and founder of the Naked Heart Foundation charity for children with disabilities. Their aim was to highlight the difficulties involved in raising a mentally-handicapped child. From the challenges at home, to the ignorance of the general public. Yet, the overarching message is positive. Don’t be silent! These children and their families deserve to be happy, to love, and to be loved. The topic is currently extremely sensitive in Russia, so Dima’s involvement is a major step in the right direction.
Of course, such discrimination is not restricted to Russia. All we need do is look back at Finland’s Eurovision representatives in Vienna, PKN. The punk rock band, consisting of four men with developmental disabilities, received as much press attention for their conditions as for their music, if not more.
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Mario, Dima isn’t obnoxious, narcissistic and egomaniac. You can watch “The Voice Russia” to see that, but I doubt that you know Russian. Also, you can watch his interviews…
@mario have you even known him????? Have you ever met him and talk about him like that??? He is very humble and down to earth!! He doesn’t have to blind us he is already a person with a big heart! And he has proven it a lot of times to his fans and other people! You have to rid of “the truth” you think to know..
i loved natalia in esc 2009
The clip seems to be more like a self-prescribed praise to Natalia Vodianova’s foundation than any taboo breaking effort. It seems to focus more on the mother’s social stigmatization rather than with the child’s prosperity and well-being and I find it to be a deceptive and whitewashed gloss in the service of a feelgood campaign. Anyone who applies some critical thinking can read right through this. Had the clip not fallen into this ‘serenade’ honey trap, the song itself might have stood on its own merits.
bravo!! besides this is a beautiful meaningful song and Dima proves he is just getting better and better this clip just left me with tears in eyes and a pain in my heart… poor kids! Dima you are such an angel!