VML India’s Cannes 2025 entry explores gender and tradition through the lens of Tutari

As Indian agencies continue to make a mark at Cannes with work rooted in cultural authenticity, VML’s entry for 2025 builds on the momentum. The agency, which won two Lions last year for Sing To Remember, returns with another story from the Coke Studio universe, one that turns a 700-year-old tradition on its head.

VML’s entry, ‘The Girl Who Played the Tutari’, explores how an instrument once reserved for men becomes a tool for change.

Coke Studio Bharat - The Girl Who Played the Tutari

In 13th-century India, the Tutari, a conch-like wind instrument symbolised war and royalty but traditions forbade women from playing. Coke Studio Bharat challenged this age-old belief. 

A nationwide search began to find a woman who could defy this tradition, until a fearless musician, Nilaksha Borhade, was discovered. The music video ‘Bayo’ featured Nilaksha, as she became the first woman to play the Tutari. This campaign focused on breaking deep-rooted gender stereotypes and the idea resonated far and wide, carrying a powerful message of equality. 

The entry builds on the cultural momentum Coke Studio has been fostering over the years, blending music with message, tradition with transformation. 

Reflecting on the platform’s growing impact and the campaign’s reception so far, Mukund Olety, CCO, VML, said, “Coke Studio is a platform that has created a mark in culture. There are stories, songs and collaborations that are already a winner in the market. Last year, we won 2 Lions for ‘Sing to Remember’ and this year we hope to win more. The Girl who played the Tutari is already getting a lot of traction in shows across. We hope the sound of the Tutari echoes loud in the halls of the Palais as well.”

From an instrument that once excluded women to one that now empowers them, Tutari's journey mirrors the message at the heart of the campaign, ‘power, for everyone’.