Who can understand the myriad hues of black better than a person who's lived in darkness since he was 6 months old? To introduce its All-Black fabric collection, Raymond came out with a film which is an intriguing yet poetic ode to black fabric. We realise towards the end of the film that the ode is delivered by a blind poet - it is his interpretation of black.

It has slick fashion colliding with a narrative that’s just as intriguing as it is lyrical. The narrative has a consistent progression, building human attributes into the colour black and leading up to a striking touch of authenticity in the end - The film features Jugpreet Bajwa, an Indo-Canadian singer and writer who’s visually impaired since the age of six months.

The film features blind Indo-Canadian poet and singer Jugpreet Bajwa. He's been blind since the age of six months, and is a singer and writer who became popular in India through a TV talent show. His positivity and perspective on blindness is refreshing and lyrical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZytQ94gavE&t=153s

Please do watch the casting video in the supporting materials.

This film is a blind person's interpretation of black. Authenticity was key to the casting and we didn't want an actor. We were looking for a blind protagonist who had a flair for performance and a deeper lyrical understanding of life. Quite a tough combination to find.

After countless casting sessions, we weren't happy with the shortlist and started looking out for possible talent outside of the usual casting lists, on the internet. Our search threw up a shy finalist from an Indian talent show on TV - Jugpreet Bajwa. As he was based in Vancouver, Canada, an audition was arranged over a video call and the test looked really promising.

We flew him in, to Mumbai, and over several sessions, got him to give the idea his own authentic touch. Although blind, Jugpreet has an innate sense of the camera, being exposed to TV shows and public performances.