Dancing inmates take on ‘Jai Ho’ By NRJ RAMOS June 5, 2009, 4:54pm They’re back.
The inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention Center (CPDRC), made famous by a video of them dancing to the tune of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” that was shown on YouTube in 2007, are wowing net denizens with another dance performance, this time to the Academy Award-winning hit, “Jai Ho.” That “Jai Ho” video, uploaded to YouTube by the prison’s chief Byron F. Garcia, has received at least 49,897 hits as of June 5. The inmate’s famed “Thriller” video has so far received 23,079,152 views. It was also cited by Time magazine as one of the most watchable Internet videos for 2007. The “Jai Ho” song version used in the inmates’ video is not by the Pussycat Dolls, but that of Indian singers Sukhwinder Singh and A.R. Rahman (also the song’s composer) which was played during the end credits of the film, “Slumdog Millionaire.” Garcia said he decided to use Rahman’s version in the hopes that “it won’t be deleted.” In the past, the inmates’ video for a performance of Soulja Boy’s “Crank That” was muted by YouTube administrators, following complaint from Warner Music Group, which owns the publishing right to the said song. The inmates’ “Crank That” video received at least 7,637,170 views. Many believe that the inmates’ “Jai Ho” video will approximate their past successes. Popular Hollywood blogger Perez Hilton had even urged followers of his Twitter account to “search and watch it.” Garcia said in previous interviews that he initiated the idea of dancing because it's “an enjoyable way of keeping the prisoners mentally and physically fit.” As a result of the prisoners' internet fame, the CPDRC is now among the busiest penal complex in the country. Many visitors—including foreign tourists—come over to view the performances held there, and to take pictures of the inmates and to buy souvenir prison shirts. The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center is a maximum-security reformatory. Its inmates have committed crimes ranging from petty shoplifting, to murder and rape. “Jai ho" is "Victory (Jai) Hooray (Ho)" in English. http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/205960/dancing-inmates-take-jai-ho -- regards, Vithur
