Hip Hop in the unlikeliest of settings: Meet The Dharavi Dream Project which has youngsters from Asia’s largest slum use art to fight stigma

Dharavi made headlines last year after it managed to beat coronavirus despite being densely populated and lacking basic amenities. That is when The Dharavi Dream Project teamed up with volunteer group EkDesh to release a rap video Kar Dikhaya to talk about the efforts behind the area's success.

Formed in 2016 by the late Samir Bangara and his mentee Dolly Rateshwar, The Dharavi Dream Project was actualized with the help of AR Rahman and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur to hone and promote the local talent.

Ever since, the academy has been conducting classes in breakdancing, beatboxing, and rapping. Currently, The Dharavi Dream Project hosts 100 students who attend online sessions and 300 others who pop in occasionally.

Group classes are conducted by coach Vikram Godakiya

Through their online classes, The Project has reached over 800 students from Dharavi, UP, Canada, Nepal and Bangladesh. Incidentally, the idea for The Project came about when Bangara and Rateshwar chanced upon some youth beeboying on the streets of Dharavi.