Mumbai, Aug 11 (IANS): Actor Ali Fazal has lent his voice to an animated video that highlights the need for kindness in the present times.

The video titled "Tasveer" urges people to be empathetic to the less privileged. As the Covid-19 pandemic has turned into a severe humanitarian crisis in India, "Tasveer" weaves into its writing a sense of shame and the need to apologise to those who have suffered.

The couplet written by Ashutosh Pathak has been converted into an animated video, with music by Neel Adhikari. It is directed and created by Ashutosh, an animator.

"It's a truth poignantly penned by Ashutosh, that I found myself lucky enough to be able to lend my voice to. The idea was to keep the tonality not too much in the face because the visuals were going to be strong as they are," said Ali.

"The words had to seamlessly slip into the skin of the reader and yet be strong enough to be heard. The best thing about art is it gets to place mirrors in the face of society and even ask some relevant questions. I don't know what our better versions look like, but we've all seen our worst as humanity this year," he added.

Ashutosh calls "Tasveer" a portrait of us -- the privileged middle class.

"Covid-19 has laid bare the class divide of societies. I remember burning with shame and helplessness as we watched the workers walk home from the comfort of our living rooms. I found that Ali shared this feeling, and together we found a way to voice it through this poem. 'Tasveer' is our apology, our promise to be kinder to people around us in the post-Covid world," he added.