When British singer Dido decided to release her third album Safe Trip Home, she wanted to experiment a little. She moved away from familiar London and her new mansion in LA to sing about the many homes in the flat world — in Mumbai illuminated by neon lights, in a dump site in Rio, on the rugged coast of New Zealand’s South Island, in a picturesque fishing village in Portugal and even in a boxing ring in Thailand. The Grammy-nominated singer went for 11 directors from across the globe to create videos for each of her songs. “I love seeing how someone else might interpret a song that is so specific and personal to me. It’s an experiment I’ve been really enjoying,” she says.

The Mumbai video, directed by Siddharth Sikand, plays out as Dido sings Let’s do the things we normally do. “I wanted to show Mumbai in different shades and the best way to do it was through the eyes of a woman cabdriver,” says the 35-year-old Sikand, who has been making promos such as the Lola Kutty and Boney M(enon) video for Channel V. Impressed by Shahana Goswami’s character Debbie in Rock On!!!, he got her to drive around Mumbai for Dido.

The video starts with Goswami beginning her day with a cup of tea and driving through Mumbai, taking her passengers — an old lady, a working woman, a drunkard and even a lusty couple — to their destination and revealing a slice of their lives on the way. Goswami, who has enjoyed Dido’s songs such as the Grammy-nominated White flag, however, was not without some reservations. “I didn’t know how to drive at all,” she exclaims. “So playing the part of a cab driver was absolute irony. Finally, I decided to learn driving in three days.” Goswami practised driving the same cab that she is seen steering from Bandra to Marine Drive in the video. Shot over three days, the video, Goswami says, is one of a kind. “My character has a peaceful existence in spite of the ups and downs that come with various passengers. I loved that there was no dialogue,” says the 20-something actor, whom Dido calls “stunning”.