Honey Singh, a singer-rapper, remarked on the continuing controversy around the Pathaan song Besharam Rang, saying that the situation is now ‘worse’ than when they were ‘much more rational’.
Yo Yo Honey Singh, a singer-rapper, has responded to the recent controversy over the song Besharam Rang, saying that people nowadays are far too sensitive to everything. Since the release of Besharam Rang, the first official tune from Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan, the music video has received a lot of controversy for depicting Deepika Padukone in a saffron bikini. Many lawmakers have called the song vulgar, and the internet has even hinted at a communal angle in the clothes of the two principal characters.
Freedom came much sooner. People were less educated, but they were lot more rational. They were wiser intellectually and would view things as amusement. They wouldn’t take anything seriously… ‘Rukmani Rukmani shaadi ke baad kya kya hua’ (What occurred after marriage, Rukmani?)… It was accepted. I grew up listening to it, but when I started writing songs like that, people started complaining. People have grown far too sensitive, making the situation even worse. I’m not sure why. “It’s simply entertainment,” the rapper said to PTI, citing A. R. Rahman’s song Rukmani Rukmani from the 1992 film Roja.
Honey Singh, who earlier worked with Shah Rukh and Deepika on the song Lungi Dance from the 2013 film Chennai Express, also stated, “People were very clever at that time. They understood shayari and never thought of it as nasty. People nowadays will sit on their heads and ask, ‘What’s going on?’ if they hear tunes like ‘Choli ke peeche kya hai.'”
Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone star in Besharam Rang. The beach party song features Deepika in a variety of outfits, but what has piqued the protestors’ interest is one specific bikini, which they claim is saffron and hence offends their religious sensitivities. The film’s team has not directly commented, despite Shah Rukh’s subtle warning on social media.
Previously, Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra had protested to Besharam Rang, claiming that the film would not be distributed in the state until it was modified. The hashtag ‘Boycott Pathaan’ has been trending on the microblogging site Twitter since then. Pathaan is scheduled to hit theatres on January 25, 2023.
Honey Singh on the Besharam Rang scandal: ‘People have grown far too sensitive…’
