Veteran lyricist Sameer Anjaan Sarke Chunar, KD: The Devil has weighed in on the Kannada film song controversy and said it is unfair to hold the writer solely responsible for its content.“Log humesha writer ko gherne ki koshish karte hain, jabki sabse kam galti writer ki hoti hai. Sometimes a story warrants a ‘mirch masala’ type of song. Mirch masala is fine. Sarkai Lo Khatiya was that,” he told News18, referring to Raja Babu’s popular song.However, he added that there is a difference between suggestive content and intentional omission. “Lekin Sarkai Lo Khatiya Sanjay Dutt waala gaana nahi tha. Sometimes a normal song is deliberately made to sound foreign,” he added.
‘CBFC ne kaise pass kiya?’
Sameer also doubted it General Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and asked why the song was cleared in the first place.“Why was it not censored? If a common motorist is able to decipher how loud the song is, haven’t the CBFC people understood the double meaning? Legal road lene ka mauka hi kyun diya gaya usko?” he asked.He added that there is little point in banning content after it is released. “In the end they chose to ban the song, but you can’t completely erase something from the digital world,” he said.
‘Double standards kyu?’
The lyricist further criticized the wider industry and added that vulgarity is not limited to songs.“Films and some of the biggest shows have words twice in the name of dialogues. Isn’t that rude? Isn’t that wrong? There may be no regulation on the OTT space, but there is censorship on theatrical films,” he said.He asked: “So why are they still being abused? And conversations can have profanity, songs can even have profanity in them. What kind of double standard is this?”Taking it further, he added, “Agar log gaaliyaan sunne ke liye tayyaar hain, toh phir vulgar gaane bhi sunne do. Phir blue films banwa ke released kar do kuch dino ke baad. Woh bhi dekhke do logon ko.”
‘Ban karne ka kya fayda baad mein?’
Sameer attributed the situation to changing societal attitudes and said stricter controls are needed at the verification stage.“There should be strict restrictions on these things. First of all, songs like this should never be allowed to be released. Why ban and fight when it’s already been released?” he saidHe added, “Earlier, people knew their limits, but abhi agar saari duniya itni khul gayi hai, toh khulne do!” Sarke Chunar song, starring Nora Fatehiit was banned last month due to backlash against its sexually explicit lyrics. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) wrote to Prasoon Joshi, seeking an FIR against the makers.Nora failed to appear before the National Commission for Women (NCW) on April 6 and has been given a last chance to attend the hearing on April 27. In a video statement, he said that he did not approve of the Hindi version of the song and asked the audience not to hold him accountable. Meanwhile, lyricist Raqueeb Alam said he only translated the song, while director Prem penned the original Kannada lyrics.
