The minor girl is under Papon’s tutelage on a reality show, the father says his affection was part of guru-shishya tradition.
New Delhi: Singer-composer Papon has courted controversy after a Supreme Court lawyer filed a complaint with the child rights commission, accusing him of “inappropriately kissing” one of the minor contestants of a music reality show that he has been judging.
A video showing Papon playing Holi with contestants was posted on the singer’s Facebook page on 20 February.
In the video that is yet to be taken down, Papon smears gulaal (colour) on the girl’s face and pulls her in for a kiss. It is evident that he was not aware that the live video was still going on.
“Band karo ye, Facebook live chal raha hai kya abhi bhi (Shut this down. Is the Facebook live still going on?)” he says.
https://twitter.com/ruchikokcha/status/966919705066799104
Seemingly disturbed by this video, Supreme Court lawyer Runa Bhayan filed a complaint Thursday against Papon with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
“It was appalling to see how Papon was abusing the minor child in the video. I have filed a complaint today with the commission…for taking cognisance of this serious issue,” Bhuyan said in a Facebook post.
In response, Papon’s manager Partha Gogoi issued a statement in Guwahati, saying the act was not meant to hurt anyone’s sentiments, and as they did not see it as wrong in any manner, they saw no reason to pull down the video from the official Facebook page of Papon.
Meanwhile, the father of the minor girl dismissed the allegations being levelled against Papon.
“Papon sir is a mentor and a father figure to my daughter and has always encouraged her to pursue her dreams. He doesn’t differentiate amongst the children who are here and gives them equal guidance on pursuing their dreams.What you saw in the video is not intentional. It was just a moment of affection that is being portrayed otherwise. I would request and urge the media to not pursue this further,” he said.
Papon issued a statement on his Twitter handle as well.
— papon angaraag (@paponmusic) February 23, 2018
Papon has a huge fan base not only in his home state Assam, but also across cities in India. He is instrumental in promoting a genre called ‘Folktronica’ — a fusion of folk music and electronica and is associated with a music band, ‘East India Company’.
Papon is the stage name of Angaraag Mahanta. He comes from an illustrious family of Assam. His late father, Khagen Mahanta, was considered a doyen of Assamese folk music, especially Bihu songs. His mother Archana Mahanta, also an accomplished singer, has lent her voice to many popular compositions.
Papon is known for his background scores in many Bollywood movies including Barfi, Befikre, Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Hamari Adhuri Kahani.