New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) Singers Mika Singh, Badshah and others have come out in defence of Daler Mehndi after the Punjabi singer’s performance at a cultural event in Uttarakhand ended up in a major controversy.
Mehndi, known for hits such as “Tunak Tunak Tun”, “Bolo Ta Ra”, “Ho Jayegi Balle Balle” and others, was performing at the historic ‘Siddhpeeth Maa Kunjapuri Tourism and Development Fair’ in Uttarakhand’s New Tehri on Sunday night when Cabinet minister and Narendra Nagar MLA Subodh Uniyal expressed his displeasure with the singer’s performance.
The minister went up to the stage, stopped the performance and alleged that the singer was inebriated. The allegations, however, could not be confirmed.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. In the video, Mehndi appeared lost as Uniyal shouted at him. “Why are you making a fool of the people? Are you drunk ? You can’t even speak, so how are you going to sing,” the minister is heard saying in the video.
Now Mehndi’s brother, singer Mika Singh and others have come out in Mehndi’s defence and criticised the public humiliation of a senior and well-regarded artist like him.
In a video post on Instagram on Tuesday, Mika said he will quit singing if anyone finds Mehndi, 59, drinking alcohol ever.
“I saw the news about my elder brother Daler Mehndi ji. You people have been spreading that: ‘Daler Mehndi was drunk while singing, he is unable to sing.’ First of all, I would like to ask you all- he has been a superstar for the last 30 years. Have you ever seen a glass of alcohol in his hand, or seen alcohol flowing freely at his birthday parties. I am talking about him, not me, you can say any nonsense about me, but not him,” Mika said.
“Jab aapne dekha hi nahi, toh aapne kaise keh diya unse khada nahi hua jaa raha. Hum artists kayin baar kisi ke kehne par haan kar dete hain ‘yes we will do the show.’ Even if we have a 104-degree fever, it doesn’t matter. If I am sick, and I have a show day after tomorrow, and I have already committed, then even if the budget is big or small, I will do it,” he added.
Mika said something similar must have happened with his brother.
“If he was not able to sing, he must have been unwell because he recently underwent a massive surgery. My brother had told me not talk about this, but being a brother and a fan, I have the right to tell you the truth.”
The singer also said that the way Mehndi was treated on stage was disappointing.
Comedian Kapil Sharma shared Mika’s post on Instagram and said Mehndi recently went through a serious surgery.
“@thedalermehndiofficial paji went through some serious surgery which people don’t know. All we need to do is to be kinder towards others,” he wrote.
“We don’t know what someone is going through. Thank you @mikasingh paji for the clarification,” he added.
Badshah also shared a note on his Instagram story and said, “publicly humiliating an artist is extremely disheartening”.
“Daler Mehndi is a legend. Period. You can express disappointment, but publicly humiliating an artist who has given so much to our music industry is extremely disheartening. Legends deserve dignity especially when they are vulnerable. Respect always,” he said.
Harshdeep Kaur also shared the post on her Instagram story and said Mehndi is a “legend”.
“Daler Mehndi is a Legend. It definitely seems like he was very unwell that day otherwise, when on stage… he not just sings… he roars,” she said. PTI ATR BK
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