Honey Singh is on a mission to ‘clean up’ his image, and his seriousness rivals that of rich people who ‘volunteer’ to tidy up Versova beach in Mumbai for a ‘better world’. Both share a common thread —their privilege and opportunism are as transparent as cellophane.
Singh, after a nine-year hiatus, staged his ‘comeback’ in 2023. Except, it wasn’t so much a comeback as it was a washout. This year, he’s been giving interviews left, right, and centre, talking about his physical and mental health journey post-2014. The mea culpa or confessional mode is a tried and tested PR strategy for public figures, and Singh is milking it for all it’s worth.
His recent album Glory came out on 26 August, and he has been on a promotional streak ever since. The 15 million views on his song Bonita are a far cry from his earlier hits, like the 2014 Chaar Botal Vodka (over 244 million views), or the 2013 Blue Eyes (over 660 million views).
While the rapper, singer and music producer opening up about his mental health struggles is laudable, it doesn’t erase the fact that he built his career on misogyny and extreme objectification of women. Pick any Honey Singh song—lyrics or video—and his USP is clear as day.
He was competing only against himself—how low could his next song go in terms of objectification?
Now, he looks back with a sobered-down tone, both literally and metaphorically. It’s the classic ‘bad boy grows a conscience’ narrative. Remember Sanjay Dutt’s image makeover through the movie Sanju (2013)? Everyone from the media to a breakup was blamed for his deeply problematic behaviour. But apparently, he too has now ‘grown up’.
Singh’s giving us glimpses of his struggles with faith, lifestyle, and music. And, keeping in line with the script, he blames the media for his image. Oh, and did we mention he has an upcoming documentary on Netflix?
Audiences love to lap up a bad-boy-becomes-good story. The modern dating world is full of such men, and we all know how swimmingly that’s been working out.
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The mental health card
These interviews are consistent in one aspect—trauma justifying bad behaviour. No, Mr Yo Yo, mental health isn’t a free pass for being a jerk.
Shalini, Singh’s wife, approached Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court in 2021, filing a case of domestic violence against the singer. Honey, ever the gentleman, wrote a social media post calling the allegations “odious,” “false,” and “malicious.” The allegations were later withdrawn after the parties reached a settlement. Because nothing says “I’m innocent” like settling out of court, right?
In an interview with Mashable India, Singh said he started getting better after his separation. To The Lallantop interviewer, he even had the audacity to ask, “If there was domestic violence, can there be settlement?” To which the interviewer responded that settlements are indeed made even after violence. Singh, suddenly remembering his legal agreement to not to dish dirt on his ex in public, wisely clammed up.
Honey Singh’s self-introspection is about as deep as a puddle. In an interview with The Times of India, he claimed his songs didn’t objectify women. “I am not objectifying women, aise thodi na hota hai (it’s not like that),” said Singh, presumably with a straight face.
He then went on a bizarre rant, comparing his lyrics to those of the legendary Gulzar: Gulzar sahab wrote, ‘Beedi jalaile jigar se piya, jigar ma badi aag hai. Jigar kahan hota hai aurat ka (where is a woman’s heart)? This is misogynistic for me. ‘Zuban pe laga namak ishq ka‘— why is he talking about the tongue of a woman?”
Apparently, in his journey of self-healing, Singh forgot two crucial aspects: context and language. The Gulzar songs from Omkara (2006) he criticised are written from a woman’s perspective. Even Amar Singh Chamkila’s songs had bawdy lyrics, but the intent was to write about society without the ‘finesse’ that was the prerogative of the upper classes and castes. Singh clearly missed that bit.
In a self-healing journey, being as blind as a bat in broad daylight to one’s flaws is not the best look. But hey, at least Honey Singh is consistent in his inconsistency.
(Views are personal)