Controversy goes hand in hand with the showbiz industry and it is not surprising to find a known celebrity under scrutiny at any given time. Whether it is a misinterpretation of words, an ambiguous action, a careless tweet or a hand of support – there is always the risk of receiving polarising reactions from the nation.
Acclaimed playback singer Sonu Nigam is fresh in the controversy oven due to his recent support towards AAP leader Kumar Vishwas. Media house Zee recently aired an alleged video that shows the AAP leader along with a voice that says ‘latak gaya’; referring to the suicide of Gajendra Singh at the recently-held farmer’s rally in Delhi. Nigam extended an arm to the poet-turned-politician by tweeting:
Soon after, Zee Music banned the singer from all its future projects. This could be harmful for the popular singer as the channel is a part of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, a major media producer and aggregator of Hindi programming. This ban could land producers in a dilemma to hire Nigam for playback singing if they plan to have Zee buy the marketing rights of their films’ music. Twitter followers have strongly supported Sonu Nigam in this regard making the hashtag #IStandWithSonuNigam a trending topic. He tweeted back, thanking his fans for their support and speaking about the ban’s baseless grounds.
Where does the belief of India’s democracy and freedom of speech lie here – that’s definitely some food for thought.
