Actor-Dancer Nora Fatehi, who featured in the song “Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke” from the movie “KD: The Devil” has reacted to the escalating row concerning its lyrics. She distanced herself from its Hindi version while addressing the criticism in a video statement. In a video statement issued on Instagram, Fatehi said that the video seen with the song was recorded for a Kannada song three years ago, and that the new Hindi song was dubbed using that video without her permission.
“I shot this song three years ago in Kannada. When I shot this song, I said yes to it because it was part of a big film and alongside Sanjay Dutt, who would say no to it. It was a remake of what I thought was Nayak Nahi Khalnayak Hoon Main,” Nora said, adding that she was mourning the loss of a dear friend, oblivious to the controversy, as she was in an area with extremely poor network coverage.
“When they translated this song, nothing seemed inappropriate or vulgar to me, but I do not understand Kannada, so I rely on whatever they said to me. Whatever they have done right now, creating a Hindi version, dubbing the voice in Hindi and having the inappropriate lyrics, I had no idea about it. They did not take any permission or approval from me,” she stated.
The actor added, “When I attended the launch, I saw the Kannada version, and I had a major issue because they used unflattering images in the lyrical video without my authorisation. I have to approve all my photos. They also used an AI photo of Sanjay Dutt and me. I am against AI and was already feeling very irritated at the event when I saw all that. I had to be respectful because of the presence of media, filmmakers and had to carry myself a certain way. However, internally I was very conflicted.”
“When I saw the Hindi version, I knew it would lead to issues. I told the director that this was not okay, and it was going to get backlash. I dissociated myself from the project. I did not promote it anywhere. I told the director my image and reputation are on the line,” she further conveyed.
Nora asserted that artists like her are not beneficiaries of nepotism, nor do they possess substantial backing or power. She voiced, “We are individuals who are supported by audience. We have little power and control. Thankfully, I have been lucky in Bollywood as a lot of people have respected my opinion, my creative call and they listened to me”.
“However, there are certain industries that do not listen or care about my opinion. This conversation can happen later. The backlash pushed them to remove the song, and I am grateful for that,” the former Big Boss contestant stated. She then asked the media, which has been persistently covering the issue, to ensure that those who create such content are held accountable, if it truly concerns them and they want to find a real solution to the problem.
“You start using their names and pictures when such controversies arise and bombard the same to the audience because this alone will instill a sense of fear, as well as evoke feelings of accountability and responsibility in them. It’s counterproductive to use only the artist’s name and image because we don’t have control of such scenarios,” Nora added, remarking that she is going to be more careful and stricter moving forward along with thanking people for the opposition to the song.
The song was removed from YouTube and other platforms after the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) submitted a legal notification about it. The issue intensified after advocate Vineet Jindal approached Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with a formal complaint.
