It’s no secret that Sonu Nigam has always considered Mohammad Rafi as his idol and music fans up and down the country have detected a tinge of the legend’s voice in him.
So, it’s not surprising why he will feel incensed if he came across a perceived insult being meted out to his idol, particularly by members of the film fraternity.
Himself an acclaimed singer, Sonu tweeted on Monday, “Is it true that there is a a dialogue in Ai dil hai mushkil that says Mohd Rafi gaate kum rote zyaada thhey?”
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/793058523366260736
Pat came the confirmation after many of his followers on the microblogging site said it was indeed the case. Even though, there were plenty who felt that the line on Rafi wasn’t insulting to the legend.
Not that way Sonu.It's in context and least hurtful.Rafi fan myself and I remember raising an eyebrow but smiling at the end.
— Rohini Ramnathan (@rotalks) October 31, 2016
There is a context. No reason to outrage over it. As an artist, please let other artists be.
— Pradeep Menon (@pradflix) October 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/cool_nikkki/status/793061870597005314
Few hours later, Sonu took to Twitter to declare that the civility and respect for seniors in India had become a thing of the past.
He wrote, “RIP अदब . We Indians, no longer need you darling.”
https://twitter.com/sonunigam/status/793109487791984642
Sonu wasn’t the only singer to be hurt by alleged insult to Rafi. Former Bollywood singer Mohammad Aziz too reacted angrily on learning about the line on Rafi in ADHM. Aziz, according to reports, has slammed Karan Johar choosing to include the controversial line in the film.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, Rafi’s son, Shahid said, “This dialogue doesn’t take the movie forward or backwards and if that is the case, what was the need to include this dialogue? And while writing this dialogue, didn’t they realise who they were talking about? Mohammed Rafi is a versatile legendary singer and I am not saying this just because he is my father. Even after 36 years of his passing away, my father’s fan following is far more than many other singers of our industry. My father was an institution.
“He was a very down-to-earth person. He was like a saint. People still worship him. Nobody in the industry says anything bad about my father. This dialogue is an insult. It is stupid. The man who wrote this dialogue is stupid. My father sang for Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet Singh. From love songs to qawwali, he has sung it all. It is ridiculous to say whatever has been said in the film.”