Former singer and BJP minister in the Centre’s Narendra Modi government, Babul Supriyo, has demanded the removal of Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s voice from a song in Bollywood film Welcome To New York. Supriyo said that not he could not understand the need to hire Pakistani singers when tensions at the border had escalated.
“If that’s true, I would request the makers of the film to remove Rahat’s voice and get someone else to dub it! I am also not sure why Atif Aslam got to sing “Dil diya gallan” when for sure our very own Arijit could have done a much better job. The FM stations played the song galore while news channels announced the name of our soldiers martyred by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists,” he was quoted by IANS.
Supriyo said that he did not have any problem with Atif or Rahat but with their ‘Pakistani nationality.’
He said, “Atif as an artist sounds great in ‘Dil diya gallan” and Rahat is a great singer too. But it’s important to clarify that our problem is not with the artists Atif or Rahat, but with their Pakistani nationality. It’s not a political stand but probably the families who have lost their sons, brothers, fathers would feel a lot better should the entire country show solidarity in any manner possible.”
The former singer claimed that the Bollywood was an integral part of ‘Indianism’ since it ‘represents India worldwide.’
Mmebers of the BJP and other right-wing Hindutva outfits had protested against the presence of Pakistani artists in Bollywood movies particularly when Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was released. Fawad Khan was part the star cast of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.