I had no idea of Yo Yo Honey Singh’s existence till a few months ago, in mid-2012. I heard that ‘Kolaveri’ composer Anirudh was roping him for song in his new film, Ethir Neechal.
I eventually reviewed that song too, for my other blog, and actually loved that song (and soundtrack) that had Anirudh, Honey Singh and Hip Hop Aadhi singing lyricist Vaali’s verses.
Then, I stumbled on a song titled, ‘Satan’, the video of which was endorsed (sort of!) in the description section by none other than Anurag Kashyap.
And then, that article on Hardnewsmedia.
I retweeted that too, even though I had no knowledge of the kind of singer Honey Singh is, or if he had really sung this song in question. The broad line of thought is this – he sings filthy songs and hence incites rape and other dirty thoughts amongst his fan base (predominantly Punjabi alpha male?). I should have known better, but retweeted it more from the surprise around Anurag Kashyap’s association than about Honey Singh himself.
That article went places… enough to get the man’s new year’s eve show cancelled where the organizers accepted that much of the social media flak was one of the reasons for this move.
As I had mentioned earlier, I have no intention to get into Honey Singh’s repertoire, particularly after all this ‘awareness’ of the kind of singer he is. Generally, he seems to have modeled himself against the numerous ‘parental advisory’ labelled hip-hop and rap singers from the West.
If porn can co-exist with mainstream commercial cinema, so can Honey Singh, with mainstream, moderate music, pop or film. I’d assume that we, the people, have a choice, to indulge in the kind of entertainment (I use this word loosely here) we think we need/like.
But, the point of this post is not all this. It is rather different.
One, the man is supposedly on Twitter (with 2 handles to boot, if you go by the more popular one captured below or the one mentioned in his official website). And he finds it perfectly normal to not utter a single word against the raging controversy surrounding him for days! He is even seen tweeting in support of the Delhi protests, while the controversy surrounding his lyrics is on!!
His publicist has a meek response to the show cancellation: ‘These are not Honey Singh’s songs. He has never ever composed and written such songs. This is an attempt to malign him by people who are jealous of him‘.
It is rather strange to see the man make zero attempts to clear his name in a controversy of this level (started online and has now firmly established in mainstream media) despite being in social media and having a voice (figuratively – he has a voice as a singer, anyway).
I’d not even venture into giving him advice – that he should come clean, apologize and sing Gandhian songs in the future. Nope – he has every right to sing crap, as much as we people have every right to continue criticizing that he sings… crap. He’d perhaps get the message eventually that the crap has to stop some day.
I’d also not venture into the details of who sang those incredibly rowdy songs under fire – some say it is the Pakistani band Zeest, but Zeest has explained in a blog post that they are not the ones behind these songs. For all you know, these songs may be the work of some obscure college band which merely gained notoriety on lewd lyrics and made it viral online using one of these singer/band’s name. But, let me not get into the history of what is already sheer nonsense.
The second point is rather poignant.
There is an ongoing joke on politicians who want short skirts, jeans and certain ‘revealing’ clothing for women banned. Much of the social media chatter about these politicians is that this is an absurd ask. Most have rightly pointed out that the ban should be on the men who act on such clothing, not on the clothing itself.
If that line of thought is a given, and we have all evolved enough into ignoring such comments by politicians as pointless blabber, let me offer you this: shouldn’t we be targeting men who act on Honey Singh’s lyrics and not Honey Singh himself? For context – remember Satanic Verses by Rushdie?
Bollywood item songs have lewd lyrics too. Have we asked for a ban on them yet? Ideally, we shouldn’t – because, we ban them by implication, not by mere provocation. That provocation part is not a universal given – it ‘may’ provoke is the thought.
Asking for Honey Singh’s ban is no different from banning tinted glass in vehicles or political cartoons. We have become experts in attacking incicental elements in the story and missing the root cause consistently. That root cause is nothing but fear of the law… a law that is enforced swiftly and definitely, enough to have hordes of men dance and jive to Yo Yo Honey Singh’s filthy lyrics joyfully… zip up and return home peacefully.
If ban is the way out, there is a treasure trove out there waiting for a ban. So, it is obvious that the ban route is highly subjective, selective and mighty pointless. It is heartening to see social media being used to make a difference offline due to collective efforts of a lot of people, but unfortunately, we seem to be barking up the wrong tree.