Geetha Govindam makers withdraw Vijay Deverakonda's song after facing objection from 'religious factions'

Telugu cinema star Vijay Deverakonda finds himself in a controversy regarding the song ‘What The F’ from his film Geetha Govindam. He decided to withdraw the song from YouTube as he feels there’s no need for the song to be played if it is offending anyone. [caption id=“attachment_4713341” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from Geetha Govindam/Image from YouTube.[/caption] The song is a rugged raunchy mix of rap and raga, and caught attention with its suggestive lyrics. “I don’t think we meant to hurt anyone’s sentiments. It was just meant to be a fun song, and not meant to make any statement. The song is not vital to the film. We could change the lyrics.” “When I was targeted for swearing in Arjun Reddy and when people said the kisses were obscene, I fought back because I thought they were vital to the film. But now since a few women’s organisations and some religious factions have objected (to the song), I’d be glad to remove it.” Vijay says Geetha Govindam is entirely different from Arjun Reddy. “It’s a fun film meant to be watched by the entire family. After my adult film Arjun Reddy, ‘Geetha Govindam’ is my full-on Disney-Barjatya wholesome entertainer. “As for the song, I didn’t think we were hurting any sentiments. If people haven’t digested it, we had no qualms taking it down. We will replace it with another song.” Having said this and done the needful, Vijay feels curbing the song writer’s exuberance is not an ideal creative situation. “It is a bit convenient. But right now that’s how things are. And both my producers and I felt it is better not to hurt anyone’s sentiments right now. Sadly this was my first attempt at singing on screen, and undertaken because my production house and my director were insistent. I just decided to do it for kicks. If I am a singer at all, this is the best I could do. I know I have a limited range. And unless I take singing lessons, I doubt I can do better than this.” He says he is a “little put off and may not sing again”. “But as I said, we’re only glad to pull down the song if that is what would make the protesters happy.”