Was Arijit Singh singing Gerua at the Kolkata International Film Festival a mere coincidence?

When it comes to reading meanings into art we are next to none. Deepika Padukone wears an orange bikini in Pathaan and she gets mocked for being disrespectful. This is not the first time that Deepika has been in a controversy over a film. During the making of Padmaavat, they were after her, even threatening to cut off her nose.

Who knows what these nosy noisy naysayers are capable of! Given the volatile politics of bans and boycotts. I thought Arijit would be the last entertainer in India to take a stand, literally, on the same platform as Mamta Bannerjee. There was Shah Rukh on the dias and there was Mr Bachchan breaking his habitual diplomatic code to deliver a laden speech on freedom of expression.

This is when Arijit decided to break into a song about colouring his beloved in gerua shade. Gerua is a mixture of red and orange. And this was the chosen colour for Shah Rukh’s heroine Kajol in the song Gerua in Dilwale . Was this meant to be a comment on the universality of the colour palate? Was Arijit’s song meant to be just an innocently selected tribute to SRK’s charisma? Or was it something more than that?

LATEST:#ArijitSingh sings Gerua for the King of Romance! 🔥❤️#ShahRukhKhan #SRK #KIFF #KIFF2022 #Pathaan #BesharamRang pic.twitter.com/4KH23QGIBY

— Shah Rukh Khan Universe Fan Club (@SRKUniverse) December 15, 2022

A more vital question: what was an apolitical artiste like Arijit doing on that distinctly political stage? Not too long ago he had sworn never to take to a public platform after he got into an open verbal scuffle with Salman Khan at an awards function.

The incident happened at an awards function in 2014. This was Arijit’s first awards function. Arijit wasn’t prepared to go for it because he was editing a song for his mentor Pritam Chakraborty). But Mukesh Bhatt who was a jury member for that particular awards function insisted that he go for the function. And since the Bhatts’ Ashiqui 2 was actually the beginning of his career in Bollywood, Arijit couldn’t say no to them.

Arijit was working for Pritam in his casuals and had a flight to catch. So he went in casual chappals and clothes to the function. The singer didn’t realize a lot of people would feel he was insulting the function. As the awards functions went on for hours Arijit dozed off in his seat. So when his name was announced for the award someone had to wake him up.

When he got on stage Salman Khan who was hosting the show, asked if he had fallen asleep. Arijit retorted, ‘Aap logon ne sula diya (you all put me to sleep).’ When he came down from the stage he couldn’t find his seat. So he just started walking away. Salman saw that and commented, ‘Look at this guy. He has collected his award in chappals and now he’s walking away.’

That incident resulted in Arijit being banned from singing for Salman Khan. One thought that was the end of Arijit’s public appearances for anything but concerts. I guess Ms Mamta Bannerjee can be really persuasive if she wants to be. And besides, Shah Rukh always wins over Salman.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out.

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