MUMBAI: Amidst the controversy surrounding Sanjay Dutt and Nora Fatehi's recently released track "Sarke Chunar" from "KD – The Devil" lyricist Rakeeb Alam has clarified his stand on the matter during an exclusive conversation with IANS.
Rakeeb revealed that he actually did not write the lyrics for the "Sarke Chunar" track. He told IANS that he had already written 5 songs for "KD – The Devil" and when he was asked to write this song, he refused, telling director Prem that he would only write the lyrics according to his sensibilities.
However, the filmmaker wanted a word-by-word translation of the Kannada track. Rakeeb added that when he refused, the director requested him to at least help with the lyrics.
"One of the associates of the director sat with me, and we translated the Kannada song line by line," he said. The lyricist further shared that when he learned about the song facing such major backlash, he immediately called the director and asked him to remove the song from YouTube.
After removing the song, the director asked Rakeeb to write some fresh lyrics for the track, which he did. He added that the makers will soon share the new song, along with an apology note. Rakeeb said that he always makes it a point to write meaningful and clean lyrics.
He pointed out that at times, the writers and singers are forced by the director and producer to write such lyrics so the song goes viral on social media.
After "Sarke Chunar" faced a lot of backlash for its objectionable lyrics and suggestive choreography, the makers took down the song from YouTube. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice over the alleged use of objectionable and double-meaning lyrics in "Sarke Chunar".
Before this, advocate and social activist Vineet Jindal also filed a complaint with the cyber cell of the Delhi Police, asking for legal action against the makers of the track.