Several members of the Hindi and Punjabi film industries have come out in support of legendary Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi after Uttarakhand cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal rebuked him on stage during a cultural evening and objected to his conduct. Actor Rajpal Yadav recently shared a video on Instagram in support of the singer, clarifying that he has been dealing with health issues.
Rajpal Yadav supports Daler Mehndi
In the video shared on Instagram, Rajpal speaks in Hindi. His remarks roughly translate to, “As a student of art, I want to share something with you. The way a respected minister said hurtful things and used indecent language against a legendary singer whose voice has touched people for decades, does not suit someone holding such a position.”
He added, “It seemed like you bought the art itself, which simply cannot be bought. Art is life, and you should respect life. And for your information, I will tell you that Daler Paaji does not drink alcohol. I have worked with him in Welcome To The Jungle. He is suffering from ill health, and people are trying to help him recover. The throne may come and go, but art will always hold a higher place, so you should respect it. God bless you.”
What is the controversy?
Daler Mehndi was scolded by Uttarakhand cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal on stage during the cultural evening at the Siddhpeeth Maa Kunjapuri Tourism and Development Fair in New Tehri, Uttarakhand, on Sunday night. The minister objected to the singer’s conduct on stage and said, “You cannot even speak, so how are you going to sing?” hinting that the singer was intoxicated.
Later, while speaking to ANI, Subodh revealed that Daler had been paid ₹35 lakh to perform at the Navratri event. “He is a big artist. If a big artist doesn’t do justice to their art… He seemed disoriented on stage and didn’t seem to be able to even keep standing. Besides this, he was only lip-syncing to his songs. I told him that he is a big artist and he should do justice to his art; he had been offered ₹35 lakh to come and perform, but he was not even singing. So, I expressed my resentment,” he said.
Following the incident, several celebrities, including Anupam Kher, Sona Mohapatra, Badshah, Mika Singh and others, have spoken in support of Daler and criticised the minister’s language towards the singer on stage.
