When singer Udit Narayan found himself at the centre of a controversy after kissing a fan during a live performance last year, singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya was among those who stood by him. Looking back at the incident, Abhijeet revealed why he chose to defend his longtime friend publicly and shared the advice he gave Udit as the controversy made headlines.
Event Context
Recently, Abhijeet joined Subhojit Ghosh on his YouTube channel, where he looked at the kiss row. Abhijeet revealed that he advised Udit not to deny the incident, which sparked widespread criticism last year. Instead, he urged the singer to acknowledge what had happened, accept it, and move on.
He said, “I stood by Udit even after he had given up. I told him, ‘Just say yes, I kissed because someone kissed me. Say it openly—that yes, I’ll do it too. If my fans come and kiss or hug me, I’ll do that too.’ I even spoke in his support. I told him, ‘You’re Udit Narayan. If people won’t kiss you, then who will they kiss? If 50 people kiss you and you kiss one of them back, what’s the big deal? Just say, ‘Yes, I did.'”
Player Focus
Last year, Udit Narayan found himself at the center of a controversy following a viral clip from one of his concerts. The internet erupted in outrage after the 69-year-old singer was seen returning kisses from fans during his performance of Tip Tip Barsa Paani, from 1994 film Mohra. At one point, he allegedly even kissed a female fan on the lips as she was about to kiss him on the cheek.
At that time, Udit defended his actions in an interview with Hindustan Times, saying, “Fans itne deewane hote hain na. Hum log aise nahi hain, hum decent log hain. (Fans are crazy. We aren’t like that. We are decent). Some people encourage this and show their love through this. There are so many people in the crowd, and we have bodyguards present too. But fans think they are getting a chance to meet, so someone extends their hands for a handshake, some kiss the hands… yeh sab deewangi hoti hai. Uspe itna dhyaan nahi dena chahiye (This is fans’ craze. We shouldn’t pay so much attention to this).”
Udit has sung in many languages including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Sindhi, Odia, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Malayalam and Assamese. He has also won four National Film Awards. Udit is known for his songs in films such as Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Rangeela, Pukar, Dhadkan, Lagaan, Devdas, Veer-Zaara and Student of the Year, among others.
Team Analysis
Talking about his friendships within the industry, Abhijeet shared, “When I consider someone a friend, I stand by them wholeheartedly, and it has always been one-sided. No one speaks up for me; I’m always the one speaking up for them.”
