Singer Udit Narayan is facing massive backlash online after a video of him kissing female fans during his live concert went viral. The clip shows the veteran singer performing Tip Tip Barsa Paani. After taking photos, the singer kissed them on the lips, sparking outrage on social media.
Alongside this controversy, another clip from The Kapil Sharma Show (now called The Great Indian Kapil Show) has gone viral, in which Udit makes an offhand comment about Archana Puran Singh. In the clip, Udit, while talking with fellow singers Kumar Sanu and Anuradha Paudwal, refers to Archana as “moti” (fat). He shared that he admires her but finds the situation tricky now because of her appearance, joking that it is precisely why Kumar Sanu is fond of her.
Further in the clip, Udit continues to joke about Kumar Sanu‘s alleged relationship with Alka Yagnik, stating that Kumar Sanu often calls her, though she is actually in love with him instead. The episode, which originally aired in 2021, also features Udit’s father making several controversial remarks about Archana Puran Singh and Alka Yagnik.
At one point, Kumar Sanu even compares Udit Narayan to the controversial figure Asaram Bapu, after the latter made a playful remark about how Sanu copies his actions, even wanting the same driver.
Udit responded to this teasing by saying, “Sala meri biwi pe iski nazar na chali jaaye,” to which Kumar Sanu quickly retorted, “Bohot bada soch hai, Asharam Bapu ka bhi yahi soch hai.”
The video didn’t sit well with the social media users who called out Udit Narayan for his “crass” comments.
A user wrote, “Udit ji, these things don’t suit you.” Another one commented, “And then he has the guts to call himself a “decent” man.” While an Internet user penned, “Disgusting and utterly shameful,” “This is just sad,” wrote another one.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, the singer responded to the kissing incident.
He said, “Fans itne deewane hote hain na. Hum log aise nahi hain, hum decent log gain (Fans are crazy. We are not like this, we are decent people). Some people encourage this and show their love through this. Udaake kya karna hai ab iss cheez ko (What is the point of making a big deal out of 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 (All this is fans’ craze, it shouldn’t be given so much attention).”
Udit Narayan is a renowned singer who has sung in multiple languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Sindhi, Odia, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Malayalam and Assamese. Over the years, he has earned acclaim for his songs in iconic films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Rangeela, Pukar, Dhadkan, Lagaan, Devdas, Veer-Zaara, and Student of the Year and has won four National Film Awards.
