Arijit Singh addresses Gerua row for the 1st time, says 'so much controversy over a colour': 'If Swami Vivekananda had worn white…'

Arijit Singh reacted to the row that had erupted after reports had surfaced in December last year that police denied permission for his February concert in Kolkata as he sang a line from the Gerua song ‘rang de tu mohe gerua’ at Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2022.

 

New Delhi, Feb 20: Popular singer Arijit Singh broke his silence over the "gerua" controversy for the first time. Reports had surfaced in December last year that police denied permission for his February concert in Kolkata, which the BJP had claimed was due to Arjit singing a line from the Gerua song ‘rang de tu mohe gerua’ at Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2022.

 

At the recently held concert in Kolkata, Arijit addressed the row over ‘rang de tu mohe gerua’ for the first time and said, “So much controversy over a colour, it is strange. If Swami ji wore white, would there be controversy over white too?”

 

At Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) 2022 in December, Arjit Singh took the stage and CM Mamata Banerjee and the audience demanded that he sings a song. He obliged with the song Gerua, as it was from Shah Rukh Khan’s film Dilwale and the star was present on stage. He sang a line from the song ‘rang de tu mohe gerua’. The event had been attended by Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Prosenjit, Rani Mukerji, Shatabdi Roy, Arjit Singh, Babul Supriyo and other stars.

 

Days later, reports claimed that Arijit Singh’s concert, which was scheduled to be held on February 18, had been cancelled. A mud-singing fest erupted between the opposition BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), as the BJP accused Mamata Banerjee of being offended by Arijit’s choice of song. Gerua, as she has always expressed her anger about the ‘saffronisation’ of Indian politics.