Kamal Ghorui
In March, when the song ‘Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke’ from the Kannada pan-India film ‘KD: The Devil’ had released, it created a major stir. Featuring Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt, the track drew sharp criticism for its suggestive lyrics and provocative choreography. The backlash soon escalated, prompting the National Commission for Women (NCW) to summon the actors and others involved over allegations of obscenity and vulgarity. On Monday, April 27, Sanjay Dutt appeared before the commission and issued an apology.The actor was seen arriving at the NCW office in the afternoon, accompanied by his lawyer. According to ANI, his advocate stated, “Sanjay Dutt today appeared before the National Commission for Women and out of his utmost regard for women and for the commission, he said that he was not aware of the wordings but still without prejudice, he has offered an apology and he has also offered voluntarily to sponsor education for 50 children from the tribal community. He said when it was recorded, it was recorded in some other language.”Earlier, the NCW had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue. In an official statement, the body said the song appeared to be “sexually suggestive, objectionable, and violative of provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, IT Act, and POCSO Act.” It added, “The National Commission for Women, in exercise of its powers under the NCW Act, 1990, has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports alleging obscenity and vulgarity in the song ‘Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke’.”The controversial track is part of KD: The Devil, directed by Prem. While Nora Fatehi features prominently in the song, Sanjay Dutt also makes an appearance. The lyrics, particularly in the opening verse, employ double entendre, initially suggesting explicit sexual imagery before later shifting context to describe a drink and bottle. However, both the lyrics and choreography were widely criticised for being overly suggestive and objectifying.Amid the growing backlash, the lyrical video of the song has been taken down from YouTube. It had earlier been released in multiple languages—Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada—by Anand Audio, the film’s official music partner.Responding to the controversy, Nora Fatehi had earlier addressed the issue on Instagram, sharing a video message. In her caption, she wrote, “I would hate for anyone to think I endorse this. Thank you for the backlash because of this pressure; the filmmakers have luckily taken it down.”The song continues to draw criticism from social media users as well as political voices, keeping the controversy alive.
