Ishaan Khatter and Ananya Panday’s ‘Khaali Peeli’ is off to a rocky start. After garnering 1.7 million dislikes on its official teaser amid anti-nepotism wave, it’s first song ‘Beyonce Sharma Jayegi’ has been flagged down on social media for being racist. With memes apologising to Beyonce and slamming ‘Khaali Peeli’ makers for green-lighting such a song, ‘Beyonce Sharma Jayegi’ has undoubtedly emerged as one of the most controversial songs of this year.
Filmmaker Maqbool Khan on Monday told a news portal, “First, without any hesitation
or excuses we want to apologise to anyone offended. We assure you that the lyric in question was never intended racially. The term ‘goriya’ has been so of- ten and traditionally used in Indian songs to address a girl, that it didn’t occur to any of us to interpret it in a literal manner.”
“Also the comparison with Beyonce is sim- ply meant to be a street-smart guy flattering a girl who is trying to impress that her dancing/performance is worth comparing to even Beyonce who we all see as the final word, the epitome of talent, beauty, performance, style and attitude. We are all huge fans, and there was never any question of disrespect,” he added.
Lyricist Kumaar also clarified, “Goriya as a word has been used in many Hindi songs earlier. Our idea was to simply use a synonym for the word girl. There is no derogation intended – we revere the beauty of global celebrity Beyonce and don’t mean to hurt any of her fans.” ‘Khaali Peeli’ is slated for a digital release on 2 October and will premiere on ZeePlex.