Daler Mehndi’s Son Offers Abhijeet Bhattacharya Live Concert Footage Amid Row

Mumbai: Gurdeep Mehndi, son of Indian singer Daler Mehndi, has responded to recent remarks by senior singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, saying his father was not lip-syncing. Speaking to the audience during a performance, Gurdeep put forward this position.

Gurdeep said some artists say whatever they like anywhere for the sake of a few views, and that he had not expected such a thing from Abhijeet. He offered to send Abhijeet footage from that day so he could see for himself that Daler Mehndi was singing live. He said good and bad times can come to anyone. It is not clear, however, whether the footage was sent or whether Abhijeet responded.

The controversy began on 18 October during Daler Mehndi’s performance at the Siddhpeeth Maa Kunjapuri fair in Tehri. Uttarakhand Health Minister Subodh Uniyal came onto the stage and accused the singer of drinking alcohol, fooling people and not singing. Daler Mehndi remained silent and resumed singing after a while.

His brother Mika Singh said Daler had never consumed alcohol in his life, and that although he was ill, he performed for around an hour and a half. Mika demanded an apology from the minister, warning that if none was offered, artists would stop coming to Uttarakhand. Several personalities, including Shilpa Shetty, Anupam Kher, Badshah, Shaan and Kapil Sharma, condemned the minister’s behaviour.

Speaking at an event in Chhattisgarh, Abhijeet Bhattacharya said a minister had come on stage and spoken the truth that the singer was not singing and could not even stand, yet he had become the villain. He said he may be off-key, but he would sing live. Subodh Uniyal has stood by his position, saying he would prefer to resign from his post rather than apologise.