Actor Nora Fatehi on Wednesday distanced herself from the controversy surrounding the sexually explicit lyrics of Sarke Chunar, saying she had shot the song in Kannada three years ago and was unaware of its Hindi version until it surfaced online.
The track, featured in the upcoming Kannada film KD The Devil, was released on YouTube earlier this week and quickly drew criticism for lyrics that appeared to describe a sexual act.
In an Instagram post alongside a video, Fatehi said she was shocked by the Hindi version and added that the backlash had prompted the makers to remove the song from social media platforms. She also urged audiences to stop circulating the clip.
"I'd also request everyone to stop sharing the song because you're just giving it a platform unnecessarily. On a side note, I see some of you guys trying to use this as an opportunity to attack my character. It's unfortunate," she said.
Clarifying her involvement, Fatehi said she had not performed the Hindi version and had not granted permission for her visuals to be used with it. "I had no idea about this Hindi song, I did not perform it and there was no permission taken to use it with my image," she said.
In her video, the actor explained that she had agreed to do the song because it was part of a major film and featured Sanjay Dutt. She added that she believed it was a remake of Layak Nahi Khalnayak Hoon Main.
"I shot this song three years ago in Kannada. When I'm on set shooting for this song, I'm relying on the filmmakers to translate the song, and that is what I go by. When they were translating the song, nothing seemed inappropriate or vulgar," she said.
Fatehi, who does not understand Kannada, said she depended entirely on the makers for translation during the shoot. "Whatever they've done right now, which is creating a Hindi version and dubbing the voice in Hindi and having those lyrics, which are very inappropriate, I had no idea about that. They didn't take any approvals, they didn't take any permission from me," she said.
She added that she had flagged concerns when she heard the Hindi version and chose not to promote the track.
"When they played the Hindi version, I knew it was a wrap. I knew we were going to have issues. I told the director this is not going to be okay. I disassociated myself with the project," she said.
Fatehi also urged the media to hold filmmakers accountable rather than blaming performers. "If you really want a solution, you need to start holding the filmmakers and the people behind the content accountable," she said.
'Sarke Chunar banned'
The Centre on Wednesday said the controversial song Sarke Chunar has been banned, responding to concerns raised in the Lok Sabha. Samajwadi Party MP Anand Bhadoria flagged the issue during Question Hour, citing the impact of unchecked content on OTT platforms and social media. Union information and broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "A ban has been imposed on the song… Freedom of speech cannot be absolute, it has to be in the context of the society and culture." He added that the government is prepared to take strict action to protect society, particularly children, women and vulnerable groups, as content spreads rapidly across digital platforms.