Saregama, one of India’s oldest music labels, announced on Sunday that the name and lyrics of the song Madhuban, featuring actor Sunny Leone, will be changed. The move comes after Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra alleged that the music video has hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus and threatened legal action for the same.
“In light of the recent feedback and respecting the sentiments of our fellow countrymen, we will be changing the lyrics and the name of the song Madhuban. The new song will replace the old one across all platforms over the next 3 days,” read the statement issued by Saregama.
Saregama released the music video titled Madhuban on its YouTube channel on Wednesday. Sung by Shaarib & Toshi, Kanika Kapoor, and Arindam Chakraborty, the song’s lyrics describe the Hindu deity Krishna and his consort Radha dancing. The video has choreography by Ganesh Acharya.
After its release, Mishra claimed that the song hurt Hindu sentiments and gave the label three days to take down the music video, warning that legal action would be taken against Leone and composer Saqib Toshi if they failed to comply.
“Some people continuously hurt Hindu sentiments. There are temples for Radha in India, we pray for her. Saqib Toshi can make songs concerning his religion, but such songs offend us. I will take legal advice and action will be taken against them (Toshi and Leone) if the video is not taken down in three days,” he said.
Apart from Mishra, a few Mathura-based priests also demanded a ban on the video, accusing Leone of hurting their sentiments by performing an “obscene” dance for an iconic song. Demanding a public apology from Leone and adding that she should not be allowed to live in India otherwise, Sant Naval Giri Maharaj of Vrindaban said, “We will go to court if the government does not act against the actress and ban her video album.”
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Expressing his disapproval of Leone’s video, and saying that she has presented the song in a “derogatory manner,” Akhil Bhartiya Tirth Purohit Mahasabha’s national president, Mahesh Pathak also blamed the actor for maligning the “prestige of Brijbhumi.”
Following the statement from Saregama, Mishra addressed the media to announce that the matter was now resolved. He also noted that he had taken strict action in the past against Dabur for their Karwachauth ad, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee for the Mangalsutra ad, and Tanishq for the jewellery ad featuring the baby shower of a Hindu woman with her Muslim in-laws. He further added that henceforth, he will directly file a complaint and get an FIR registered against those who hurt Hindu sentiments with their content.