Human rights body seeks report over ‘KD: The Devil’ song row

A day after the song ‘Sarse ninna seraga sarse’ faced backlash for its vulgar lyrics and suggestive choreography, a complaint has been filed with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). 

According to the complaint, the song from Dhruva Sarja-starrer ‘KD: The Devil’, released in multiple languages, contains “vulgar, sexually suggestive and double-meaning lyrics that are inappropriate for public consumption, especially for children”. 

The complaint also mentions that the song is widely accessible through television, social media and other public platforms that could negatively affect the mental well-being of minors and contribute to the normalisation of explicit expressions among young audiences. 

The NHRC has directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), THE Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, THE Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Google’s Head of Core Government affairs and Public Policy to look into the allegations and submit a report within two weeks. 

Women bodies file complaint

The Karnataka women bodies — Karnataka State Women’s Anti-Violence Federation, the Karnataka Women Writers’ Association, and the Janavadi Women’s Organisation — also wrote to CBFC, the Karnataka Producers Association, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s commission, urging them to take action against the song. 

Women writers, activists and academics, including B T Lalitha Nayak, Hemalatha Mahishi and Pratibha Nandakumar, signed the letter.

Following this, the Karnataka State Women's Commission has directed the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to take appropriate action regarding objectionable lyrics in the song that insult women and harm social harmony. 

After heavy backlash, especially for the Hindi version, the makers of the film have removed the Hindi version from music streaming platforms. The song’s lyrics are written by Prem, also the director of the film, in Kannada and by Raqeeb Alam in Hindi. The song features Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt. 

Kangana Ranaut calls out the song

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut slammed the song’s lyrics and visuals, after a Parliament session, calling them vulgar and inappropriate. She further added that the makers had crossed all limits for attention and described it as cheap tactics for attention seeking. “There need to be stricter rules about the display of such vulgarity and obscenity,” she said.