‘Vulgar, regressive’: Netizens slam song from Dhruva Sarja’s ‘KD:The Devil’

Movie buffs on social media are calling out the song for its obscene and tasteless lyrics, written by Prem.

Bengaluru: A just released number from Dhruva Sarja’s KD: The Devil is facing a huge backlash on social media

“The most vulgar song ever produced in India,” a netizen posted on X on Sunday.

The Kannada film, directed by Prem — known for big hits like 'Jogi' and 'Excuse Me' — launched the item number ‘Sarse ninna seraga sarse’  (Move, move the end your sari) on Saturday (March 14). The song features Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt.

Movie buffs on social media are calling out the song for its sexual, obscene and tasteless lyrics, written by Prem.

“Such cheap lyrics,” wrote an X user.

Another user recalled legendary Kannada lyricists like Chi Udayashankar, Hunasuru Krishnamurthy, Hamsalekha and Jayant Kaikini and lamented the dire state of Kannada film songs today. The suggestive choreography is also facing criticism.

The dance bar number, also released in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, has run into criticism for its Kannada and Hindi versions.

Another song from KD: The Devil, ‘Annthamma jodetthu kano’, released in December, also has questionable lines in its lyrics — ‘rande mundera kannu, nimmele beeldirli kanro'. This translates to, ‘May the evil eyes of prostitutes and widows not fall on you’.

The producers said it was colloquial usage but critics say pop culture should not normalise old prejudices.

This is not the first time a song from a Dhruva Sarja film has faced a backlash. In 2021, when the song ‘Kharabu’ from the film Pogaru was released, it was slammed for promoting harassment of women. The film faced criticism for scenes that portrayed the hero as aggressive and antisocial.

KD: The Devil is produced by KVN Productions whose Yash-starrer Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Adults also received backlash for obscene scenes in one of its promotional videos.