Shreya Ghoshal is one of the most popular singers in Bollywood; from item songs to romantic numbers, she is the go-to person for music directors. Ever since her debut, she made her indelible mark in the hearts of people and garnered a massive following base. The singer does not do a lot of interviews, but whenever she does, her fans look forward to it because she is extremely candid and honest. Recently, as a part of a conversation, she admitted to the kind of songs that she is embarrassed to sing.
In an interview with Lily Singh, Shreya spoke about how in Bollywood female perspectives are still written down by men and pointed out how that is what makes all the difference. She confessed that she was embarrassed to have sung certain songs and was worried about the impact that they might have had. Shreya mentioned that among the songs she has sung, she is certainly embarrassed about singing 'Chikni Chameli'.
She said, "There is a very fine line between being sensual, sexy, and being outright objectified, or objectifying women in general. The reason I've become more conscious of this over time is that I see little girls singing these songs without understanding their meaning. They're just dancing to them, and they come to me saying, 'Oh, we love your song! Can we sing it for you?' and I feel very embarrassed. A little girl, just five or six years old, singing those lyrics—it doesn't sound good."
Shreya very clearly admitted that talking and singing about sensuous stuff is not at all bad, but according to her, it is in the way things are written down. She also pointed out how it is different when a woman writes on such topics vs when men do it.
She mentioned, "I have become conscious about this. Talking about being sexy or sensuous isn't wrong, but the way it's written matters. If a woman had written it, she would have done so in a more graceful manner. It's all about perspective, and in our society, especially in India, it's important to set certain benchmarks. Films and music have a huge impact on people's lives, and any blockbuster song or film becomes part of history. I don't want to be part of that kind of history."
A Reddit discourse was started on the same, and netizens expressed their opinions on what they felt like about Shreya's statement. While many were agitated and called it a hypocritical move, others supported Shreya for having the courage in her to take a stand.
A comment on the thread read, "It's so easy to women to come out and say they were embarrassed by their own work! But same Shreya worked with metoo accused Saad very recently. Maybe 10 years down the line she will come out and tell she is embarrassed again!" Another wrote, "I love her but i did feel a sense of hypocrisy here in her statement! Chalo ok she later on understood how demeaning the lyrics of chikni chameli were but then she went on to sing songs like zaalima coca cola pila de aag tune jo lagayi bujhaa de n all so did she not understand how vulgar the lyrics were this time? I would have appreciated if she would have gone on to agree that this is how indian movies run, the item songs! That has also made her famous Anyways this changes nothing i will always love her no matter what! Because she is a true nightingale." There was another comment that stated, "In a very recent Indian Idol episode, she sang this song herself and was quite enjoying it too. Hypocrisy really knows no bounds."
A Reddit user supporting Shreya's statement wrote, "I sort of agree with her. Shreya'a song Jaadu hai nasha, which is probably sang when she was like what - 16-18? Was soooo sensuous in both lyrics and the way that it was sung + shot vs chikni chameli. It is truly a classic."
Going back to the song that Shreya is embarrassed about, 'Chikni Chameli' is considered as one of her most iconic songs. The song featured in the Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt starrer 'Agneepath' which was released in 2012.
