Coldplay performing in India was a huge deal, it could be said that the popular International band performing in the country was truly the highlight of the initial part of the year. When the news of Jasleen Royal opening for the band first came to light, fans were truly excited. However, that excitement soon transformed into utter disappointment when the 'Din Shagna Da' singer took to the stage.
Over time, Jasleen has not only been trolled by netizens but has also been criticised and called out by senior musicians and singers of the Indian music fraternity. Sona Mohapatra too has now given her take on it.
In a conversation with Indie'N Folk Project, Mohapatra addressed the controversies surrounding Jasleen's performance at all the Coldplay concerts in India, both in Mumbai and Ahmedabad. She clearly stated that she does not even consider Jasleen as a performer or even an artist for that matter.
She said, "When the entire Jasleen controversy happened, and people said 'she can't sing', it was all over the place. It was heartbreaking. It sounded terrible. It was such a huge stage and opportunity. It seemed like someone informed her last minute and there was no band or so, while in reality there were backing singers and a full-fledged band in place."
Sona went ahead and took a dig at Jasleen for having a video with Dulquer Salman and garnering views on social media. She mentioned that most labels, corporates and organisers look at the number of followers singers have these days rather than focusing on the talent.
She mentioned, "It is a lack of foresight and backing merit when it comes to corporates and labels. Maybe you are a good songwriter, but it doesn't mean that you are a good performer as well. Just because you have made a video with Dulquer (Salman), have received views... Corporates just see number of views. Does it mean you are a good performer? No. There are much worthier performers. If there was an actual system of merit, that artiste..."Sona immediately took a moment to pause and corrected herself, she also took the word artiste back, she said, "No..." when the interviewer suggested the term "performer" for Jasleen, Sona immediately refused that too and said, "No, that individual would never be on stage. The heartbreaking part is that the world caught it."
She further added, "It was a heartbreaking moment for all of us. We were not celebrating. I didn't feel like, 'If I was there I would have done better', I was simply feeling bad. You can judge a person by the number of viewers. I don't know what was the gauge by which she was chosen for it."
Earlier, Vishal Dadlani, Vivek Agnihotri and Antara Mitra too had spoken about Jasleen's performance at the Coldplay concerts in India. The singer has of course not publicly addressed these criticisms yet.
