Lyricist credited for Nora Fatehi's 'Sarki Chunar' song, Raqueeb Alam denies writing it: 'Maine nai likha hai, I feel humiliated'

The song “Chunar Teri Sarke” from the upcoming Kannada film 'KD: The Devil' has been at the centre of intense criticism on social media since Monday. The track featuring Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt, has faced extreme backlash on the internet for what many users describe as vulgar and suggestive lyrics. Many celebrities like Kangana Ranaut also have spoken out against it. As per the credits of the song, Raqueeb Alam has penned the lyrics and it is composed by Arjun Janya. However, lyricist Raqueeb Alam who was credited for the Hindi version of the song has now denied writing these controversial lines. He told HT City, “Yeh lyrics maine nahi likhe hain, they were written by the film’s director Prem in Kannada. When I was asked to write all this, I refused, saying such songs won’t work, and will be censored too. They told me to only literally translate the Kannada version and give it to them, they will set it to the song’s meter. Words like ‘Choosega’, ‘chaatega’ are all there in the original version only.” One of the lines from the song reads, "Pehle Uthale, Ander Wo Dale, Neeche Ek Boond Na Girae, Khali Kar Ke Nikale, Mujh Pe Na Girana Mujhe Lagta Hai Dar, Bhed Khul Jaae Na Sambhal Ke Jaana Ghar, Choosega ya chatega, jo karega kar, Teri Bottle Pe Na Pade Kisi Ki Bhi Nazar.”Acknowledging that the lyrics carry double meanings, Alam explained that the song attempts to justify itself only toward the end. “Last mein jaake batate hain that the entire song is about an alcohol bottle. Lekin usse pehle sab kuchh itna ganda hai. Maine mana kiya tha. Mujhe kya zaroorat hai aise gaane likhne ki? When I write good songs, people don’t notice. I have written Chikri Chikri in Hindi for Ram Charan’s upcoming film Peddi. All the songs of Pushpa in Hindi were written by me. I am feeling humiliated myself because of Sarke Chunar.”At the time this report went live, the official video of the song had already been removed from YouTube by the makers. Alam further revealed that the team had approached him again to fix the issue. “They called me on Monday night, and requested me to write a fresh version with clean lyrics. I sent it to them on Tuesday morning, it was being recorded the same day. They are planning to release the song on Tuesday evening along with an apology note.”The controversy has also prompted reactions from members of the film industry. Singer Armaan Malik wrote on X, “Sad to see commercial songwriting hit a new low.”