Papon talks Salman-Arijit controversy

The recent musical dispute between Salman Khan and Arijit Singh is typical of the Bollywood music industry, says Angaraag Mahanta, a.k.a Papon, who performs in Dubai this Eid weekend.

“It happens all the time; I get [a] song and then it is sung by someone else,” Papon told tabloid! on Monday.

The award-winning singer, who performs in Dubai on July 8, was giving his take on the dispute that’s been playing out between Khan and Singh over a song Singh sang for Khan’s film Sultan. Singh’s version of Jag Ghoomeya does not appear on the soundtrack.

Khan’s take? “In every film, there are lots of singers. It’s the director and producer who make the choice of who is going to be the best voice for the film.”

Echoing that, “you don’t know who sung the song till it is out,” Papon said, adding that he did not know the details of the dispute.

“Sometimes it so happens that I get a song, but [at the] last minute they decide Arijit should sing it so this does happen,” Papon said.

He added, “I think sometimes people do get hurt because you put your soul into a song and then you suddenly realise it’s in someone else’s voice.

“The sad part is, when you’re singing you don’t even know if someone has sung it before or whether it was approved or not.”

According to Papon, this is very “unfair” to the singers.

“This is the funny thing about the industry, but it’s okay ... this is how it runs, I guess,” he said.

Papon performs on the first night of the two-day MTV Undivided concert at Dubai World Trade Centre, on a bill with Pakistani singers Komal Rizvi and Shafqat Amanat Ali. Kailash Kher performs the next day. Tickets start at Dh100. Read the full interview in tabloid! later this week.

— Shreya Bhatia is an intern at tabloid!