Rapper's concert scrapped after online protest over 'obscene' lyrics - Times of India

GURGAON: An online petition and a twitter campaign against 28-year-old rapper Honey Singh led to a New Year's Eve concert by him at Gurgaon's Bristol hotel being cancelled at the last minute. The chart-topping singer also ran into legal trouble after an FIR was lodged against him in Lucknow's Gomtinagar police station on Monday.

IPS officer Amitabh Thakur lodged the FIR against Singh for his "extremely vulgar and indecent songs". Thakur said in the FIR that the rapper's misogynistic and deeply troubling lyrics described how woman could be sexually assaulted. "This cannot be accepted at all, particularly when the country is mourning the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim and is outraged over increasing crime against women," said the complaint.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deal with display and circulation of obscene material, indulging in obscene act in a public place and singing, reciting or uttering obscene songs or words in a public place to the annoyance of others. The maximum punishment under these sections is three years.

In Gurgaon, confusion prevailed at the venue gates. The crowd was still trickling in till as late as 9pm, even though the event management company that was organising the concert had confirmed much earlier that the show had been scrapped owing to the 'internet blackout in Delhi.'

"It has been cancelled. The protestors had a huge role to play. And there was government pressure also," Dheeraj Dixit of RD8 Communications told TOI at about 8pm. He said the organisers tried their best to resolve the issue, "but the pressure was too much. We were constantly in touch with the authorities," Dixit said.

He added that the organizers had suffered "colossal losses", though he refused to give an estimate. Asked whether the money for the already sold tickets - costing Rs 15,000 for a couple - would be refunded, he said, "We are ready to give back all the money. It is being discussed with our partners."

Dixit claimed that "a couple of NGOs" had threatened the organisers, and that the show had to be finally called off for "security reasons". "This isn't our fault. The organisers are not to be blamed for the cancellation. We are the main sufferer, we lost a huge amount of money."

As early as 6pm in the evening on Monday, staff and management around the venue sounded ambiguous about the late-night appearance of Honey Singh, even as the lights were being installed on the specially mounted stage.

Outside the gates, at about 9pm, Gurgaon resident Robin Maigi stood waiting with a female friend, wondering whether or not he should buy the tickets. "I don't know. The ticket guys are saying that he is coming. But I heard it reported that the show is cancelled. I am trying to figure it out," he said.

The Internet petition against Singh was started by Delhi-based writer Kalpana Misra, who believes the lyrics of some of his songs are 'pornographic,' 'unacceptable,' and grossly misogynistic. "I hadn't heard of Honey Singh until about a few days ago. So I don't have any personal vendetta against this person," Misra told TOI over the phone.

"The extremely offensive nature of his lyrics led to this petition," she said. By Monday evening, Misra's petition had more than 2,500 online supporters. And all through the day, the social networking site Twitter was abuzz over the same issue, with Honey Singh's Gurgaon gig becoming a trending topic.

Honey Singh is a Punjabi singer-rapper, music producer and actor. Better known as Yo Yo Honey Singh, he initially started as a session and recording artist before becoming a Bhangra music producer. He has also sung for Punjabi and Hindi films and two of his songs were on YouTube's list of 10 most-popular videos of 2012 for India.

Honey Singh: A profile

Honey Singh was born on March 15, 1984 in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. According to sources, he studied music at the Trinity School in London.

Honey Singh has received various awards from 2006 when he received the ETC award for best sound for his song Glassi. His song Lak 28 Kudi Da sung in collaboration with Diljit Dosanjh topped the BBC Asian Download Charts in May 2011 and was used in the film 'Lion of Punjab'. Another song, 'Angreji Beat', from his album International Villager was used in film 'Cocktail'. He is currently working on projects with big names in Bollywood like Anurag Kashyap and has been reported paid Rs 70 lakh for a song in an upcoming film 'Mastaan' starring Naseeruddin Shah.