Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh, singer Neeti Mohan and music composer Shankar Mahadevan are currently judging Rising Star 3 on Colors. They mentor upcoming singers and like every other reality show, they keep things interesting with their fun banter. However, the three music maestros have enraged Twitter because of a sexist prank that they pulled on the participants.
Two of the contestants on the show, Kunal and Shikhar, during their audition, praised Neeti’s look with distasteful comments. One of them said that she was looking ‘kadak’ and ‘raapchik‘ in her red saree.
Appalled by the words that they used, Neeti snapped at them for using derogatory language to compliment a woman. She said, “I am representing all the girls here and I don’t allow this. No one can talk to me, or any girl like this in this country or any country. We three judges don’t approve this, the show doesn’t approve this, the channel doesn’t approve this way of talking.”
Right after she said this, she stood up and decided to walk out of the set when Diljit intervened and asked the organisers to call the contestants later for auditions. Shankar Mahadevan, too, criticised the duo for using sleazy language. Soon, the three judges began laughing and said it was just a prank.
This didn’t go well with gender activist Kirthi Jaya Kumar, who took to Twitter to slam the three for being insensitive and laughing it off. Here’s what she tweeted.
Absolutely appalled at how @neetimohan18, @diljitdosanjh, @Shankar_Live and the rest of the crew literally threw the #MeToo movement under the bus on @ColorsTV. Speaking up about sexual harassment is not easy, and here you’re all belittling it as “mazaak”.
— Kirthi (@kirthijayakumar) March 23, 2019
Terrible that @neetimohan18 says that she represents all girls on the stage, and then threatens to walk out in response to what is clearly inappropriate and verbal sexual harassment, and then proceeds to laugh at how it is all a prank. Seriously, sexual harassment is not a joke.
— Kirthi (@kirthijayakumar) March 23, 2019
This soon started a thread on Twitter where Twitterati condemned the judges for doing something that normalises toxic masculinity and objectification of women.
Hi Shankar sir and Neeti – I called out Mr Vairamuthu and have been banned by the TN dubbing union.
Please do know this aint funny. I am fighting a court case.
Though support would have been great, this tone deaf ‘joke’ could have been avoided.
🙏🙏🙏
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) March 24, 2019
This really is very shameful. Here hundreds of women are fighting for their rights. And this is how they decide to act. Do these celebrities even think for one second that they are national youth figures and should think before doing these type of stupid things…
— Nausheen Fatima (@Naushee05002956) March 24, 2019
Ideally for such kind of behaviour in industry people get sacked, there need to be zero tolerance.
— Surya (@Surya0220) March 25, 2019
It’s like if it hasn’t happened to you or someone close to you then it’s all a joke to you. Glad I don’t watch any of these crass Indian shows, everything they do is for trp like this incident.
— Renison Pereira #TimesUpIndia (@Renison007) March 24, 2019
This prank have been scripted for higher TRPs, but it sure didn’t win any brownie points for the show or its judges.
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