Actress-filmmaker Neetu Chandra has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Patna High Court, seeking direction to “amend” the allegedly vulgar lyrics of rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh’s latest song Maniac.
Singh and those who have collaborated with him on the song, including lyricist Leo Grewal and Bhojpuri singers Ragini Vishwakarma and Arjun Ajanabi, have been named in the PIL, news agency PTI reported on Thursday.
Chandra, a Patna-born actress, has featured in several Bhojpuri and Hindi films. The 40-year-old also played the role of a supporting actress in Akshay Kumar and John Abraham’s 2005 romantic drama Garam Masala.
In the PIL, Chandra said that the song, infused with "overt sexualisation", shows women as just “sex objects", according to the PTI report.
"Bhojpuri language to normalise vulgarity" and throws "women's empowerment out of the window", she Chandra alleged.
The PIL is likely to come up for hearing later this month.
Yo Yo Honey Singh’s Maniac, his first attempt at mixing Bhojpuri lyrics with his Punjabi rap and beats, was officially released a week ago.
The music video of Maniac, also featuring actress Esha Gupta, has garnered over 2.8 million likes and more than 72 million views on YouTube.
