Playback singer Udit Narayan is under heavy scrutiny after a viral video appeared with him kissing a 21-year-old female fan on the lips during a live performance. The incident angered social media users, and the furore was fueled by the resurfacing of older footage in which Narayan is seen kissing—without consent—another two well-known Bollywood playback singers: Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal. That added to the criticism, and Narayan was forced to defend his actions publicly.
Viral Clip of Udit Narayan Kissing a Fan
The Odyssean incident had begun when a viral video of Narayan’s live performance spread online. As shown on the tape, a female fan gets a selfie from the singer. A short discussion takes place between the two, and then out of the blue, the singer kisses the girl on her lips, which was ultimately shocking to many, leaving them aghast. The action was condemned as obscene before one could even say “hey,” and soon after, it gained widespread infamy on social networking sites, many of which even opined on how he treats fans.
View this post on Instagram
With this incident now becoming a fashion statement among social media users, another fairly similar incident apparently took place as Narayan was seen kissing yet another 21-year-old female fan during a separate performance. The entire series put actions like this into further outrage-building, especially with those who felt the issue of personal space was violated.
Old Videos Resurfaced, Adding to the Fire
As the online rage escalated over the kiss, old videos of Udit Narayan began to resurface, and the whole issue took on renewed vigour. Narayan, in these clips, is caught on tape kissing prima donna Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal, both world-famous singers, while they performed together onstage.
The videos that created a furor are those in which Narayan is kissing Alka Yagnik on the cheek during a performance. The clip shows him apparently giving an uninvited kiss on the cheek to Yagnik while she was moving away almost in shock. In the other video, we see his kiss on the cheek bestowed upon Shreya Ghoshal, who, coupled with the other kissing incident, led to intensified slander against Narayan, what many seemed to target particularly was that it appeared to be unwarranted.
While the odd conduct was clearly bordered by controversy at the time these videos were made, what shared stage performances or close professional bonds were never really called into question at that time? However, with renewed reprobation sailing past and concern with respect to boundaries and consent rapidly emerging, these videos come under scrutiny once again, only planting another seed of grudge.
Udit Narayan’s Reply to the Controversy
View this post on Instagram
With the increasing uproar around the incidents, Udit Narayan responded to the controversy during an interview with HT City. Defending his actions, he stated he is a ‘decent person’ that would never show force or disregard to someone who has not consented. Narayan explained that, in his mind, when fans get worked up during a live show, that is pretty much the dramatic expression of interaction: shaking hands, or hugging, or even kissing—an exercise of enthusiasm and energy in live performance.
He clarified that he never intended to humiliate anybody, and he has treated his fans always with respect. “I always bend down with my fans and greet them respectfully,” he said. In his view, the viral video was triggered by an emotional exchange between him and the fan, moments that are seldom planned or thought out. He asked people to downplay such instances, stressing that these moments are pure adrenaline rush moments attached to live performances.
The Bigger Conversation About Boundaries & Consent
The Udit Narayan issue has raised larger discussions about boundaries and consent, especially regarding celebrity fans’ personal interaction. While on-stage performances once drew a fast line joining performer and audience, nowadays, they are objects of scrutiny in light of changing cultural conversations around respect and space.
Many netizens have wondered whether these actions were justified, especially now when huge topics on consent and power dynamics in the relationship between celebrities and fans are being bombarded everywhere. Others have pointed out how the entertainment industry lacks respect and boundaries and needs to provide such an atmosphere to the respective artists and their fans.
While people are speaking against him, Narayan feels that, with his reputation in the industry, his actions were never meant to harm anyone.
Professional Affiliation with Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal
It must be remembered that Narayan has also had a long-standing professional relationship with both Alka Yagnik and Shreya Ghoshal, who have sung many songs with him over the years. Both singers have publicly spoken of admiration for Narayan, his work, and his contributions to the Indian music industry. Their working relationship, based on mutual respect and goodwill towards each other, has been a unique feature of their collaboration.
With the controversy in full swing, fans are defending Udit Narayan, saying that while upon unflinching observation, the clips may seem inappropriate, the acts were all professional interactions finding maybe some ground to share respect for one another. But these days, with the climate considered serious in dealing with consent, all of these memories have been thrown under the lens on an altogether different angle.
Final Thoughts
In a nutshell, all this is really exposing some boundaries on the issue of consent concerning fans and celebrities. Thus, as these events transpire, it becomes more apparent that the question of consent concerning live performances needs extensive consideration and sensitivity.
It seems that Narayan acted in utter innocent fun, a part of the show. However, it becomes apparent from the backlash arising since these days that maintaining respect for personal space is just so critically important-whether that is onstage or in events where he makes public appearance with both fans and strangers alike or through individual private interactions. His standing up for what he did is sure to contribute to future public discussion around such situations to develop inconsistent conclusions.
