Sonakshi Sinha-Armaan Malik Twitter Spat: Why This Debate Needs Attention

Recently, twitter community in India witnessed a war of words between two young talents- actress Sonakshi Sinha and singer Armaan Malik. The reason why these two celebrities engaged in a spat is quite justifiable and brings into notice a dire problem that needs a solution. Armaan Malik pointed out the need to give singers priority on concerts rather than asking actors to perform in a singing concert. This allegation of 'taking the limelight' didn't go down well with Sonakshi and she retaliated saying that art shouldn't have limitations. Sonakshi's argument may seem valid at the onset but the problem needs a closer look.

Before picking a side in this controversy, let's break down the entire situation.

It all began when the news of Sonakshi Sinha opening the upcoming Justin Bieber concert came out. While the fans didn't pay much heed to it owing to the celebrities-culture in the country, the performers, especially the singer's community took offense. Singer Kailash Kher, known for his electrifying live stage performances, was the first one to speak on the topic. In an interview, Kailash was quoted saying, " It doesn't give a good message internationally. They (people from foreign shores) will think that Sonakshi must be a big singer in India. And then she will get concert offers from Canada, and then probably Sonakshi will laugh them off saying 'I am not a singer but an actor'.

He added, "Whenever any singer from the West comes to India, we get an actor onboard to match their level because Event Managers and Producers are so scared to match their talent."

Kailash's statement highlights a deeper and bitter truth. Not many mainstream international singers have made their way to the Indian soil, but the trend changed last year when one of the most popular British band, Coldplay, decided to do a gig in Mumbai. Being regarded as the event of the year, the British band came in full power and enthralled the audience along with the likes of Demi Lovato and JayZ. The A-list international performers were joined by Indian actors Sonakshi Sinha, Varun Dhawan, Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh Khan on stage. Even, Sachin Tendulkar found his way to share the stage with the band but the singers were missing. Yes, there was Arijit Singh who performed on stage. So did Shankar-Ehsan-Loy but most of the performers were actors before Coldplay took to the stage with AR Rahman. See how the lineup was? Barring a handful of musicians, no one else from the music fraternity performed that night. But then, when has India actually considered its singers as performers.

For a country whose youth loves to follow the international trend when it comes to music, ironically India fails to provide proper platforms to its own singers. While the late 90s and early 2000s did see a growing album culture, thanks to post-globalisation media exposure, the culture died even before it was properly picked up. Performers like Anushka and Alisha Chinoy had to resort to playback singing because isn't that what singers are supposed to do? Sit in a studio and record a song while someone else performs on them in a concert?

Bollywood celebrities are singers in closed studio rooms with auto-tune. While Farhan might be the only actor to claim his territory in the performance department, the others just come on stage with their poor rap skills and signature dance steps. We all know, Indian music is much more than that. We have Nucleya on EDM front, Prateek Kuhad on the indie front, Nazey as a rapper and Kailash Kher, Vishal Dadlani, Shankar Mahadevan to actually open any international gig on our soil much fanfare. We don't need an actress with average singing skills to open a concert, we have talented performers and let's respect their talent by giving them their deserved platform.

As for art being dynamic, everybody is welcome to try but replacing a more deserving performer in the name of popularity and celebrity status goes against the basic moral fabric of the entertainment industry.

While this actor vs singer's debate might not find an end soon, one has to give Armaan Malik credit for taking this issue up and joining the league of Sonu Nigam, Shan, Anushka Manchanda and Sunidhi Chauhan in fighting for the rightful place of the music community in Bollywood.