Abhijeet Bhattacharya, the playback singer, ignited controversy after he called the Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi, the ‘Father of Pakistan.’
The 66-year-old, who sang the song Thame Dil Ko in the season 3 of popular web series Panchayat and made a dramatic comeback in 2024, said, “Pancham Da was bigger than Mahatma Gandhi. Like Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation, Pancham Da was the father of the nation in the world of music.” He made these remarks during an interaction with journalist Shubhankar Mishra on his podcast.
While discussing music composer RD Burman, he made a controversial comment and went on to say that Mahatma Gandhi was not the father of the nation of India, but he was Pakistan’s Father of India.
Abhijeet Bhattacharya said, “Pancham Da (RD Burman) was bigger than Mahatma Gandhi, he was the Rashtrapita of music. Mahatma Gandhi was the Father of the Nation for Pakistan, not for India. India was always there. Pakistan was created. By mistake, Mahatma Gandhi was called the Father of Our Nation.”
Social media reaction
Netizens strongly reacted to the podcast, while some supported him, others condemned him. One user stated, “He is always straight forward..I support such guys who don’t foot polish anyone..” Another user remarked, “Abhijit sir has his own guts.” A third user commented, “What a worm interview.”
A fourth user wrote, “Abhijit is a staunch supporter of Hindutva. Bollywood lobby doesn’t favour him.” A fifth user stated, “I was shocked when i saw this news. How can a Bengali even think of critizing Mahatma Gandhi? Then i realised that Abhijeet Bhattacharya was born in UP.”
All to know about Abhijeet Bhattacharya’s music industry debut
Abhijeet Bhattacharya debuted in the Hindi music industry with the legendary music composer RD Burman in a Bengali film. He sang a duet song with Asha Bhosle, after which he gained widespread recognition. The playback singer performed in stage shows alongside R D Burman during the early stages of his career.
He lent his voice to several Bollywood actors over the years. The list includes prominent names like Mithun Chakraborty, Vijay Anand, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Chandrachur Singh, Bobby Deol, Jitendra Kumar and Jimmy Shergill.
