Mumbai, Dec 22: Popular playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, once known for lending his voice to Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, has courted controversy by making objectionable remarks on Mahatma Gandhi.
During a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, Abhijeet sparked outrage by claiming that music composer R.D. Burman was "bigger than Mahatma Gandhi." He went on to state that while Gandhi is considered the father of the nation, he believes Burman was the "father of the nation" in the realm of music.
The controversy deepened when Abhijeet criticized Gandhi’s role in India’s history. He controversially suggested that Gandhi was the "father of the nation for Pakistan" and argued that India already existed before the partition.
According to Abhijeet, Gandhi was responsible for the creation of Pakistan, which he claimed made him the father of the nation for the newly formed country rather than India.
“Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation for Pakistan and not India. India already existed, Pakistan was carved out of India later. Gandhi has been mistakenly called the father of nation for India. He was the one responsible behind the existence of Pakistan”, said Bhattacharya in the podcast.
Notably, Abhijeet was launched by R.D. Burman in a Bengali film and later went on to become a prominent voice in Bollywood music.
He sang for several major Bollywood stars, including Mithun Chakrabarty, Vijay Anand, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Ajay Devgan, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Chandrachur Singh, Bobby Deol, Jitendra Kumar and Jimmy Shergill
He is best known for his massive hits in the 90s, such as "Waada Raha Sanam" and "Kya Khabar Thi Jaana" from Khiladi (1992).
