Singer gets threat email over song, approaches police

Singer Sona Mohapatra submitted a letter to the Santacruz police on Monday about alleged threatening emails she has been receiving from a Sufi organisation over the last few days over her latest track ‘Tori Surat’.

The track, a rendition of a song written by Amir Khusro, was released in April this year. Ms. Mohapatra also performs in the music video.

Twitter complaint

In a series of tweets to the Mumbai Police on Monday, Ms. Mohapatra said, “Dear @MumbaiPolice I have received a threatening notice from the Madariya Sufi Foundation to remove my music video Tori Surat from all communication mediums. They claim that the video is vulgar,will flare communal tensions. I need to know whom to write in my response to at ur end (sic).”

She said the foundation had called her a “regular offender” in reference to her rendition of ‘Piya Se Naina’ released five years ago on Coke Studio, as it “insults Islam because she is dressed exposing her body and playing westernised music”.

Letter to police

The Mumbai Police sought her contact details and advised her to register a complaint with the nearest police station. Ms. Mohapatra visited the Santacruz police station in the evening.

Ms. Mohapatra told The Hindu, “I have been getting the same email twice a day, and the foundation has objected to the song being performed by a woman wearing a sleeveless dress, which I find ridiculous. Since their email claims that they have also written to the police, I have submitted a detailed response to the police.”

Both the Khusro songs have been performed by various Sufi singers. While singer Abida Parveen’s rendition of ‘Tori Surat’ is among the most famous ones, ‘Piya Se Naina’ has been performed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, among others.

Support from followers

‘“The Madariya foundation along with the agreement of the Nizamuddin Dargah have an issue with the description of my Tori Surat music video, “earthy incarnations of the feminine Divine” & with “a sleeveless dress and body exposing dancers”. Basically with everything woman & free,” one of Ms. Mohapatra’s tweet said. Several of her Twitter followers lashed out at the foundation. A tweet by one such supporter, Zoha Abdullah, said, “First of all what is the sufi foundation’s business watching you when they are supposed to keep their gazes down!”

Ms. Mohapatra said, “I have even obtained a censor board certificate and if the government and Constitution do not have a problem with the video, who are they to object? Bullies need to be confronted and I am only doing what is necessary.”