Dupe charge on Kalahandi rapper by Turkish co

Bhubaneswar: Duleshwar Tandi from the backward Kalahandi district, who became an internet sensation in the country for depicting the suffering of poor people during the 2020 lockdown through his rap dance and music, is in trouble.
A Turkey-based company working with artists worldwide has accused the famous rap music artist, who is widely known as Rapper Dule Rocker, for cheating them of 2500 US dollars. In a complaint sent via email to the Odisha police headquarters and Kalahandi district police on Thursday, the foreign company alleged that Dule did not produce rap videos despite taking enough money from them.
According to the complainant, who was identified as Kemal Bakir, owner of Melik Media Consultancy in Turkey, Duleswar contacted him via Twitter in February this year and sought his help to get in touch with a French artist, Nathalie Cardone. Bakir gathered details about Duleswar on the internet and found positive feedback and news about the rapper. “Since I take keen interest in Indian dance and music, I suggested that he produce a maxi-single album for our company. I invited him to Istanbul to produce the music album and offered him the flight tickets. But he insisted on shooting the video in Odisha. I agreed,” Bakir told TOI over phone from Turkey.
As per his complaint, Duleswar assured to produce three rap videos for the company and demanded money. “Without signing any agreement, I transferred 2500 US dollars to his bank account in Bhubaneswar on March 14. I have the bank statement as proof. He sent me three songs, which looked unprofessional. As I could not have released them under my brand, I requested him to hire a professional director and do the shootings again. I also sought permission for the video release and an official undertaking from him that the songs do not belong to anyone else,” Bakir said.
Duleswar allegedly refused to hire any professional director for redoing the videos. In May, Bakir came to know that Duleswar started releasing the songs (which he had produced for the company) under his brand name. “I understood he cheated me. When I asked for my refund, he blocked my phone number and Twitter handle,” Bakir stated in his complaint.
Duleswar refuted the allegations. “I did not cheat him. I took the money from him, produced the videos and sent them to him. When the company asked me to shoot the videos again, I declined. I committed no wrong,” Duleswar said. Deputy IG (south western range) Rajesh Pandit said efforts on to verify the allegations.