An Open Letter to Mr. Sapan Manchanda

Sapan Manchanda turns interview into a discriminative interrogation session

ਸਪਨ ਮਨਚੰਦਾ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਮਵਰ ਲੇਖਕ ਮੰਨੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ,ਉਹ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿਯਨ ਦੇ ਵੀ ਪਰਮ ਮਿੱਤਰ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ,ਪਿੱਛਲੇ ਦਿਨੀਂ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦੀ ਉੱਭਰ ਰਹੀ ਗਾਇਕਾ ‘ਸੁਨੰਦਾ ਸ਼ਰਮਾ’ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਇੰਟਰਵਿਊ ਕੀਤੀ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ ਬਾਰੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਦੇ ਸੰਗੀਤ ਪ੍ਰੇਮੀਆਂ ‘ਚ ਤਿੱਖਾ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਕਰਮ ਦੇਖਣ ਨੂੰ ਮਿਲ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ……..ਸ਼ਾਇਦ ਇਹੀ ਵਜ੍ਹਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਸਪਨ ਮਨਚੰਦਾ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਫੇਸਬੁੱਕ ਤੋਂ ਬਹੁਤੇ ਪ੍ਰਤੀਕਰਮ ਡਿਲੀਟ ਕਰ  ਦਿੱਤੇ ਹਨ, ਪਰ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਗੁੱਸਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਠੰਡਾ ਹੋਣ ਦਾ ਨਾਮ ਨਹੀਂ ਲੈ ਰਿਹਾ…..ਇਸ ਮਸਲੇ ਤੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਅਨੇਕਾਂ ਈ ਮੇਲਜ਼ ਤੇ ਲੇਖ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਹੋਏ ਹਨ ਜਿਹਨਾਂ ‘ਚੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਓਪਨ ਲੈਟਰ ਇਹਨਾਂ ਕਾਲਮਾਂ ‘ਚ ਛਾਪਣ ਦੀ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਲੈ ਰਹੇ ਹਾਂ ਅਸੀਂ ਬਾਕੀ ਪਾਠਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਇਸ ਮਸਲੇ ਤੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਰਾਏ ਦੇਣ ਦਾ ਖੁੱਲ੍ਹਾ ਸੱਦਾ ਦਿੰਦੇ ਹਾਂ……ਇਸ ਬਹਿਸ ਦਾ ਮਕਸਦ ਕਿਸੇ ਧਿਰ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਨੀਵਾਂ ਦਿਖਾਉਣਾ ਨਹੀਂ,……..ਵਿਚਾਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਹੋਣਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਜਰੂਰੀ ਹੈ – ਵਿਚਾਰਾਂ ਦਾ ਵਖਰੇਵਾਂ ਕੋਈ ਵੱਡੀ ਗੱਲ ਨਹੀਂ.
ਸਪਨ ਮਨਚੰਦਾ ਵੀ ਆਪਣਾ ਪੱਖ ਦੱਸ ਸਕਦੇ ਹਨ,ਛਾਪ ਕੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਖੁਸ਼ੀ ਹੋਵੇਗੀ……

It is hoped that in the twenty first century discrimination that promotes gender inequality is diminished, and that society is rigorously striving to close the gap between the genders. However a Freelance film journalist Sapan Manchanda, a famous figure in the punjabi film and music industry crossed the line when interviewing Sunanda Sharma, a newcomer young female artist in the punjabi music industry.

Sunanda Sharmas most recent song “Patake” entered the industry with a bang as it gained much success and appreciation. In her recent interview, Sapan Manchanda continuously attempted to degrade Sunanda because she sang in a narration of a girl who is trumpeting about her lover being the talk of town with his bike. Manchanda starts the interrogation so called interview by asking if she ever been catcalled or harassed, in which he refers the term harassment to Patake. She makes an effort to inform him that the term Patake is not associated with a negative sexual connotation rather it’s describing her partner’s “hype” in her song. Although it didn’t deem to promote anything of that sort, but if it did then Mr.Manchanda directly labeled Sunanda as inappropriate and a bad influence in society whereas male singers who do promote these ideas are simply showcasing their executive skills according to Sapan Manchanda.

controversial interview with sunanda sharma

He then proceeds compare to her to artists who she idolizes Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Manmohan waris. He says “You idolize major artists in the industry but your ideology and thinking isn’t at their level, have you ever heard them sing these kinds of songs?… if you idolize someone then you should promote their worldview”, ironically Manmohan Waris has mentioned seductive desirability many times, for example in his song “Parne nu” he says “the sensation of your breath from mine doesn’t go away”. Singing songs and presenting this topic is common and mainstream, but humiliating any human in this case Sunanda Sharma based on the assumption Sapan Manchanda holds is sincerely disgusting. The inequalities between men and women exist is because of people like Manchanda judge male and female behavior or/and ideology through  by different standards.

Mr.Manchanda proceeds to say “you are lying about your liking for those artists because you sang such a song”, she explains again that her song does not promote vulgar actions and that “[she] can have a broad spectrum of interests but that doesn’t mean she has to  undertake every belief that the interest holds”. Sunanda Sharma also makes the point that if in the future she does release a song that doesn’t promote expectations held by society then it should be viewed as a entertainment purposes. Her point can be supported with evidence in which films are produced. Movies portray many concepts that will not be accepted in society if the situation were to be replicated, however the concepts are still presented for pure entertainment. Example of this is “suicide squad” or “Vaisakhi List”.

Sapan Manchanda progresses to also accuse Sunanda for promoting rape, and acid attacks because she used the word Patake in her song. Although the literal meaning of “patake” is fireworks. Sapan Manchanda has interviewed many artist but his recent encounter was with the ever most talented Amy Virk. Manchanda spoke about Amy Virk’s success and promoted his new film. Nonetheless Sapan Manchanda did not once mention Virk’s song “Surma to Scandals” which has thrived in the industry. But it has a distinct sexual association as the lyrics say “tell me where you get your dresses made, why do you wear a deep neck shirt, the zip you have attached to your shirt makes the boys do bad things”.

A sex positive ideology held by a male made no difference to Sapan Manchanda, but when a female sang a song that didn’t even intend on having a sexual perspective Sapan verbally attacked the women with full force. The sexual double standards held by this interviewer played out in a seriously degrading way. The gap between the two genders should be closing to promote equality. People holding the perspective of one gender being superior to another causes the gap to widen. It is very important recognize the the problems that are created by eliminating respect for a specific gender and the extent to which you proceed to demean a person.

-Preeti Pabla (Canada)