The upcoming film KD: The Devil has been making headlines recently, but not entirely for the reasons the makers might have hoped. The film’s track Sarke Chunar, featuring Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt, recently sparked controversy over its Hindi lyrics. While social media backlash and a formal complaint with the CBFC followed, some suggested the uproar might be a calculated publicity stunt. Breaking his silence on these allegations, director Prem has firmly denied any intention of creating controversy. Speaking about the film’s narrative and the purpose of the song, he clarified that the movie is fundamentally an emotional story. He explained that Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke was designed simply as a fun, celebratory track intended for audiences to enjoy at parties and gatherings.

Addressing the claims of a publicity stunt, Prem asked, “I don’t want any controversy. Mine is an emotional film, and the song is meant to be something people dance to at parties. It’s been well received in Karnataka and Kerala. Why would I want controversy?”

The director attributed the issue to a language gap. While Prem wrote the original Kannada version himself, the Hindi lyrics were adapted by Raqueeb Alam. Prem admitted that because he is not fluent in Hindi, he did not fully grasp the nuances or implications of the translated words that eventually led to the backlash. He mentioned that the expressions used in the song are common in his rural cultural background but were misunderstood in the Hindi translation.

In a move to resolve the matter, the filmmaker confirmed that the controversial portions of the lyrics have been modified. The updated version will be submitted to the Censor Board for approval. Taking responsibility for the oversight, Prem offered an apology to those who felt offended.

He said, “If anyone is hurt, I am very sorry. Our big film faced a small lyrics issue, but it has been blown out of proportion. There are so many larger problems in the world, war hai, LPG gas ki problem hai toh kyun ek gaane pe itni badi controversy kar di?”  (There is war, there is the problem of LPG gas, so why has such a big controversy been created over one song?) While the Hindi version was taken down after the controversy, the song remains available in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, as the criticism was specifically directed at the Hindi adaptation.

Also Read: NCW Summons Makers of Tateeree and Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke Over Obscenity Allegations

Akshay Kumar’s Bhooth Bangla’s release is right around the corner. This horror-comedy will mark his reunion with Priyadarshan and also see him share the screen with Wamiqa Gabbi for the first time. The 58-year-old will be seen romancing the 32-year-old actress in the film.

During a recent conversation, the actor was asked about his stance on love stories with a massive age-gap. Defending it, he said that the same things happen in Hollywood as well as in real life.

Akshay told News18, “Toh kya hai? Humne pehle dekha nahi hai kya kabhi? It happens in Hollywood as well. Sometimes, it’s the requirement of the script. (In real life, too) So many people get married to partners older or younger than them.”

Director Priyadarshan added to it and said that there is a big difference between chronological age and screen age. He explained, “There’s something that people like MGR and NTR used to say… that there’s a big difference between chronological age and screen age. An actor’s screen age may not be his real age. but people accept you for your screen age too. I don’t see any issue there. When I shoot, I may look at a pair and feel like it isn’t the right pair (and that may have nothing to do with their age gap). When I shoot with Akshay or Tabu, I never feel (an issue) looking at them. And once audiences watch the film, I notice that they don’t feel that issue either. That’s because of their characters and their screen age.”

Meanwhile, Bhooth Bangla will be released theatrically on April 10. Besides Akshay Kumar and Wamiqa Gabbi, the film also stars Tabu, Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Jisshu Sengupta, Manoj Joshi, Mithila Palkar, Asrani and Rajesh Sharma, among others.

Also Read: PHOTOS: Bhooth Bangla Stars Akshay Kumar, Wamiqa Gabbi and More Promote Tu Hi Disda