Gopalganj: Famous Bhojpuri singer Priyanka Singh broke down on stage at a government function in Gopalganj district as organisers interrupted her performance, snatched away her mike and officials allegedly used terse language for her on Sunday.
Priyanka, a native of Gopalganj, was invited by Bihar’s tourism department to perform at Thawe Mahotsava.
In a video clip which has now gone viral on social media, programme anchor Roopam Trivikram can be seen interrupting Priyanka’s performance and stopping her from singing. As Priyanka requests for two minutes more, the anchor tells her in a coercive tone: “It’s enough. Aaram se madam (Take it easy, madam)”.
The anchor then proceeds to call up the district magistrate to felicitate the artist. As another person comes up on stage, they aggressively grab the artist’s microphone and demand that she leaves the stage.
However, the artist does not back down and takes back the microphone to object to their behavior. At this point, she breaks down in tears. Seeing the mood changing against the organisers, the man then gives the microphone back to her.
“No artist should be humiliated the way I have been humiliated on this stage today. The district magistrate should not have insulted me. This is gross injustice,” says Priyanka, weeping.
She adds: “I am not desperate to sing, but nobody should have to experience such humiliation.”
Speaking to the media, Priyanka later expressed her disappointment at the incident and demanded justice from the state government.
Meanwhile, the district administration has promised to look into the matter and ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future.
The incident has attracted widespread criticism and condemnation from the general public, who accused the government of insulting local artists.
On Twitter, famous Bhojpuri actress Akshara Singh called the incident the “pinnacle of indecency”.
“These people (organisers) have forgotten that every stage has a decorum to maintain. They are making a spectacle of their influence and power to insult an artist, that too a woman,” she tweeted.