In a scene from Netflix documentary ‘Famous’, rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh says “Sometimes I fall asleep and wake up to realize I am in Noida, not Karampura”. After leaving his house in search of greener pastures, the rapper visits his childhood home in his dreams. He shows the place in his house where he produced, mixed and mastered the 2006 earworm ‘Glassy’ (featuring Ashok Masti). In another scene, Singh says he wants to be cremated in the shamshaan next to his home. He goes out on the streets of Karampura, feasts on chaap with tandoori roti and in the most West Delhi way possible, exclaims : “Faad hai bhai ye (This tastes fantastic)”.
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous: Surviving Bipolar Disorder And Moral Police
“My medication is high on sodium and lithium, which causes water retention and makes you put on a lot of weight”, Honey Singh says while hitting the gym. “No one wants a fat Honey SIngh.” Rarely have we seen mainstream rappers or public figures talk about the weight gain that comes with popping antidepressants. As a plus-size individual who has time-immemorial been accused of being ‘lazy’ and ‘careless’, I couldn’t help but empathize with many of the rapper’s struggles. Social media is brutal. The rapper faced the brunt of his own fans, who body shamed him post the release of his comeback single ‘Makhna’.
The documentary has some light-hearted moments, think Honey listening to Ila Arun’s scandalous ‘Din Mein Leti Hai’ from Sanjay Dutt-starrer ‘Amaanat’. As the innuendo-laden lyrics play, he says “Why only blame Honey Singh?” The rapper’s rhetoric of blaming older scandalous songs (think Rekha Bhardwaj’s ‘Namaq Ishq Ka’) to defend himself, gets stale real quick. In interviews with Lallantop and Kapil Sharma, the rapper has accused moral police of targeting him unfairly, but in this process he has lashed out at some of his peers. Why not stand in solidarity with all musicians and take a collective stand against the moral police?
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous: Nirbhaya And Volume 1 Aftermath
As for the music, there is little-to-no exploration of Singh’s creative process. We jump from ‘Glassy’ and ‘Panga’ to ‘International Villager’ in the blink of an eye. How did Singh constantly reinvent himself through two decades while keeping up with the ever-changing music sound? Those looking for a deep-dive into Honey Singh’s discography might just be disappointed. ‘Famous’ is less about Singh’s music, more about his public persona. In a hilarious mix-up, a fellow music video star says she likes Honey Singh’s ‘Brown Munday’, and the rapper quips “That’s not even my song”.
On the downside, this critic lost respect for Honey Singh when he quite brazenly refused to comment on Volume 1, an infamous, explicit-laiden, violent and highly misogynistic song with graphic imagery around sex. The song, often spoken about in hushed tones, was quite the rage in late aughts and early 2010s, often heard in secrecy. We also see women activists and GenZ comment on Singh’s problematic songs. Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous: Controversy Alert
Why would an artist so brazenly disown a song (that is very clearly sung by him) and go as far as denying that he ever wrote it? Why not own up to it? There is power in accepting one’s mistakes. Unfortunately, Singh lacks the courage to admit that a song he created hurt, offended and possibly traumatized many impressionable young women. That many of his peers and contemporaries point blank refuse to have heard the disgraced song is a cop out at best, erasure at worst.
There are some moments in the documentary which are rather concerning. Despite being on antidepressants Singh is seen consuming alcohol. For the uninitiated, mixing SSRIs/antidepressants with alcohol can be disastrous. This is also the same instance where Mozez Singh, quite tactfully and cunningly, tries to rile up the singer by bringing up Volume 1 and Nirbhaya in the same sentence. The intention here (as evident from the entire exchange) was to instigate Singh while he is under the influence of alcohol. Singh is clearly agitated when this happens.
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous: Did Shah Rukh Khan Slap Honey Singh?
Isn’t it exploitative to have the subjects of your documentary drink and then purposely ask them questions which you a) wouldn’t have asked otherwise and b) know fully well would evoke a strong reaction? That’s food for thought. The moments where Singh shares the details of his psychotic/bipolar-induced breakdown—a meltdown in Chicago, paranoia, delusions and intrusive thoughts—are dark and quite upsetting.
Produced by Sikhya Entertainment and directed by Mozez Singh, Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous will leave you feeling conflicted. The docuseries is an eye-opener as we see a once-celebrated rapper openly talk about his struggles with mental illness—not the sanitized version which excludes contentious issues like weight gain, psychotic meltdowns—but a raw version which might just be triggering for some. Somewhere, the docu-series also makes a case for prioritizing rest. Post his stress-induced mental breakdown, Singh prioritizes sleep and well-being over his shows. PS. Watch out for a new song ‘I Don’t Give A Rizz’ at the end of the documentary, which will remind of the rapper’s golden days.
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous is now streaming on Netflix.
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