‘Who is KK? We are better than any K': Bengali musician’s rant hours before singer’s sudden death

Well-known Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, died in Kolkata on Tuesday night.

Hours before singer KK died in Kolkata on Tuesday, Bengali singer Rupankar Bagchi took went live on Facebook to rant against the popular Bollywood singer.

Bagchi questioned the immense frenzy around KK’s concert at Nazrul Manch and said that singers from Kolkata can sing better than KK.

"I watched videos of KK's performance on Facebook and realised that we all (singers in Bengal) sing better than him. So why don't you (the people) show the same amount of excitement for us?" Bagchi said in the live session.

"Everybody is going gaga over KK, who is KK? We are better than any K."

Rupankar Bagchi went on to add that Bengali singers such as Anupam Roy, Somlata Acharyya Chowdhury, Iman Chakraborty and Raghab Chatterjee, among others are much better performers than KK.

Read more: Videos show KK being rushed off-stage, sweating profusely. He died before reaching hospital

"Why are you (the fans) so enamoured by Bombay? Explore the artistes from South India, Odisha, Punjab. Learn to appreciate regional music, Bengali music. Be Bengali, guys," he said while concluding the live session.

Krishnakumar Kunnath, popular as KK, died hours after performing at Nazrul Manch in Kolkata. He felt unwell and collapsed reaching the hotel. The 53-year-old was rushed to the hospital, he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Read more: KK's last performance in Kolkata had a classic song from his debut album | Watch

Meanwhile, fans and other artistes have heavily criticised Bagchi for his comments.  Singer Tanmay Sadhak wrote, “100% you should have been jailed.”

Bengali actress Rupanjana Mitra also lashed out at him for the “insensitive” comment about the now-late singer. “Shame on you Mr Rupankar Bagchi!!! You are nothing but a selfish soul,” Mitra wrote in a Facebook post.

“First rectify your narrow-mindedness and then compare yourself to KK. You have no right to belittle a singer like him. Yes, I am a KK fan and tremendously hurt by how you expressed your jealousy,” she stated.