Sona Mohapatra on Thursday shot back at Sonu Nigam, saying that by addressing her relationship with a man to describe her identity speaks volumes about his “conditioning and world view”.
Giving a point-by-point rebuttal to Nigam’s comments where he labelled her criticism of his reported defence of #MeToo accused Anu Malik as “vomiting on Twitter”, Mohapatra said the remarks were in “bad taste”.
“To define me on basis of a relationship with another person & not as an individual, going to the extension of memory loss for my name; a gift of patriarchal conditioning.
“To refer to my opinions and stand in the #MeToo movement as vomiting’; bad taste,” she wrote.
In a statement on Thursday, Sonu said, “The respectable lady vomiting on Twitter, is the wife of someone who I consider very close to me, so although she’s has forgotten the relationship, I’d like to maintain the decorum.”
In her response, Sona also said that she refuse to call Sonu as “someone’s papa or someone’s husband or someone’s son”.
“You are yet for me one of the greatest classic film singers of India and someone I have found to be particularly nice to me every time we’ve met for close to a decade and half. In personal and professional settings.
“That you found no other means of experiencing me as a person despite knowing me for over a decade, but as a wife’, speaks volumes, of your conditioning and world view,” Sona said.
The singer is married to composer Ram Sampath and the duo are partners in their music production house OmGrown Music.
She said she will not “defend or behave with anyone in a particular manner basis a personal ‘relationship’.”
“We occupy a public space as artists and it is my duty to stand for what is right. Glad you value your relationship with my partner Ram Sampath with whom you have not only sung songs like ‘Dil Dooba’ in ‘Khakhee’ but others over the years.
“I do not occupy a position of power in your eyes for you to value my worth. Know one thing though, not all relationships are basis, give and take. Some are basis a shared value and belief system. We possibly have none, unfortunate,” she added.
Sona said it is “unbefitting” of Sonu to “hide under bluster, male ego and pettiness”.
