Uttarakhand minister halts Daler Mehndi’s Navratri show, alleges singer was drunk

A Navratri concert in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district has turned into a public spat after state Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal walked on to the stage mid-show and accused Punjabi pop star Daler Mehndi of being in no state to perform. The singer’s brother, Mika Singh, has since rejected the charge that Mehndi had been drinking, saying he was unwell after a recent surgery.

The episode took place on Sunday night, 18 October, at the cultural evening of the Siddhpeeth Maa Kunjapuri Tourism and Development Fair in New Tehri, an annual event tied to the Kunjapuri temple and held during Navratri. A clip of the exchange spread widely on social media on Monday, 19 October.

What the minister alleged

Mr Uniyal, who represents Narendra Nagar in the Assembly, questioned on stage whether Mehndi was actually singing or performing over a recorded track, PTI reported in The Hindu. In the video, the minister is heard asking how the singer could sing when he could not even speak properly, and telling him the organisers had brought him in to entertain local people, not to make fools of them. He also invoked the religious character of the Navratri programme, dedicated to Goddess Durga, and said it demanded proper decorum.

The minister went further in remarks to reporters. He told The Indian Express that Mehndi had been drunk and unable to perform, and that the organisers had spent several lakh rupees on his fee, travel and stay. Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, as quoted by Hindustan Times, he put the fee at ₹35 lakh, said the singer looked disoriented and unsteady, and claimed he was only lip-syncing.

These remain allegations. The Hindu and Hindustan Times both noted that the claim of intoxication could not be independently confirmed, and no medical or official finding has been reported.

In the clip shared by NDTV, Mehndi is seen responding with folded hands and asking the minister to step off the stage.

The other side

The Indian Express said it had contacted a representative of Mehndi but had not received a reply. Event organisers later said the singer’s team had told them he was unwell, according to Asianet Newsable and Glamsham.

Mika Singh, Mehndi’s younger brother and a well-known playback singer, mounted a strong defence in a video statement reported by India Today on Tuesday. He said his brother had recently undergone major surgery and had gone ahead with the show despite poor health, as artists often do once they have committed. Singh accepted that a paying organiser could fault the quality of a performance, but called the drinking charge false and said he would give up singing if anyone could show that Mehndi drinks.

NDTV also pointed to a 2024 interview with Navbharat Times in which Mehndi had said he does not drink and credited that for preserving his voice. LatestLY recalled a 2021 statement in which he described himself as a teetotaller.

A big name, a bigger debate

Mehndi, who rose to fame in the 1990s with hits such as “Bolo Ta Ra Ra” and “Ho Jayegi Balle Balle”, is among India’s best-known bhangra-pop artists. The row has set off a wider online argument about what organisers of publicly funded festival events can expect from star performers, and whether a public dressing-down on stage was the right way to raise those concerns. Mehndi himself had not issued a personal statement at the time of writing.

Sources: The Hindu (PTI), The Indian Express, NDTV, Hindustan Times, Glamsham, Asianet Newsable, LatestLY, India Today