Harrdy Sandhu: Songs should celebrate women, not objectify them
Singer Harrdy Sandhu is against songs that promote objectification of women. He says, ‘Women cannot just be spoken about for their appearance’.
Of late, a lot of Punjabi songs have been criticised for objectification of women in terms of lyrics or visuals. After rapper Badshah who recently condemned this culture, Harrdy Sandhu is the latest one to denounces it. The singer says, “Women cannot just be spoken about for their appearance and how they walk or talk. Women of today are going places and they should be celebrated for everything they do. I am hopeful that in the future, we will have more songs that celebrate women and not objectify them.”
Ask the Bijlee Bijlee singer if there’s a criteria for him to accept or turn down a song, and the 37-year-old says, “As an artiste, I believe in creating music that resonates and brings joy to my audience. I don’t make music with the intent of having a certain number of views. I don’t like to put anything inappropriate in my songs. Till the time my lyrics and music don’t harm anyone’s emotions or feelings, I am happy. That’s all that matters to me.”
Meanwhile Sandhu, who marked your Bollywood acting debut with 83 (2021), says the he “couldn't have asked for a better Bollywood debut”. He adds, “It opened doors for me and many other Punjabi artistes. I’m no longer seen as someone who would only be considered to play a Punjabi character. I think as an artiste, that’s (being seen as a versatile artiste) is very important.”
Having done several Punjabi films, is he now actively seeking a career in Bollywood? “I am open to any exciting opportunity, but it totally depends on the role that’s offered to me. Regional cinema played a big role in preparing me for mainstream Hindi cinema. Most of what I know about acting and performing is what I learned on the sets of the regional films I did. However, the one big advantage of doing mainstream cinema is that your work gets recognised by audiences across India and even internationally,” says Sandhu, adding, “Even though the exposure to regional cinema has improved with the presence of OTT, the audience reach and connect with mainstream Hindi cinema is massive.”