Udit Narayan Defends His Viral Concert Kiss, Says He Aspires To Receive Bharat Ratna: 'Hum Decent Log Hain'

Singer Udit Narayan stated on Sunday that there was "nothing sleazy" about kissing a female fan during his concert.

Social media erupted after a video from the event went viral, showing the singer forcefully kissing the woman as she approached him for a selfie.

Photo Credit: PTI

In a recent interview, the 69-year-old singer expressed that he has "no regrets" and hopes to be honoured with a Bharat Ratna in the future.

Udit, known for his iconic Bollywood songs, shared that he regards the late legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar as his idol and dreams of receiving India's highest civilian award "like Lataji" one day.

"On a more serious note, I am the recipient of several Filmfare Awards, National Awards, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. I aspire to get the Bharat Ratna, like Lataji. She is my idol. Do you know I was her favourite co-singer among the singers of my generation?" he stated in an interview with Bollywood Hungama.

The singer further remarked that the incident was a private matter between him and his fans, who, according to him, share an unbreakable bond. He dismissed any criticism, insisting that his actions reflected mutual love and respect.

"There is a deep, pure and unbreakable bond between my fans and I. What you saw in the so-called scandalous video was a manifestation of the love between my fans and I. They love me. I love them back even more," he said.

The 'Main Yahaan Hoon' singer added that his "heart is pure" and expressed sympathy for those criticising him on social media.

When asked if he felt any embarrassment over the incident, he replied, "No, not at all! Why should I be? Do you hear any regret or sorrow in my voice? In fact, I am laughing as I talk to you. It is not something sleazy or secret. It is there in the public domain. My heart is pure. If some people want to see something dirty in my act of pure affection, then I feel sorry for them. I also want to thank them."

Following the viral video, additional clips surfaced online, showing Udit kissing female singers such as Shreya Ghoshal and Alka Yagnik on stage, appearing to catch them off guard.

Earlier, addressing the controversy, the playback singer described the incident as "deewangi" (madness) of fans. He denied any inappropriate behaviour, asserting, "hum decent log hain" (we are decent people).

His full statement read, "Fans itne deewane hote hain na. Hum log aise nahi hain, hum decent log hain (Fans are crazy. We are not like this, we are decent people). Some people encourage this and show their love through this. Udaake kya karna hai ab iss cheez ko (What is the point of making a big deal out of this)? There are so many people in the crowd, and we have bodyguards present too. But fans think they are getting a chance to meet, so someone extends their hands for a handshake, some kiss the hands... yeh sab deewangi hoti hai. Uspe itna dhyaan nahi dena chahiye (All this is fans' craze, it shouldn't be given so much attention)."

Udit Narayan is married to Deepa Gahatraj, and the couple has a son, Aditya Narayan, who is a television presenter and playback singer. He was previously married to Ranjana Narayan.

For years, he denied his marriage to Ranjana but eventually acknowledged it and agreed to provide for her maintenance.