In 2026, if a song is called vulgar and you see outrage online, best believe the song has done its job. The backlash around Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt’s new song, Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke, is intense but familiar: complaints about suggestive lyrics, discomfort over choreography, and the usual chorus about declining standards. But beneath the outrage lies a more uncomfortable possibility — what if none of this is accidental? What if the vulgarity isn’t a misstep, but the strategy itself? Because this is not new. We’ve seen similar reactions to recent tracks by Guru Randhawa and Badshah. Those songs were widely criticised, yet trended relentlessly. The formula is becoming hard to ignore: push the boundary just enough to provoke, let outrage do the marketing, and watch the numbers climb.

In that sense, controversy is no longer a risk, but rather a brilliant strategy that never fails.

The economy of vulgarity

In today’s attention economy, visibility is everything, no matter the context. Platforms do not distinguish between praise and criticism; they reward engagement. A song that sparks debate travels further than one that is merely liked. So when a track is labelled ‘vulgar’, it gets much more amplified. People watch it to confirm the outrage, then share it with friends to talk about how disgusting it is. And in doing so, they push it deeper into the algorithm’s spotlight. The result is a self-sustaining loop where backlash fuels virality, and virality justifies the approach.

This raises a more troubling question: Is Bollywood leaning on controversy because creativity is failing? For decades, music in Indian cinema carried narrative weight. In Bollywood movies, songs are extensions of the story, character, and emotion. Today, many tracks are engineered less for storytelling and more for standalone consumption on reels and playlists. If the hook doesn’t come from meaning, it has to come from impact. And shock, whether through lyrics, visuals, or innuendo, is the quickest way to achieve that.

But this suggests that somewhere, a creative compromise is happening. Who needs nuanced and intricate storytelling when a poorly written and disgustingly worded song can land you in Google’s trending section? You didn’t know about this movie before this song went viral for its lyrics, and that says a lot about why outrage is the new currency. Even though YouTube has taken down the video, the outrage has given enough views and hype to the filmmakers.

The curious case of selective backlash

Then there’s another layer to this controversy, one that says as much about the audience as it does about the industry. While the criticism has largely centred on Nora Fatehi, the song itself isn’t a solo act. Sanjay Dutt is very much part of the same visual and narrative space. And yet, the scrutiny isn’t evenly distributed. All headlines, tweets, and Instagram stories are talking about “Nora Fatehi’s new song”, ignoring the fact that Sanjay Dutt is as much a part of it as Nora Fatehi. In fact, he is a much bigger star, with much more responsibility. 

However, this pattern is hardly new. In songs built around glamour and spectacle, the woman often becomes the focal point of judgement. Meanwhile, male co-performers tend to exist on the periphery of criticism, even when they are equally present. Whenever we talk about objectification in item numbers, it’s the performer (who is always the woman) who is blamed, as if she alone decided to write, choreograph, and direct that song. Somehow, all the men involved in the process escape the blame. 

Even the language of criticism reflects this imbalance — her performance is dissected, her choices are questioned, and more importantly, her morals are doubted. “She is such a big star; she should have said no.”  That’s right, she should have said no, but so should have the male actor, director, and writer. Instead of interrogating the content as a whole, the reaction narrows in on the most visible female figure. It raises another uncomfortable question: are we reacting to the content itself, or to who is embodying it?

The outrage is the strategy

The entertainment industry will not stop making songs like Sarke Chunar because outrage has become indistinguishable from promotion. An NHRC (National Human Rights Commission of India) notice here, an FIR there creates enough noise to satisfy the appearance of accountability without actually changing the incentive structure. As long as controversy delivers millions of views before a takedown, the calculus remains the same.

And as long as the woman in the frame absorbs the public’s anger while the men behind the camera count their millions, the formula will keep working exactly as designed.

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