Remove from YouTube: Rangabati singer

Sambalpur: The outrage over the remix version of Sambalpuri cult song ‘Rangabati’ seems to be spreading thick and fast. The Western Odisha Folk Artists’ Association today hit the streets here demanding the version’s removal from YouTube.

According to reports, the original song’s music director Prabhudatta Pradhan and singer Jitendra Haripal were seen joining the protest and demanding its removal from the popular video-sharing website.

Besides, various cultural groups of the region staged protests in front of the collectorate here and burnt the effigies of Sona Mohapatra, the lead singer of the remix version.

They demanded an apology from Mohapatra and the producer of the version for what they called defaming and hurting the feelings of the people of the entire region.

Earlier, Pradhan and lyricist Mitrabhanu Gauntia had filed a Rs 1-crore defamation suit and served legal notices on Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, Hindustan Coca Cola Holdings, Viacom 18 Media, composer of the remix version Ram Sampath and singers Mohapatra and Rituraj Mohanty alleging copyright violation.