"It's just silly little slang": Guru Randhawa reacts to 'Fine Shyt' backlash
Mumbai, August 10
Punjabi singer Guru Randhawa's latest song 'Fine Shyt' has landed in the middle of a social media controversy, with several users calling out its lyrics, title and portrayal of women in the music video.
Released on Thursday, the song has faced backlash from some viewers who described it as "cringe" and accused it of presenting female corporate workers in a way they found inappropriate. Much of the criticism is around the office setting of the video and the way the women are shown dancing around Randhawa's character.
Randhawa has now reacted to the backlash. Sharing a video of himself driving a Porsche on an empty road, the singer called the title "a silly little slang" and asked people to calm down. He wrote on Instagram, "Guilty as charged of making songs that repeat in your head forever. Low-key loving the edits though. No bad vibes! It's just a silly little slang calm down calm down calm down fam."
The music video begins with a disclaimer saying that everyone featured in it is above 18 and that the story shown is fictional. The disclaimer also describes the video as "camp and satire" and warns viewers against trying similar things at their actual workplace.
In the video, Randhawa plays a senior professional working in an office. He is shown surrounded by young colleagues, including several women, who dance and sing around him while he continues with his work.
The portrayal has not gone down well with some viewers, with users accusing the makers of sexualising the workplace. Others have questioned why the song uses the title 'Fine Shyt' and criticised the choice of words.
One X user questioned the way corporate life was shown in the song and wrote, "This song is misrepresenting life in the corporate world. Unless they're referring to the work that people do - some of it is 'shyt', but I wouldn't call it 'fine'"
Another user compared the song with Randhawa's earlier music, writing, "Society is failing coz in 15 years we went from chammak challo to fine shyt?!?"
A third user looked back at Randhawa's earlier songs and wrote, "Where did we lose this Prime Randhawa From Patola to Fine Shyt."
Another user questioned the choice of the song title, writing, "So there are at least 4 languages and the entire vocabulary of these languages available to be used as lyrics..but Guru Randhawa made a song called Fine Shyt ."
This is not the first time Randhawa has faced criticism over the portrayal of women in one of his songs. Earlier, his track 'Azul' was also criticised by some viewers over allegations that its video sexualised schoolgirls.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I used to enjoy Guru Randhawa's music, but this feels like a step back. The title itself is just trying so hard to be edgy. And the whole office setup with women dancing around the boss? That's not satire, that's just lazy and slightly problematic. Hopefully he goes back to his roots with more meaningful lyrics.
Honestly, as a woman working in corporate India, this video hits different. It's not just "silly slang" - it's about normalizing this image of women in the workplace being decorative objects around a male boss. We've fought hard to be taken seriously in offices, and songs like this just set us back. Guru ji, aap better kar sakte ho. 🙄
From "Patola" to "Fine Shyt" - what a fall from grace. Guru Randhawa was known for songs that celebrated Punjabi culture, and now he's making stuff with English slang that doesn't even make sense. The title is just cringe. And that disclaimer about it being "satire" feels like a cop-out. If you have to explain it's satire, maybe it's not working.
I don't understand why artists keep making content like this and then get surprised when people call them out. The song might be catchy (I'll admit, it's stuck in my head), but the video is problematic. Also, using "shyt" in the title just feels lazy - there are so many beautiful words in Hindi, Punjabi, and English to use instead. 🤷♀️
R We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.