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Hrithik Roshan on being nervous about singing the National Anthem wrong
Subhash K Jha (DNA; August 5, 2016)

Though Hrithik Roshan singing the National Anthem at the Pro Kabaddi League Season 3 finale was applauded, he admits he was very nervous that he might get the pronunciation wrong.

Before Hrithik, Amitabh Bachchan and more recently, Sunny Leone were pulled up by citizen groups for displeasing them with their rendition of the National Anthem. While Leone was wrapped on the knuckles for wrong pronunciation, Mr Bachchan was publicly reprimanded for rendering the Nation Anthem at a slower pace than permissible.

And so, HR approached our National Anthem with utmost caution. Says Hrithik, “I sang it for days in my head before the event. Just to get used to the pronunciation.”

With more and more Bollywood celebrities getting into trouble regarding political/national issues, there is a growing reluctance among high-profile entertainers to participate in national events.

Meanwhile...
A socially active actor with a track record of philanthropy has decided to stay away from all national events. “Why should we lend our names and presence to government-sponsored events or even sing the National Anthem when we are repeatedly humiliated and legally chastened for lending our presence to national events? Aamir Khan’s statement on the growing intolerance in India has returned to haunt him with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar raking up the issue again. Irrfan Khan has been receiving threats when he spoke against certain aspects of organised religion. If we can’t speak on political and national issues without fear of a backlash, why should we participate in national events?”