Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous review- Hear out Hirdesh, yo!

Yo Yo Honey Singh FamousOn NetflixGenre DocumentaryDir Mozez SinghRating 35Nothing is usual about hiphop star Hirdesh Singh Starting with his stage name Yo Yo Honey Singh that I donrsquot know where he picked up fromParticularly the two Yos Perhaps inspired by the double honorific Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who knowsWhat we also didnrsquot know for suremdashuntil the latest Netflix documentarymdashis how this music sensation fell through the cracks altogether disappearing from the scene while at the peak of his career as Indiarsquos richest rapper back in 2014Thatrsquos the point of Yo Yo Honey Singh Famous piloted by Oscarwinning docproducer Guneet Monga That point also makes one wonder about other things that this film couldrsquove beenTo begin with itrsquos not a hagiographical biopic The only other doc on a Punjabi hiphop star that Irsquove watched AP Dhillon First of a Kind Prime Video was one suchmdashto the extent that they ought to have tagged lsquopaid partnershiprsquo to the title for fair disclosureAnd just as most meetings are actually emails and all emails should be WhatsApp textsmdashthere is a tendency to pass off straightforward interviews as documentaries Notably the last Netflix desi popculture flick Modern Masters SS RajamouliThe camera in Famous seldom zooms out for a wider social perspective Whether that be exploring the larger lively hiphop scene that curiously birthed in West Delhi in the 2000s may I recommend you Google a piece from Caravan magazine on thatHoney is from Karampura neighbourhood in the same area He shows you around going ldquoMa city ma hoodhelliprdquo Awrightie yoThe windowless home he grew up in that you watch in the film modelled on a train compartment is modest alright In contrast to his AfricanAmerican bling fastcar designerlabel derivative image But it is still middleclass Hardly rags even for the riches that followedThe filmrsquos commentary is chiefly restricted to two voices thatrsquos itOnersquos a music critic Bhanuj Kappal who I enjoyed listening to Wherein he frames Honeyrsquos early career through a series of experiments with an eye on audiencesmdashldquoBhagat Singh thing hiphop Eminemstyle gangster rap party raphelliprdquoUntil he arrived at the most acceptable new sound with folk into the mix Hence Honeyrsquos debut studio album International Villager that made him overnight a national starKappal calls out the misogyny in Honeyrsquos songs He firstly got accused for a track lsquoMein hoon balatkaarirsquo that he evidently never sangTherersquos another track on female anatomy attributed to Honeyrsquos bandplatform Mafia Mundeer that he says never released Honey has his say on the matterI remember defending him before news anchor Arnab Goswami in 2012 after the Nirbhaya incident when mainstream media were looking for convenient villains to nail for a gruesome crime by deranged maniacsThe issue with burdening entertainment with societal ills besides being left with only bores on this planetmdashyou will find an easy solution you still wonrsquot know the problem Not that this debate ever endsI recently found myself on a TV station arguing against Telangana government banning songs to do with alcohol from Honeyrsquos former colleague Diljit Dosanjhrsquos concertplaylistI mean seriously Forget Harivanshrai Bachchanrsquos Madhushala what about gazillion ghazals in praise of boozemdashwhere do you start from let alone end up withThe only other commentator in Famous is actor Salman Khan Not a surpriseMaybe the empathy comes from personal experience he has a thing for getting behind fallen starsmdashTV host Kapil Sharma when he was struggling with alcohol or actor Sooraj Pancholi embroiled in the Jiah Khan suicideabetment caseTherersquos a fine moment in the film when Honey gets sent a scratch from Salman The track Twinkle twinkle little star is ready Salman asks Honey to add rap portions to it He stars in the song sequence with Salman in the film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan 2023 Itrsquos Honeyrsquos Bollywood onscreen comeback of sortsThe way Honey and his homies insert a chorus to that number is a delight to savour Itrsquos these instudio BTS footage that make music documentaries so alluring for the outsiderrsquos eye If only there were more such even if from archivesNow that wersquove delved enough into what Famous competently directed by Mozez Singh Zubaan could have also been letrsquos shine a sincere light on what the film isIt is tight and to the point It sharply zeroes in on perils of extreme fameI donrsquot think any young human is capable of indifference when Godlike status is thrust upon them suddenly by a fawning public while theyrsquore basically talented plus lucky musicians or sportspersons at best Surely that takes a needless tollThat said and this is unrelated to fame per semdashwhat the documentary draws you in with are aspects of mental health Honey fell off the map because he got diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic symptomsHe stayed in for over three years Doing nothing after dominating Indiarsquos soundscape where he could do nothing wrongItrsquos only while watching Famous I realised that golden phase was merely between 20122014 Badshah perhaps became the new HoneyDiljit is the reigning Badshah Karan Aujla is probably the new kid on the block Music in the age of 15second Insta Reels seems the shortestlived game ever Honey looks lost says he wants to return with Dr Dre at some point Who knowsYUCK WHATEVER GOOD SUPER AWESOME

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous review- Hear out Hirdesh, yo!

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous
On: Netflix
Genre: Documentary
Dir: Mozez Singh
Rating: 3/5

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Home / Entertainment / Bollywood News / Article / Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous review- Hear out Hirdesh, yo!

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous review- Hear out Hirdesh, yo!

Yo Yo Honey Singh: FamousOn: NetflixGenre: DocumentaryDir: Mozez SinghRating: 3/5

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous
On: Netflix
Genre: Documentary
Dir: Mozez Singh
Rating: 3/5