‘Mahatma Gandhi was Pakistan’s father of nation’: Playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya

Playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya recently made headlines with his statement on Mahatma Gandhi, where he called the Indian freedom fighter ‘Father of Pakistan.

During an interaction with journalist Shubhankar Mishra on his podcast, Bhattacharya while talking about music composer RD Burman said, “Pancham Da was bigger than Mahatma Gandhi. Like Mahatma Gandhi was the father of the nation, Pancham Da was the father of the nation in the world of music.”

He went on to say that Mahatma Gandhi was not the father of the nation of India, but he was Pakistan’s Father of India.

“Pancham Da (RD Burman) was bigger than Mahatma Gandhi, he was the Rashtrapita of music. Mahatma Gandhi was the Father of the Nation for Pakistan, not for India. India was always there. Pakistan was created. By mistake, Mahatma Gandhi was called the Father of Our Nation,” Bhattacharya said.

Who is Abhijeet Bhattacharya?

Abhijeet Bhattacharya made his debut in the Hindi music industry with the legendary music composer RD Burman, who introduced him in a Bengali film. He first gained recognition with a duet alongside the iconic Asha Bhosle.

In the early stages of his career, Abhijeet performed in stage shows as a singer alongside R.D. Burman.

Over the years, he has lent his voice to numerous Bollywood actors, including Mithun Chakraborty, Vijay Anand, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Ajay Devgn, Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Chandrachur Singh, Bobby Deol, Jitendra Kumar, and Jimmy Shergill.

In 1992, Abhijeet’s breakthrough came with the hit film Khiladi, where he sang memorable tracks like Waada Raha Sanam, Khud Ko Kya Samajhti Hai, and Kya Khabar Thi Jaana, composed by Jatin-Lalit.

This marked the beginning of his many massive hits throughout the 90s, establishing him as one of the most prominent playback singers in the industry.