Farhan has never claimed to be Rafi, says Shujaat Saudagar

Shujaat Saudagar has had a rough few days since the release of his film Rock On 2. He believes demonetisation played a huge part in the film’s poor box office performance, but remind him of the critics’ panning and he says, “I don’t know where the viciousness in the reviews is coming from. To me, it feels more of a personal attack than reviewing the film—from being nasty to outright bizarre. These critics seem to give outrageous number of stars to fluff and froth that some of our mainstream cinema is seeped in; in fact they call it path-breaking cinema!”

A lot of criticism also seems to be aimed at Farhan Akhtar’s singing. Shujaat doesn’t seem to take kindly to that either. “Farhan Akhtar has never claimed to be Mohammad Rafi! I’ve read and heard some of the critics slamming his singing and saying that the songs are bad compared to the first part! Who do they think sang all those songs in the first part? Kishore Kumar? Here is an artiste trying to be true to his character and his art by singing his own songs. Ninety-five per cent of the actors in the industry will shy away from training. I really would like to see them croon half a line!”