Mika Singh has publicly detailed the personal fallout from the Uttarakhand stage row involving his brother Daler Mehndi, saying the older singer broke down on the phone the day after being reprimanded by a minister, and that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami later called to apologise on the minister’s behalf.
What Mika Singh said
Speaking at a press conference on October 23, Mika said he first learnt about the controversy after finishing his own show in Surat. He tried calling Daler that night, but the call went unanswered. When the brothers finally spoke the next day, Daler became emotional before Mika could say much.
“When I called Paaji the next day, he broke down crying because he was emotional,” Mika said, as reported by India Today. He said he advised Daler not to accept performance offers when unwell, and added that his brother should have responded in the moment on stage: “I have not been bought, and I am not some other singer.”
The incident that started it
Daler Mehndi was performing at an event in Uttarakhand when minister Subodh Uniyal interrupted him mid-performance and reprimanded him for allegedly appearing disoriented. The minister was reported to have asked, “You can’t even speak. How will you perform?”
Uniyal later told news agency ANI that the organisers had paid ₹35 lakh for the performance. Daler Mehndi has not publicly commented on the episode so far.
A call from the chief minister
Mika said the brothers subsequently spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who offered an apology on behalf of the minister. Mika described the CM’s communication as polite and humble, and said he told Dhami an apology was not needed from him because the chief minister had made no mistake.
According to Mika, Dhami assured the brothers they would be treated with utmost respect on their next visit to the state. Several celebrities have also posted videos on social media supporting Daler.
Why fans are watching
The episode touches a familiar anxiety in live-event culture: what happens when a paid performance becomes a public confrontation. Here, a veteran artist’s stage moment turned into a political image-management story, with a minister disclosing a performance fee and the chief minister stepping in to reset the tone.
- A sitting minister interrupted a paid live show and publicly scolded the performer.
- The fee — ₹35 lakh — was later shared with a news agency.
- The chief minister’s call shifted the framing to respect and hospitality.
For now, Daler Mehndi remains silent, while Mika Singh has become the loudest voice in the family’s corner. The next test, as Mika framed it, is whether public figures on stage are treated as artists or as hired help.
Source: Hindustan Times
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