Review by– Ashwini Kumar
Moses Singh’s documentary, Famous, tells the story of Honey Singh, but it’s actually the story of every artist who rises from the ground to the heights of success, only to be brought down by the intoxication of fame and success.
However, Honey Singh’s story, as told by Moses Singh in this 1 hour 20 minute documentary, is not about the downfall of India’s biggest hip-hop star, but about his journey of self-discovery and redemption after hitting rock bottom.
Honey Singh himself says that he hasn’t fully returned to his former self, but is instead working hard to prove himself once again to the new generation of fans.
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The Beginning
The documentary begins in linear mode, with a teaser at the beginning that gives a glimpse into what the documentary has in store… including rare footage from 20 years ago that tells the story of Honey Singh’s early days, his urban sound that got the world dancing, and the controversies that shook his life and led to his downfall.
The documentary then cuts to Honey Singh’s comeback, as he searches for his roots and returns to his humble beginnings in Delhi’s Karampura, visiting his childhood home without windows… where he shares stories of the dreams he saw with open eyes in the closed rooms.
From here, we see Honey Singh’s long-standing friendship and professional relationship with his manager, Rohit Chhabra, and get a glimpse of Honey Singh from 2003, who was obsessed with music. His mother, Bhupinder Kaur, begins to narrate how the superhit song ‘Khadke Glassi’ from Ashok Masti became a chart-topper. Honey Singh shows us the old CPU from his childhood, on which he used to compose music at that time…
Along with the small house in Karampura, Honey Singh’s high-flying journey is showcased at a rapid pace in this documentary. This is where Honey’s sister, Sneha Singh, first witnessed the frenzy of live audiences for Honey Singh.
The Fame
Famous quickly shifts to Mumbai, where at a traffic signal, Honey Singh is recognised by his fans after years, who comment on his weight gain and loss. From there, Honey Singh heads to the shoot of his comeback song. This marks the beginning of a flashback sequence that takes us back to 2014, when Honey Singh was at the peak of his fame, and the story takes a turn towards the most controversial chapter of his life.
Here, Honey Singh’s fame, the obscenity in his songs, and the controversies surrounding them come to the forefront. Honey defends himself, explaining why he sang songs that were glamourised, objectified women, and had highly controversial lyrics.
The 2012 Nirbhaya case, followed by Honey Singh’s performance at the Miss India event in 2014, his songs with rape lyrics, and a highly controversial album produced by Mafia Mundeer, all come under scrutiny. Honey Singh defends himself, claiming he had no involvement with those songs. Then, there’s the story of Shah Rukh Khan’s 2014 international tour, where Honey Singh’s reality show Raw Star was a part of the event. This is where Honey Singh’s breakdown began. On September 26, 2014, Honey Singh made a distress call to his sister from a hotel in Chicago, saying “Save me…” and then he went missing from the tour, injured and abandoned.
Struggles with Mental Health
There were rumors that Shah Rukh Khan had slapped Honey Singh. However, in the documentary, Honey Singh reveals that due to his bipolar disorder and illness, he became so unraveled that he injured himself with his trimmer in Chicago and abandoned the tour.
After that, Honey Singh disappeared from events, cameras, and his rockstar life for two years. For the first time, Honey Singh has opened up about recognizing and treating his mental illness, a journey that lasted two years. Seeing the broken rockstar of that era will make you realize how big a challenge mental illness is and how important it is to recognise it.
After two years, starting from the Mirchi Music Awards in 2016 to 2024, Honey Singh has made a lot of effort to make a comeback. He struggles with an overdose of medication, his sleeping disorder, and tries to strengthen his willpower. With new-age music, trying to keep up with the new stream, and showing the spirit of fighting again and again despite losing, the documentary comes to an end, where Honey Singh returns to the same hotel in Chicago, experiences a nervous breakdown, and somehow manages to complete the show, a story that began in 2014.
More Details
Famous is an interesting and inspirational documentary, but it’s also censored. Honey Singh had claimed that all the dark chapters of his life would be revealed in the documentary, including his stories of drug use. However, Moses Singh has edited out the film industry and Honey Singh’s drug version from the story to avoid legal controversy. There’s no mention of controversial subjects like Mafia Mundeer.
Honey Singh does take credit for the Brown Rang song in the documentary, but there’s no mention of other artists like Badshah, Ikka, or Raftaar who were involved in the song. Although Honey Singh easily shifts the responsibility for a highly controversial and objectionable album to Mafia Mundeer, calling it a conspiracy. The story of his childhood crush and ex-wife Shalini Talwar’s allegations, court cases, and divorce is only mentioned in the documentary to the extent that it was already in the public domain through media. Honey Singh dodges the problems with Shalini by mentioning a legal MOU.
Verdict
On one hand, Famous is a window that allows you to peek into Honey Singh’s life, his old videos, his struggles, his relationships with his family members, and his friendship with music. However, it’s not the door that lets you enter the life of India’s biggest hip-hop star, perhaps Honey Singh isn’t ready for that yet.
In a way, Famous is the story of Honey Singh’s redemption, but in an attempt to hide its dark side, it’s been whitewashed a bit too much.
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