The New York Times called
Sachin Tendulkar “a hugely popular cricketer” but defined Lata Mangeshkar as
“a so-called playback singer”. However, their South Asia’s Bureau Chief has issued clarification
While Indian comedian Tanmay Bhat continues to face national outrage for mocking legends Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar, the US-based daily, The New York Times, has stoked another controversy online by calling Mangeshkar ‘a so-called singer’. The article titled Mumbai Police Ask for Video Mocking Celebrities to Be Deleted called Sachin Tendulkar “a hugely popular cricketer” but defined Lata Mangeshkar as “a so-called playback singer”.
“In the expletive-laced video, which was created on Snapchat, Mr. Bhat uses that app’s face-swap feature to impersonate Sachin Tendulkar, a hugely popular cricketer who retired in 2013, and Lata Mangeshkar, a so-called playback singer for Bollywood films whose career dates to the 1940s. Playback singers record vocals for song-and-dance numbers, to which actors and actresses lip sync,” reads the article.
While a lot of people has criticised the NYT calling the article a ‘grave error’ with malicious intent, many have also given the daily the benefit of doubt. Technically, accordingly to the Oxford Dictionary, there can be different connotations of the adjective ‘so-called’. For instance, it is “used to show that something or someone is commonly designated by the name or term specified.” It is also “used to express one’s view that such a name or term is inappropriate”.
Ellen Barry, NYT’s South Asia Bureau Chief has also issued clarification on Twitter. “A note on “so-called”: Used here for non-Indian readers unfamiliar w term “playback singer.” In no way a commentary. (sic),” he tweeted.
However, not many people are buying his argument. The 86-year-old Lata Mangeshkar, also awarded with India’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, is widely acknowledged as the nightingale of India. Her name was registered in Guinness Book of World Records for several years for recording maximum number of songs in the world. In 1987, she was granted honorary citizenship of USA in Houston, Texas. Canada declared June 9 as Asia Day on arrival of the singer in Toronto in 1985. Besides several global accolades, she is the reigning queen in Bollywood for over seven decades. Definitely the confusing usage of ‘so-called’ could have been avoided.
As expected, Indians and Mangeshkar’s fans all over the world are now telling the NYT more about the singer on Twitter. Below are some of the tweets!
Thought “#LataMangeshkar is a so-called singer” was a spoof. It’s not!
What next @nytimes? Sinatra & Whitney Huston are “so-called singers”?— Smita Barooah (@smitabarooah) May 31, 2016
The bad thing about being busy in work is that you miss out on world-class comedy like @nytimes calling Lata Mangeshkar “so called singer” !
— Akhilesh Mishra (@amishra77) May 31, 2016
@nytimes #LataMangeshkar a “So-called” playback singer??
Ok I forgive u @nytimes , u belong 2 a country that’ll be electing Trump as Prez— Bhamini Ravishankar (@Bhamini_11) May 31, 2016
