Singer Sona Mohapatra called Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone's controversial song, Besharam Rang ‘mediocre’ and said the debate around the song only ended up helping the song. Besharam Rang was the first released song of Pathaan, which is currently ruling the box office.
The Ambarsariya singer tweeted, “The faltu ka hue (useless issue) & cry here around #BesharamRang only helped a mediocre song at best. (clapping hands emoji) Of course the opposite, celebrating music that does showcase our Indic identity, won’t happen in a hurry & the de-raci-‘nation’ will continue.” She attached the music video of Rasarkeli Bo with the post. The song and the film were met with protests in several different cities, especially from right-wing groups. The same protests also took place in a few theatres of Madhya Pradesh on its opening day. However, the film emerged as a winner and recorded an opening of ₹57 crore at the domestic box office.