After Sonu Nigam's Azaan row, video of Priyanka Chopra praising it goes viral

Sonu Nigam and Priyanka Chopra

Sonu Nigam and Priyanka Chopra

Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam was recently in the eye of the storm, when he expressed his displeasure against mosques blaring Azaan in the morning, calling it 'gundagardi' and 'forced religiousness'.

According to Indian Express, the singer was supported by some and opposed by others on Twitter for expressing his view. As far as fellow members of the Bollywood film industry go, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, Apurva Asrani and actress Richa Chadha supported his stand. Fellow singers Shaan and Kailash Kher also showed their support to Sonu Nigam.

But, actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt did not share their view and instead took to Twitter and said she found the sound of church bells and Azaan very blissful.

In a sentiment similar to Pooja Bhatt, an old video of Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has gone viral, in which the actress has spoken positively about Azaan. In the video, which was made when Priyanka was filming for 'Gangaajal 2' in Bhopal, the actress said she would listen to the divine Azaan, after packup in the evening, and claimed she finds it very peaceful. She also said the Azaan was like music to her ears.

Following an outpour of supportive and opposing tweets, Sonu Nigam defended his comments in a series of posts on Twitter. He even lashed out at Twitter trolls condemning him.

The Twitteratti was divided in opinion, with those in favour of banning high-decibel broadcasts citing the August 2016 Bombay High Court order that directed noise pollution in religious places be controlled in accordance with silence zone norms. It includes not using loudspeaker in such areas.

When reached out for a comment, Sonu Nigam simply said, "I have said what I had to. The rest is for the world to decipher."