Noida: Guru Randhawa has responded to the growing online criticism surrounding his new single Fine Shyt, days after the track’s release triggered trolling, memes and debate over its lyrics and portrayal of women in a corporate setting.
Released on August 6 and featuring co-singer Yashvi Desai, the song’s video is set inside an office, with Randhawa playing a senior professional trying to work at his desk while a group of younger female colleagues — played by Ruhee Dosani, Divinity Bisht, Arshia Sinha, Raema Grover, Darlene Laura and Mehar Kaur — dance and sing around him.
The video opens with a disclaimer stating that everyone featured is over 18, followed by a mock warning asking viewers not to try any of it at “your actual 9-to-5,” adding that “no corporate policies were harmed” in the making of the video.
What Sparked the Backlash
The criticism has centred largely on two things: the office setting and the lyrics.
Several social-media users argued that placing a male senior professional at the centre of a workplace sequence in which younger female colleagues dance around his desk made for an uncomfortable depiction of office culture.
Layered on top of that are lyrics that repeatedly compare the woman being described to luxury cars, with references ranging from an Audi and Ferrari to a G-Wagon, Maybach and McLaren.
For some listeners, those comparisons, combined with the office backdrop, pushed the song from playful territory into objectification. The words “misogynistic” and, more frequently, “cringe” appeared across online reactions.
There is also a slang mismatch that has become part of the conversation.
Online, “fine shyt” is generally used as casual slang to describe someone as attractive, regardless of gender. Randhawa’s video places the expression inside an office setting with an apparent professional hierarchy, which is partly why some viewers felt the phrase landed differently from the casual compliment it usually represents online.
It is worth noting, however, that the backlash reflects one section of social-media reaction rather than a universal verdict on the song. The track has also found listeners simply enjoying its hook and participating in the memes and edits around it.
Guru Randhawa Responds
Randhawa addressed the backlash on Instagram on August 10, sharing a video of himself driving a Porsche and appearing largely unfazed by the criticism.
He joked about being “guilty as charged” of making songs that get stuck in people’s heads, said he was “low-key loving the edits” being made about him and brushed off the controversy with: “It’s just a silly little slang… calm down, calm down, calm down fam.”
Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/Db2BgROznfv/
Not the First Time
This is not the first time Randhawa’s music has drawn criticism over its portrayal of women.
His earlier track Azul faced backlash over a video in which Randhawa played a photography teacher attracted to a student portrayed by an adult actor dressed in a school uniform. The controversy resurfaced in some of the commentary surrounding Fine Shyt, with users drawing comparisons between the two videos.
The Azul lyrics also repeatedly compared the woman at the centre of the song to premium alcohol brands, including the tequila from which the track takes its name.
The reaction to Azul was considerably harsher. Some online commentators accused the video of sexualising a schoolgirl-coded character and romanticising an inappropriate teacher-student dynamic, with a few using the term “paedophilic” while criticising the concept.
