When a Hit Song Became a Weapon: The "Oye Oye" Problem
When a Hit Song Became a Weapon: The "Oye Oye" Problem
In 1989, a catchy Bollywood song called "Oye Oye" from the movie Tridev became so popular that it actually caused a nationwide problem.
The Song Everyone Loved
The movie Tridev, directed by Rajiv Rai, featured this upbeat dance number with stars Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Naseeruddin Shah, and actress Sonam. The music was composed by Kalyanji-Anandji and sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Suresh Wadkar. With its fun beat and playful lyrics, the song became an instant hit across India.
When Fun Turned Ugly
Here's where things went wrong: young men all over the country started using the song to harass women on the streets. They'd whistle, yell "Oye Oye!" at women passing by, and repeat the song's flirty lines in crude, aggressive ways. What was meant to be entertainment became a tool for catcalling and sexual harassment.
Important clarification: The government never officially banned the song. You could still watch the movie and hear it on the radio. But police across India started cracking down hard on men using it to harass women.
The Crackdown
Director Rajiv Rai himself explained what happened in a 2025 radio interview: "It was not banned, but all of the people were arrested. They started using it for eve-teasing. A lot of people were arrested for catcalling."
Police were making arrests nationwide for public harassment tied to the song. Women had filed so many complaints that authorities had to take action. Some reports from that time suggest officials even discouraged people from singing it in public to stop the harassment.
Why This Happened
In the late 1980s, India was starting to take street harassment more seriously. Before then, it was often brushed off or ignored. The song's popularity hit right when people were fed up with this behavior, making the backlash even stronger.
What Happened to the Movie
Despite the controversy, Tridev became the third-biggest Hindi film of 1989 and won three Filmfare Awards. The song remained popular and was even remixed in 2016 for the movie Azhar. Actor Naseeruddin Shah later joked that he turned down dance roles after this, saying, "I'm a terrible dancer—Oye Oye worked because they didn't expect me to do one step right."
The Lesson
This story shows how a Bollywood hit can spill into real life in unexpected ways. The song itself wasn't the problem—it was how people chose to use it. Sometimes stopping bad behavior doesn't require an official ban, just enough public pressure and police action to make people think twice.
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