Facing backlash, Saayoni posts new look, ‘Ikk Kudi’ lyric
Times of India | 18 June 2026
Kolkata: Facing intense backlash over her decision to join the rebel Trinamool bloc — including criticism from former colleague and MP Mahua Moitra — MP Saayoni Ghosh has remained publicly silent, choosing instead to make a statement through a dramatic image change on social media late Tuesday night.
Trading her signature saree and bun for a grey T-shirt and cropped hair, Ghosh paired the photo with the opening lyric of Shahid Mallya’s “Ikk Kudi” from Abhishek Chaubey’s “Udta Punjab”: “Ikk kudi jihda naam mohabbat, gum hai, gum hai, gum hai” — “a girl whose name is love is missing.” Repeated calls to Ghosh went unanswered.
The choice has drawn attention for its cinematic context. Rooted in the poetry of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, the song scores the tragic arc of an unnamed migrant worker played by Alia Bhatt, ensnared by a drug syndicate, and is picturised on Bhatt and Shahid Kapoor’s character — a once-successful, cocaine-addicted musician.
Within the film, as Bhatt’s character forms an uneasy alliance with Kapoor’s to expose the politicians behind the syndicate, the song serves as a wistful plea to reclaim her lost innocence and autonomy.
Many have read Ghosh’s choice as a deliberate, coded statement rather than incidental, though not everyone is convinced.
Suchismita Dasgupta, her costume designer for “Aparajito” — a film whose shoot was previously disrupted by Ghosh’s arrest in Tripura — was unsparing.
“How many times is she going to change colours? First she supported the Left, then supposedly joined TMC because she received rape threats. Now she has joined the rebel bloc. You can’t expect us to be fools and buy her alibi to justify all her defections,” Dasgupta said.