Khaali Peeli‘s latest song has done the unthinkable – it has messed with queen Beyoncé. The item song titled ‘Beyonce Sharma Jayegi‘ from Ananya Panday and Ishaan Khatter’s upcoming movie inspired the collective rage of netizens upon its release. And it’s so much more than just another bad Bollywood song.

The Khaali Peeli song composed by Vishal-Shekhar, written by Kumaar and Raj Shekhar and sung by Nakash Aziz and Neeti Mohan takes ignorance a notch higher. ‘Beyonce Sharma Jayegi‘ is about a fair-skinned actress, referred to as “gori” being praised for dancing skills that are supposedly better than Beyoncé’s. For a song with a basic premise packed with the regular isms – colourism, sexism and racism, it manages to be as cringey as it is problematic. And they spelled her name wrong. Check out the song here in case the title isn’t a dead giveaway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHw3Sia7KtY

“Tujhe dekhke goriya, Beyonce sharma jayegi“, really? Why would you compare this mediocre performance with the living icon? As if the song isn’t bad enough!

While some Indian fans are apologising to Beyoncé for the racist song, others are slamming it and hoping queen Bey sues the makers.

beyoncé honey , we are so sorry 🥴 pic.twitter.com/abS5MShFth

— aakshi (@kiaraastan) September 7, 2020

this is straight up racist. bollywood when will you move past your goriya obsession and pls leave beyonce out of your damn mouths pic.twitter.com/Cp8kZGY6xq

— mon⁷ 🍃 mi pan zoe zoe zoe✨ (@peekaiu) September 7, 2020

They r literally saying that “Beyonce would be ashamed looking at Ananya because Ananya is Goriya (white)” Next time Bollywood says BLM, fuck them. https://t.co/gmMCBSeMXp

— Cinema Therapy (@moviesadmirer) September 7, 2020

What the hell is this😭😭 I hope Beyonce sue them😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/lnt6LnKLw6

— RIT SHARMA (@RITSharma9) September 7, 2020

The fact that item songs bring out the worst of Bollywood is universally acknowledged. We have watched women get objectified, sexualised and harassed on dancey tunes for decades now. But in a world that’s striving to do better, a song like this sets the industry back by years. the question we’re really ask is – just why?

‘Beyonce Sharma Jayegi’ comes from Bollywood’s refusal to change. Item songs have been called out over the years to no avail. In spite of overt criticism, the film industry’s music releases are either terrible remixes of beloved songs or downright concerning numbers like this one. Khaali Peeli is a film releasing in 2020 and mainstream cinema is still getting away with racism and colourism for crying out loud.

We’re so sorry Queen Bey, we wish the film industry could do better but they really do not seem to know any better.

SEE ALSO: ‘Khaali Peeli’ Teaser: Ishaan Khatter, Ananya Panday, A Taxi And Lots Of Mumbai

Cover artwork: Bhavya Poonia/Mashable India