In a dramatic, late night post on Facebook, Arijit Singh hints at one of his songs being removed from a Salman Khan-starrer at the star's behest; sources close to the actor rubbish the claims

Late on Tuesday night, Arijit Singh took netizens by surprise as he apologised to Salman Khan on Facebook for an 'insulting' remark apparently made at an awards show two years ago. In the long, dramatic message, he also hinted at his song being removed from Salman-starrer Sultan at the star's behest and urged him to retain "at least" a version of the track. However, sources close to the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor have dismissed it as an attention-seeking tactic. Over an hour after posting the message, the singer pulled it down.

As the controversy broke out, actor Nikhil Dwivedi, who's part of Sallu's inner circle, tweeted: "I m privy & Salman nt once interfered in d choice or askd 2remove any singer. He only refused 2meet Arijit. His wish! (sic)", while a source involved with the film says, "Salman isn't petty. Why would he ask for a song to be removed from the film when he had shot with the version recorded by Arijit? Music directors usually record a song with various artistes and the best one makes it to the album. So, in case of Sultan, it was purely producer Aditya Chopra's and Vishal-Shekhar's call."


Buzz is that the makers of 'Sultan' have decided to trash Arijit's version and go ahead with the one by Shadab Faridi, who earlier lent his voice to the 'Fevicol Se' item number in Salman's 'Dabangg 2' (2012).

Sources close to the actor state that Arijit had been "pestering" the actor through incessant text messages requesting a meeting. "From the time he got to know that he would sing for Salman, he has been pestering him so that he could settle an old matter. All Salman did was turn down his request. He didn't get any of his songs removed. Arijit is clearly mistaken," says a source.

The "old matter" that Arijit wants to settle apparently dates back to an awards show in 2014 where he was adjudged the best singer. When he went up on stage to receive the award from Salman Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, he said, "Aap logon ne toh sula diya (you put us to sleep)". To that, Salman replied, "Aur isme humara koi dosh nahi hai, agar aise gaane bajte rahenge... (and it's not out fault. If these songs keep playing...)" and hummed the tune of Arijit's 'Tum Hi Ho' from 'Aashiqui 2'.

When we contacted Arijit for a comment, he said, "I am really upset. Can I connect later?"