Vivek Agnihotri calls Jasleen Royal ‘auto-tuned singer’ for her opening act at Coldplay gig: ‘Audience is more sureela’

Vivek Agnihotri criticised Jasleen Royal's performance at Coldplay concert and slammed the trend of valuing social media popularity over talent.

Jasleen Royal recently opened for the UK band Coldplay during their Mumbai concert. Her performance, however, received mixed reactions on social media. Now, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has shared his sharp critique of Jasleen Royal’s performance at the event.

Vivek Agnihotri criticises Jasleen Royal's performance at Coldplay Mumbai concert.

Vivek criticises Jasleen Royal's performance at Coldplay

Sharing a video of Jasleen's performance on X (formerly Twitter), Agnihotri expressed his displeasure with the current trend of prioritising social media popularity over raw talent, while further criticising the singer. He wrote, “The audience is more sureela than these auto-tuned, Instagram-generated singers. Imagine if she didn’t have followers on Instagram, would anyone have even allowed her to audition for a mohalla singing contest?” His tweet continued, “Follower count over talent is the new norm.”

Some Twitter users agreed with the filmmaker, while others defended the singer. One comment read, "She got an opportunity based on her status; others are still waiting." Another user wrote, “Have heard multiple times better singing people in general on X Spaces.”

Defending Jasleen Royal, a fan wrote, "I understand that there are many talented individuals in India who could have opened the concert, but she has been facing a lot of criticism lately. She was probably nervous at the time. Let’s move on now, she has already received enough hate." Another user simply stated, "Just leave her alone."

Coldplay performed three concerts in Mumbai as part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour. Jasleen Royal, known for her hit tracks like Ranjha and Din Shagna Da, was the opening act for the three nights.

Vivek Agnihotri's upcoming movie

Vivek Agnihotri is gearing up for the release of his upcoming movie, The Delhi Files. Agnihotri will direct the film, which will be produced by Abhishek Agarwal Arts and Pallavi Joshi. It is scheduled to be released in theatres on August 15, 2025.