On Thursday (August 19), radio jockey Malishka Mendonsa sparked a controversy after she posted a video of her and the Red FM staff dancing in front of the ace javelin thrower and Olympic gold medal winner Neeraj Chopra.
In an exclusive interview with Chopra on the Red FM channel, Mendonsa was seen putting up a ‘dance show’ for him along with other staff members. Despite Chopra looking uncomfortable, the radio jockey and her team were seen dancing to the tunes of ‘Ude Jab jab zulfein teri.’ The Olympic gold medalist smiled awkwardly through the ‘performance’.
The radio jockey wrote on Twitter, “Ladiesssss…Yes I got the hard-hitting, deep answers too but..Take the first 4 secs before the cam moves to the zoom call to guess who we are dancing for 😉 #udejabjabzulfeinteri and then tell me I did it for all of us”
Ladiesssss..Yes I got the hard hitting, deep answers too but..Take the first 4 secs before the cam moves to the zoom call to guess who we are dancing for😇 😉 #udejabjabzulfeinteri and then tell me I did it for all of us😄 #gold #olympics #neerajchopra @RedFMIndia @RedFM_Mumbai pic.twitter.com/SnEJ99MK31
— Mumbai Ki Rani (@mymalishka) August 19, 2021
It did not just stop at the awkward dance performance where several women performed in front of 23-year-old Neeraj Chopra, towards the end of the interview, Mendonsa tried to hug Neeraj Chopra ‘virtually’ on behalf of the entire nation. An uncomfortable Chopra responded with the gesture of ‘Namaste’ and said, “Namaste aisa door se hi.“
Aise logo se door hi rehna chahiye, door se namastey @mymalishka 🤡😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/mv4kGxumPw
— Naweed (@Spoof_Junkey) August 20, 2021
Netizens miffed at the shenanigans of RJ Malishka Mendonsa while ‘interviewing’ Neeraj Chopra
The clip of the incident, which the radio jockey shared on her Twitter timeline, drew the wrath of netizens. Some users have labelled the ‘dance’ and the subsequent gesture of a forcible hug as a ‘cheap stunt’.
One Twitter user pointed out, “What’s wrong with her? Why is she making it so awkward for him? Ugh”
What’s wrong with her? Why is she making it so awkward for him? Ugh
— The Curry Muncher (@Paprikaashh) August 20, 2021
Another user emphasised, “This is too cheap…You are making him feel awkward. What is this nonsense? Do this with your Bollywood stars?”
This is too cheap.. banda awkward feel kar raha hai.. mtlb kya hi bakwaas hai… ye sab apne bollywoodiyo ke saath hi kiya karo..
— Pepper 87.58 (@Pepper_Talks) August 19, 2021
Supreme Court advocate Shashank Shekhar Jha lamented, “Sad to see you guys doing this and even sad is the fact that RedFM India is allowing you all to do it. I mean, what if the genders were opposite in this case? Had RedFM allowed that too? Very sad!!!”
Sad to see you guys doing this and even sad is the fact that @RedFMIndia is allowing you all to do it.
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) August 19, 2021
I mean, what if the genders were opposite in this case? Had @RedFM_Mumbai allowed that too?
Very sad !
Before Malishka Mendonsa rose to prominence for objectifying Neeraj Chopra, Times Now journalist Navika Kumar had also become the subject of social media criticism after she kept on pestering the 23-year-old Olympian about his relationship status, prompting netizens to call her ‘gossip aunty.’
