Uncle, don't do this please'

Chahat Fateh Ali Khan's cover of Bollywood hit song Tauba Tauba has social media cackling once again. On Instagram, the video of the cover earned many hysterical reactions from followers, as well as the attention of the song's original singer Karan Aujla.

The most recent re-upload of the flat-toned vocal cover has garnered over tens of thousands of comments on Instagram in the last three days. It displays Chahat in front of a motion backdrop of the Taj Mahal, with a handful of special effects added to the visuals. "Uncle, don't do this please," Karan hilariously begged in the comments section.

Mirthful fans replied to the plea with an abundance of laughing emojis. "Karan bhai lost his temper, finally," a user wrote. "Sir, I sincerely ask for your forgiveness," pleaded another. "Brother's career is in jeopardy," joked a fan. "I think a collaboration with this uncle is a must now after this release," another humorously suggested.

But the singer wasn't the only international neighbour to publicly comment on the cover. Famed director Karan Johar reshared the cover on Instagram Stories with the caption "Must watch" and a red heart. One user in the comments section wrote, "This guy (Chahat) just has an enormous fan-following. Whatever song he makes becomes a hit in the market. Listen to it happily or with your ears covered, make it a meme or post it on TikTok, or even just pay it slight attention, a hit is a hit, right?"

True to word, even local celebrities had things to say. "Very creative," remarked Kinza Hashmi. Amna Ilyas funnily invoked the title of the song, repenting for its creation and release. Other users had many similar thoughts to share, ranging from pity for Karan Aujla to predicting the decline of tourism to the Taj Mahal.

Having risen to fame in the digital scene during 2020, Chahat mentioned to podcast interviewer Ansh Sachdeva that he was formerly a cricketer on the big field. The influencer also attracted fame recently with the song Bado Badi, originally by Noor Jehan from the 1973 film Banarsi Thug. The cover was later removed from YouTube due to concerns of copyright infringement, though not before it became the subject of widespread online conversation.

Chahat's stage name is a satirical take on the renowned Fateh Ali Khan qawwal family of Pakistan - notably recognised through Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. During the YouTube podcast, the singer also revealed that his real name is Kashif Rana, and that he's married and has seven kids.