‘Honey Singh was never a drug addict, his wife would never come on camera’: Mozez Singh on making Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous

Mozez Singh says, “I am overwhelmed by the response. It’s like a very surreal experience because the way that it is connecting with people, I am just like… Every filmmaker wants to make a film that connects to the audience, but this is really crazy.”

Through Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous, Mozez Singh aims to not only humanize a celebrity, but also to spark a larger conversation about mental health, addiction, and the importance of seeking help. As the documentary takes viewers on a journey into the highs and lows of Honey Singh’s life, Mozez’s thoughtful and empathetic approach ensures that the film is both a tribute to the artiste’s resilience and a powerful call to action.

On Honey Singh opening up about his bipolar disorder diagnosis

Mozez Singh says, “For him to talk about something so personal and intense, you have to build trust with a person. I think he understood, quite early on the journey of this film, that I am not someone who was going to do a puff piece on him. Neither I was someone who wanted to destroy him and throw him under the bus. I just wanted to tell his truth. He knew I was out there to make an honest film, and he understood that it was a process.”

“Eventually, we came to a point where he became very comfortable talking about everything in front of me and that’s how the mental health thing happened. It was not something I had to prod or force out of him. It was something that I had to get to. I had to be patient about it because I knew it was a very important part of his life’s story and I wanted it on camera. But I did not want to force it out of him or be aggressive in getting it out of him because it was a very sensitive topic and I wanted to respect the sensitivity of it all. It was a journey,” adds Mozez.

On Honey Singh’s divorce and domestic violence allegations by his ex-wife Shalini Talwar

As the director of Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous, Mozez Singh had to navigate the complex and sensitive topic of domestic violence allegations against the rapper, which were made by his ex-wife Shalini Talwar in 2021. In order to approach this subject with fairness and respect, Mozez had to make a difficult decision about how to present the story.

On why he addressed the topic but didn’t explore it in detail, Mozez shares, “This is a very sensitive topic once again. There were two reasons for this. One, he can’t talk about it, which is there in the film. Secondly, if I was not able to get the wife’s point of view, then I didn’t want to show his point of view because I am not going to do that to a woman. Like not giving her point of view is not fair. She was never going to come on camera because she can also not talk. So the only way to address it was by showing exactly how it is.”

On Honey Singh’s drug addiction

According to Mozez Singh, one of the most enduring misconceptions about Honey Singh’s personal struggles is his alleged battle with drug addiction, which has been widely reported in the media. However, according to the filmmaker, this narrative is far from accurate, and the truth is more complex and nuanced.

Mozez revealed, “The whole drug addiction thing is a misconception. He was never a drug addict. He suffered from very bad mental health and that was the problem. He was not a drug addict.”

“Everybody thinks he was on drugs, but no, the problem was mental health. The problem was that he was bipolar. Yes, he was smoking up and smoking weed and all that stuff, but he was not an addict. Everyone is confusing the thing, but it was never about the drugs. It was always about mental health. His mental health spiralled out of control. and that triggered everything else. It was not like he was doing drugs and he was drugged out. They are two very separate things in his case,” the filmmaker concluded.