BookMyShow cancels Punjabi-Canadian singer Shubh's show; refunds issued

BookMyShow on Wednesday (September 20) called off Punjabi-Canadian singer Shubhneet Singh's India tour following social media pressure for hosting an artist accused of having sympathies with Khalistani ideology.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, BookMyShow said it will do a complete refund of the tickets within 7-10 days.

"Singer Shubhneet Singh's Still Rollin Tour for India stands cancelled. To that end, BookMyShow has initiated a complete refund of the ticket amount for all consumers who had purchased tickets for the show. The refund will be reflected within 7-10 working days in the customer's source account of the original transaction," it said.

Earlier in the day, a #UninstallBookMyShow was trending on X with some calling Shubh, as the singer is popularly known as, a 'Khalistani' and supporter of separatist leaders.

This followed a diplomatic row between India and Canada that saw each expelling a senior diplomat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged New Delhi's hand in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia in June this year. India quickly dismissed Canada's assertion as absurd.

The row has worsened the already poor relations between the two countries and thrown cold water on trade talks, which have been paused.

Shubh is an upcoming Punjabi rapper who rose to fame due to the large number of streams on Instagram reels of his song 'Still Rollin'. He released his first breakout single 'We Rollin' in 2021 and as of 2023, it has reached more than 201 million views on YouTube.

He recently released his debut album 'Still Rollin' and announced his first-ever India tour starring in 10 different cities and a cruise this year.

BookMyShow was a sponsor of the Indian tour.

(With agency inputs)