Mumbai, August 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Actor Mukesh Khanna has called for India’s national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’, to be replaced by ‘Vande Mataram’, while making a controversial claim about the origins of Rabindranath Tagore’s composition.
Speaking to IANS on Sunday, Khanna said he had advocated the change three years ago and argued that ‘Vande Mataram’ should be adopted as the national anthem.
“I have said this three years ago that ‘Vande Mataram’ should be made a national anthem. ‘Jana Gana Mana’ is not the national anthem of our country. It is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth. Rabindranath Tagore wrote a song in praise of her. We have accepted it,” Khanna said.
He further said he considered ‘Vande Mataram’ to be more representative of India and praised the rendition by veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar. Khanna also said he had recorded a seven-minute version of the song that he hoped would become “iconic”.
“I want that as soon as possible, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ should be removed from our country. ‘Vande Mataram’ should be brought,” he said.
Khanna also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had initiated steps in that direction, saying the song was now being made compulsory at schools and functions. He welcomed the reported emphasis on singing the complete version of ‘Vande Mataram’, including portions that he said had previously been omitted.
The actor has previously courted controversy with his public remarks. He had criticised comedian Samay Raina after Raina took a dig at Khanna’s iconic 1990s television character Shaktimaan during his ‘Still Alive’ show.
Khanna had then posted on X, formerly Twitter, describing Raina as “Kutte ki dum” (a dog’s tail) and telling him to sit on a donkey. The remarks came amid the controversy surrounding Raina’s show ‘India’s Got Latent’ and his comments about “irrelevant people” allegedly attempting to gain the spotlight.
Despite the public clash, Khanna later collaborated with Raina in an advertisement.
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