INTERVIEW OF SONU NIGAM

Did you always want to become a singer? And what attracted you to singing?
So what made you end up with singing? Sonu: I won many cometitions at school in Delhi. So I got inclined towards performing.

Talking of your private albums, 'Deewana' has been your biggest seller. What do you attribute it's success to? Sonu: People want melody and Deewana had a fresh feel. The music and lyrics were nice. On top of that, T - Series did a fabulous job at marketing it.

There were alot of expectations from 'Mausam', but it didn't do too well... Sonu: I lived to my expectations. In fact, I consider the song 'Bijuria' to be my biggest gift to the film industry. It's a big rage at concerts. People go wild whenever I sing it. As for the sales, Magnasound would be in a better position to answer it.

You've done film songs regularly. But why is it that you sing only one or two songs in a film, and not four or five? Sonu: That will happen now. I am getting plenty of offers to sing in movies. I've got many songs in J.P Dutta's Refugee and in Mahesh Bhatt's next film.

How do you react to statements that you try to sing like Mohammed Rafi? Sonu: If people are making such remarks, I can only pray to God to forgive their ignorance. Do "What Is Mobile" and "Satrangi Re" sound like Rafi? Please, I don't copy Rafi-Saab.

Let's talk about your large fan following next. How do you react to all the adulation? Sonu: I feel very happy. I am very religious and I thank God for every momment. But then, too much attention can steal your privacy. Recently, in Assam, a few us ventured out at 3:30 in the morning, just to enjoy the natural atmosphere. But even at that time, lots of people pounced at me for autographs.

Do you read your fan mail regularly? Sonu: I do read a bit of the mail. It's good fun. But it's not so easy for fans to get directly in.

Thank you for singing in HUM SAATH SAATH HAIN. This is the first time you're singing for Rajshri. How was your experience? Sonu: Actually I should thank Rajshri Productions because I always wanted to sing under this banner and it's because of Raamlakshmanji that I've got this opportunity. I did sing for him earlier but I always wanted to sing for him under the Rajshri banner. This time I've got the opportunity. Its been a great experience. I had heard a lot about Soorajji and Rajji but I didn't know that they were so down to earth. Soorajji is a very traditional man and I love traditional people. I really became his admirer. They are all quiet and down to earth people. They didn't give me any sort of tension. The song was taught to me by Raamlakshmanji. I went on the mike and while I was rehearsing, I thought it was a rehearsal, but they recorded me and said the 'take' was O.K. So it was quite fast and swift.

Sonuji, when we heard the portion in which you sang for Shakti Kapoorji, we could literally see Shaktiji singing infront of us. How did you manage this so well ? Sonu: I was explained the situation briefly by Lakshmanji and ofcourse by Soorajji. I knew exactly how Shakti Kapoor would look or might appear in that particular scene. As he is playing a typical Muslim character and a devoted friend with a big heart, I thought I could slightly bring Rafi Saheb's style into my voice so that a Muslim character is established...and the dignity in Rafi Saheb's style is untouchable. So I thought, if I could bring a little colour of Rafi Saheb into these lines given to me, it might beautify the song and that's what it did.

Did you have a godfather in the music industry? Sonu: No, not really. Although Gulshan Kumarji promoted me, things really did not come on a silver platter. But my career graph soared after I sang Achha Sila Diya Tune Mere Pyar Ka for one of his films.

Are you into music direction too? Sonu: Apart from composing songs for my own albums, I am also composing songs for Sujeet Kumar and his son Jatin's serial, as well as for my friend Babul Suprio. But I don't intend being a full-fledged music director, as singing is my first love.

You have this image of being a sweet-innocent guy, is that really you? Sonu: Nothing about me is fake. I am nice to people who are genuine. I hate hypocrites and manipulative people. I am very forthright and don't fear the consequences even if it's a big shot in the industry as I have come up the hard way. I believe that I deserve what I have.

Have you had acting offers by any film director or producer? Sonu: Yes, but nothing worthwhile has come my way. All the offers that I have had are ones as a singer. I would love to act in an art film. I can never see myself chasing girls around trees.

It's said that you first create the mood for a song before doing the actual recording. How? Sonu: I did this for the song Yeh Dil Diwana in the film Pardes. Now, this song was a rock number and people had billed me as someone who sings only soft romantic numbers. I had to convince Subhash Ghai, the director-producer of the film and the film's music composers Nadeem Shravan, that I could do this song. So, I jogged, did flying kicks around the mike, till I got completely exhausted. All this to get into the mood, as I wanted to surpass Shah Rukh Khan's acting with my singing. And I did.

What do you plan do in the future? I want to earn enough money to make my family secure. Then quit the film industry, settle in the countryside, and build a cozy cottage on a farm, lots of cows, buffaloes and poultry with no radio or television. I want to go back to living like a human being, instead of a machine.

Though you've been around for some time, it's only now that you're getting acknowledged as a singer. Why is that? I sometimes wish I'd come in now because this is the right time for any singer to make an entry. Music companies are willing to spend so much today to launch new artistes. I came in, in late 1991 and I've struggled quite a lot to find my feet.

Who would you say has been your greatest benefactor? Gulshan Kumar and the television programme Sa re ga ma. Though Gulshanji and myself were from Delhi, I never knew him there. I tried to contact him in Mumbai but had no means to get through to him. Then Usha Khanna introduced me to Amar-Utpal and they got me to sing for the dummy of Aaja meri jaan which was Kishan Kumar's film. Gulshan Kumar happened to hear this and I was asked to sing one more number. On the October 16, 1992 I sang my very first song O assmanwale zameen par utar ke dekh. When Gulshan Kumar heard this he asked to meet me. He was astounded that I was only 18 years old. He seemed to take to me and my career as a singer started off, if not too forcefully, at least well enough for me to move my family from Delhi to Mumbai. But I was not really ``happening'' at that time. Then in October 1994 we were invited for a playback singer's Antakshri on Zee TV. On this show Purnima and I defeated all the other singers. That's when Gajendra Singh noticed me and proposed that I do Close Up Antakshri. I wasn't too keen. So he thought of this new concept Sargam which eventually became TVS Sa re ga ma. The first episode was aired on May 1, 1995. Initially people found it too slow but it grew to become one of the biggest shows on television.

What has Sa re ga ma done for you? Sa re ga ma gave me the recognition of a star. It allowed me to present myself as I am, not as I would have been if I was a Veejay or anchoring any other show where I would've had to put on a different style. But here I could talk about whatever I liked, philosophy or music and I could do it in my own language which is Hindi.

Who have you trained with? I trained in Delhi for two months from my ustad, Mohammad Tahir sa'ab but we left Delhi soon after. So for the most part I haven't really trained. I must admit that I've started learning from Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan sa'ab only after Sa re ga ma happened.

You've done a lot of version singing -- are you happy doing that? Don't you think it harms the original singer? I haven't done any version singing for the last two and a half years. And I won't do it again. Earlier on I had no option but to sing versions because there wasn't much work being offered to me. I must admit though that it was great net practice for me to analyse the singing of great singers like Rafi sa'ab and Manna Dey, Mukesh and others. I had to do a complete study of their voices and their technique and it taught me a lot.

What is your place in the music world today? I feel I'm not part of the traffic at all. I've never been formally acknowledged for Sa re ga ma -- often I've not been nominated for my playback singing and neither have my pop albums been nominated for any award -- I've never been given credit for being the youngest male singer to have sung thousands of songs. Neither has my album Deewana been nominated for being the highest selling album in India -- it has surpassed the record of `Made in India'. Just now we had the Zee sangeet awards and I was not nominated. That's why I feel I don't really exist in this traffic of singers in the industry. I'm doing a very good job otherwise in the music industry making albums. But I don't seem to be in the league of singers.

You refused to attend the Zee TV awards earlier this year? Yes, because I was announced as the winner for sandese aate hain but my co-singer Roop Kumar Rathod was not even mentioned. How can half a song be given an award. I don't understand how awards committees function.

How did you sustain yourself when the going wasn't so good? I haven't been without work for the last seven years. If I haven't been doing playback singing. I've been doing lots of versions -- lots of bhajans, `bhentain', qawwalis, even `naads' -- I was recording as many as twelve songs a day. In fact, now I do just one song a day. I've sung even 35 songs on one day and I used to boast about it. Life was good then, it's good now too. The difference is that I can now afford some of the things I'd always yearned for. Like I always wanted a Casio keyboard but couldn't afford it. Now I buy as many keyboards as I feel like.

What made you anchor The Red Ribbon show on Star Plus? Actually that wasn't a full fledged programme. It was meant to be a curtain raiser for the programme on AIDS awareness held in Mumbai on the December 7, 1999. I was interested in doing it because the concept appealed to me and it was only for 14 weeks. I enjoyed it because I got to interview Amitabh Bachchan who has been my idol since childhood.

Are you happier with your singing career today? Yes indeed. I've sung in practically every language from Oriya to Sindhi. This year, I've been out of India for almost five months so you'll hear a little less of me next year but I'll make up for it now that I'm back. I've gained popularity in the last two years starting with Aur pyar ho gaya, this was followed by Border, Pardes, Daud, Dil se, Dulhe Raja, Soldier, Sunghursh, Vaastav, Jab pyar kisise hota hai, Mast, and now Badal and Mela which have already become very popular. I enjoy working with all the composers and respect them all.

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