Sonu Nigam with his youthful good looks, impeccable manners, unerring courtesy and modest bearings has become India's Surrogate son through television programme sa re ga ma . And yet this wasn't his aim when he travelled from Delhi to Mumbai. All he wanted was a break in the arena of playback singing.
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 1991and 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 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 Aasmaanwale 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 "happenning" at that time. Then in October 1994 we were invited for a playback singer's Antakshari 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 Antakshari. 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 of 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.
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 Aur Pyar Ho Gaya, this was followed by Border, Pardes, Daud, Dil Se, Dulhe Raja, Soldier, Sanghursh, Vaastav, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hain, Mast and now Baadal and Mela which have already become very popular. I enjoy working with all the composers and respect them all.
