Singer Sonu Nigam was conferred with the Padma Shri in January this year. Speaking to The Quint about how he felt Sonu said, "I had stopped looking in that direction long back because people have been teasing me with it for the past 20 years. When I used to do the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa programme long back, I would get calls from the Ministry saying I had changed the music scene in India. It's true. I introduced classical music to a whole generation. The likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar would come to our show and speak about classical music. So when I was told I was being considered for a Padma Shri, I would get very excited".
Sonu added, "However, they teased me so much that the excitement died down after a point. When I got the call this time I told them, 'Don't you think it's a little too late?'"
Sonu also spoke about his comments landing him in controversies at times and how his wife reacts to it.
"I don't believe in the concept of left-wing and right-wing. For me, both are wrong. You have to be balanced in your opinions. I used to express my views on social media, but I stopped doing that when I realised that people are rigid in their opinions. However, my wife was really scared once when I had taken a stand against fatwa. I had shaved my head following a cleric's fatwa offering Rs 10 lakhs to anyone who would shave my head. I raised a voice against these threats then".Sonu Nigam, Singer
The singer, who is gearing up to release his single 'Maula Re', even offered a clarity as to why he is seldom seen lending his voice to Hindi film songs nowadays. "As I had said earlier, music composers these days have to choose from a sea of talent. Young singers are also performing very well now. I do not wish to be a part of this process where I can be replaced with another singer. When composers come to me with a song, they know only I will be able to do justice to it".
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