Renowned Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam is famous for his charming personality, soft-spoken nature, and golden voice. He began his singing career at age four, performing "Kya Hua Tera Wada" with his father, Agam Kumar Nigam. Over the years, his hard work brought him immense success. In 1990, Sonu hosted the popular reality TV show Sa Re Ga Ma for five years, earning widespread attention. However, it shocked many when he decided to quit the show at its peak, despite its success. Watch Sonu Nigam’s flashback interview, where he reveals why he left the show. #sonunigam #surajhuamadham #agamkumarnigam #saregama
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00:00At that time, when I was 17 years old, I used to think that if Kumar Shanu ji is standing here, he must have so much money, he can buy my box, it's amazing, he can buy it, but I can't afford it.
00:08When will the time come when I will be able to buy a box of Modak with my own money?
00:12Apalam, chaplam, chaplayere, I don't like this song, please forgive me.
00:17If you say, what is this lyrics? Then critics write that this is very bad, this is, that is.
00:22Doing the same thing again and again, what happens is that the vocabulary ends, your grammar ends.
00:27How do I choose Hindi words every week and say the same things, say the same things, talk about people in the same way, how many times can I repeat the same thing?
00:36I get irritated by people who are ill-mannered or who say strange, modernized things, which have no logic, no meaning.
00:47You have reduced anchoring for TV, why did this happen?
00:57Actually, I always did anchoring only for Saregama.
01:00In between that, I did a Red Ribbon show for Star Plus, that too because it was related to AIDS.
01:06And I made my first video for AIDS, so I did that program, which ran 13 episodes, only 14 episodes, Red Ribbon show.
01:15But anyway, I was getting the satisfaction of anchoring on TV through Saregama.
01:22Now it has been 5 years since Saregama, so I left the work of anchoring.
01:29And now, for now, my focus is on music until it spreads somewhere else.
01:34Don't you think you became more popular through Saregama?
01:38Absolutely.
01:39Why did you leave it?
01:41Okay.
01:42Because you were more popular in it.
01:46Through Saregama for 5 years, I found myself on television every week.
01:55Sometimes I found it every day.
01:57There was a time when people started with my program every day.
02:00And so much respect, so much love.
02:05And people say, dream come true.
02:08But this was not even my dream.
02:10I never thought that I would get a chance like this.
02:12Naushad, Anil Biswas, O.P. Nayyar, Mehndi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Suresh Wadkar.
02:20These people will be on one program, giving blessings, and we can all start.
02:23I never thought that I would get a chance like this, that people would come to my program.
02:27But after 5 years, I felt that doing the same thing again and again, the same, what happens, the vocabulary ends.
02:35Your grammar ends.
02:37How can I repeat the same thing every week, in the same Hindi, choosing the same Hindi words,
02:44say the same things, talk about people in the same way.
02:48How many times can I repeat the same thing?
02:50That repetition, I said, before people make fun of me.
02:53I make fun of myself.
02:55So when I found Saregama at its pinnacle, I said, Namaskar.
03:00I should take some other path.
03:03I know that the publicity I was getting in Luxury, I won't get that anymore.
03:11Now I will have to make efforts for it.
03:13I will do it.
03:15God will open another path for me.
03:18When did you think of acting?
03:21You know what, actually, acting has changed my life a lot.
03:27Ever since I left Saregaon, I thought I would focus on singing.
03:31But every week, I get one or two films.
03:34Right now, I have heard 16 out of 27 films.
03:41The rest, 9 or 10, I have skipped.
03:45And I am not capable of doing so many films at once.
03:49I am not that capable.
03:51I don't have that much confidence in myself.
03:54I had confidence in singing, that's why I came to become a singer.
03:57But now, I don't have that much confidence in acting.
04:00I need some time.
04:01If I start shooting, it will be Ramesh Taranji's first film.
04:07It will be released before that.
04:09I have a lot of time to start shooting.
04:11I have to think a lot, learn a lot.
04:14I have to prepare my mind as an actor.
04:17Before this, when I used to take films, I used to focus on his background music, his singers.
04:21Who is the singer? Who is singing?
04:23Who is playing the alaap? Who can be the singer?
04:25What is the raag?
04:27In which studio did you record? I used to think about all this.
04:29Now, I have to think about how this actor would have done this scene,
04:33how long the scene is, how he would have spoken the dialogue,
04:35how fast he would have spoken, how much he would have studied.
04:37I need some time to think about all this.
04:39I need some time for myself to grow as an actor.
04:41If I do acting, which I can start shooting after 4-5 months,
04:46if I do it, it will be Ramesh Taranji's first film.
04:48This is fixed.
04:49But how will you be able to balance acting and singing?
04:53He will do it. I don't know anything.
04:55I will just do the work.
04:56If it is done, he will do it.
04:58If I feel that I am not able to do anything properly, then I will leave it.
05:02This is my promise.
05:03If I feel that I am getting very stressed or I am not able to do anything properly,
05:08then I will leave it.
05:09My first preference is always singing.
05:11It will always be there.
05:12What did you have to think about acting in the beginning?
05:15Even today, I am still confused.
05:17It is not that I have become an actor now.
05:20Every day when I read in the newspaper that Sonu Nidhi is becoming an actor,
05:24even then I feel scared.
05:25People's enthusiasm, people's curiosity, people's hopes and expectations are increasing.
05:31So, I get more insecurities in my mind.
05:34I had it before too.
05:35I was very scared before.
05:37Now I feel that suddenly so many people have come to me with their films.
05:43So, maybe God wants me to work harder,
05:47to think of myself in a different way.
05:51To go into another fine art.
05:54It is possible that I will do it or not.
05:56It depends.
05:57Are you going to take some basic training for this?
06:01I will take it.
06:02I have not started taking it yet.
06:04But I will take it.
06:05I will definitely take it.
06:06I will not go without it.
06:07I will definitely take it in acting.
06:09Sonu ji, please sing two lines of a song.
06:21Yeh bekhudi kyu tum se mili hai
06:29O jaane jaana maine na jaana
06:37Tum hi kaho kya baat hai
06:44Kyu dil mein samaaye
06:49Kya baat hai
06:52Sonu ji, nowadays melodious songs are being made.
06:56There was a time when anything could be written in the name of songs.
07:00It is not like that.
07:02I think good and bad things have happened all the time.
07:06If you listen to music even in the 40s,
07:11there have been bad things too.
07:13It is a different thing that then 20 songs were made.
07:16Today 200 songs are made.
07:18That is why the quantity of everything has increased.
07:20The quantity of waste work is more.
07:22But bad things happened then too.
07:24I think
07:26Aplam chaplam chaplai re
07:29I don't like this song.
07:30Please forgive me.
07:31If you say a mantra, what is this lyric?
07:33Then critics write that this is very bad, this is that.
07:36But it is old, so let it go in the old is gold.
07:38Bad things, good things happened then too.
07:41It happens today too.
07:42It depends on what kind of story you bring.
07:44If the director says in the story,
07:47sing this song, sing that song,
07:48then what is the fault of the musician?
07:50If you give a chance to the musician, he will make a refugee.
07:53Otherwise, they also give the same kind of music.
07:56Isn't it?
07:57I think it is a concept.
07:59If the director wants, he can get good work done.
08:01If the director wants, he can also get ordinary work done.
08:05Sonu Nigam, who sang holding his father's finger in the LPG hall in Delhi,
08:10is at this level today.
08:12What do you have to say?
08:14I have always said one thing,
08:18that my status is still there.
08:22I mean, no matter how many people,
08:25sorry, forgive me.
08:26No matter how many people say about me,
08:29or tell me again and again,
08:30how do you feel today?
08:32I never want to feel anything.
08:34I used to sing for 50 rupees in Delhi.
08:39When I was very young, 50 rupees per show.
08:41After that, it was 150 rupees.
08:43Then it was 250 rupees.
08:45Then it was 200 rupees.
08:46Then it was 250 rupees.
08:47Then it was 350 rupees.
08:48Then it was 350 rupees.
08:49Then it was 400, 450 rupees.
08:51At last, when I left Delhi to come to Mumbai,
08:55then I used to take 600 rupees per show.
08:58So basically my status is the same.
09:00I still feel that money should be saved.
09:03Should not waste money.
09:05Shoes should not be bought expensive.
09:08I wear my shoes very old.
09:10Believe me, I wear my shoes 6-7 years old.
09:12Because I feel, how can I buy expensive shoes?
09:15Even today, my expenses are only on my clothes.
09:19Because I do shows and all.
09:20And I spend more on food.
09:22Otherwise, I don't have any other expenses.
09:24Neither do I drink, nor do I do that.
09:25So coming to this point,
09:26I still feel very ordinary.
09:28Because I used to hear these things,
09:31that when a person is in the world of glamour,
09:35then his life is desolate from inside.
09:37But my life is not desolate.
09:39But it is very ordinary.
09:40Because my daily routine is also like that of any good person.
09:47I mean, we wake up in the morning,
09:49work, go to sleep at night.
09:51It is not that we go to parties,
09:52and people are sitting there,
09:54listening to the stars and all.
09:56Neither do I go to parties,
09:57nor do I go to any function,
09:58nor do I go to any such place,
10:02where I feel that I am a special entity.
10:05So, my lifestyle is like that.
10:07And one thing,
10:11when I think about it from inside,
10:15I feel a lot of love for God.
10:19I feel a lot of happiness.
10:20And the more I can do for Him,
10:23the less I can do.
10:24I feel that how He gave our family,
10:28which we used to think a long time ago,
10:30that when we would get some money,
10:33we would buy this.
10:34When we would get some money,
10:36we would buy that.
10:37So, God showed that time to us,
10:40to our family,
10:41to my parents,
10:42to my sisters,
10:43to me,
10:44so that we could say that
10:46we can buy this now.
10:48So, I feel very happy about this.
10:51For example,
10:52in Siddhi Vinayak,
10:53when I used to go every Tuesday,
10:55I used to buy a prasad of Rs. 1.25.
10:58It had one modak ladoo
11:00and one red flower.
11:03And at that time,
11:05I used to think that
11:06if I could get a modak box,
11:08which was Rs. 10 at that time,
11:10at that time,
11:11when I was 17 years old,
11:12I used to think that
11:13if Kumar Shanu ji would be standing here,
11:15he would have so much money,
11:16he can buy my box.
11:17It's amazing.
11:18He can buy it,
11:19but I can't afford it.
11:20When will the time come
11:21when I can buy a modak box
11:22with my own money?
11:24So, I realized that day,
11:26suddenly I realized that
11:27it's amazing,
11:28God gave me that time
11:29that I can buy a modak box.
11:31So, for this,
11:32I am very thankful to God.
11:36And I always keep this in my mind
11:38that this thing should never leave my mind
11:40that this is my status.
11:42I don't have to forget this.
11:50As far as I am concerned,
11:52success has made me more old.
11:55I have changed so much
11:58that I have become old.
12:00I think I have become old
12:01because of my mind.
12:02Now,
12:03to think and see everything
12:05with maturity.
12:07And,
12:08a person is deprived of many things
12:11at one time
12:12during his struggle.
12:14For example,
12:15I was very fond of bike riding,
12:16but I could never afford a bike.
12:18So,
12:19now,
12:20I am not even fond of that thing.
12:21Now,
12:22I have matured in this matter
12:24that many of my wishes
12:26which could not be fulfilled,
12:28I have become disillusioned.
12:30I don't have any wish.
12:32As far as my family is concerned,
12:34I am the same as my family.
12:35I am the same as my friends.
12:37And,
12:38I have generally shown that
12:40my friends
12:42change before me.
12:43Before I change,
12:44they change before me.
12:45They say,
12:46why is he hitting Sonu?
12:47He will think he is a star.
12:48I don't know what he is.
12:49So, I meet him first.
12:50I say,
12:51how are you?
12:52He says,
12:53talk to me.
12:54Earlier,
12:55I used to hug you.
12:56Now,
12:57I hug you.
12:58So,
12:59before I change,
13:00people change for me.
13:01So,
13:02good friends
13:03are saved for me.
13:04And,
13:05those who are more arrogant,
13:06I greet them.
13:07How do you like
13:08your father's singing?
13:09He sings very beautifully.
13:10He sings very well.
13:11My father flops me
13:12on the stage.
13:13When I sing,
13:14after that,
13:15when my father comes on the stage,
13:16after that,
13:17people say,
13:18send daddy,
13:19send daddy,
13:20send daddy,
13:21send daddy,
13:22send daddy.
13:23It happens like this.
13:24Because,
13:25my father is a very good singer
13:26but,
13:27he didn't learn much music.
13:28He is a natural singer,
13:29basically.
13:30He has a lot of thoughts
13:31in his voice.
13:32And,
13:33he never taught me
13:34to sit and practice.
13:35He never taught me
13:36to sit and practice.
13:37But,
13:38he has made mistakes.
13:39I used to sing a lot
13:40in my childhood.
13:41I used to sing all day long.
13:42Night,
13:43day,
13:44in the bathroom,
13:45in the kitchen,
13:46while playing,
13:47I used to sing everything.
13:48So,
13:49my father used to tell me,
13:50what are you doing?
13:51You are singing wrong.
13:52Make it long.
13:53Make the breath long.
13:54Add this line.
13:55Add this line.
13:56Make the heart not separate.
13:57In any tune.
13:58I am saying.
13:59So,
14:00he used to correct me
14:01in these things.
14:02So,
14:03he taught me the nuances
14:04of music.
14:05So,
14:06he is my natural guru.
14:07Do you ever get angry
14:08about something?
14:09A lot.
14:10I used to be very angry
14:11before.
14:12Now,
14:13I have come in control.
14:14I am very short tempered.
14:15But,
14:16there are many reasons
14:17for getting angry.
14:18I don't let myself
14:19get angry.
14:20I get angry
14:21when I
14:22feel
14:23angry
14:24with people
14:25who are
14:26rude
14:27and
14:28talk
14:29in a
14:30modern way
14:31that
14:32has no logic
14:33and
14:34has no
14:35meaning.
14:36And,
14:37those people
14:38who
14:39do
14:40mean
14:41things
14:42for their
14:43country
14:44or
14:45talk in
14:46a
14:47degrading
14:48way.
14:49People
14:50who
14:51call Mahatma
14:52I get angry at these things, I don't get angry at anything else.
14:55A small child has been made a magic thief very soon.
14:58Do you ever hesitate to leave everything and go play in the village?
15:04Yes, but I don't hesitate, I tolerate all those things.
15:09And if I get a chance, if I go to a foreign country,
15:17or if I go to a place in Karjat, then I sit alone for hours.
15:26I sit alone and enjoy the peace, the silence. I like silence a lot.
15:30I enjoy the silence in that.
15:32Okay, Sonu ji, you used to sing on stage yourself.
15:36Yes.
15:36Now you sit and listen.
15:38Someone seems to be out of tune, someone seems to be out of tune.
15:41So how do you feel?
15:42Should I put him aside and tell him to sing properly?
15:47You started your career on stage.
15:50Yes.
15:51Do you still listen to him?
15:53For example, you go to a concert as a chief guest.
15:57Yes.
15:58So you must be thinking that he should sing like this, not like that.
16:02How do you feel about that?
16:04I do feel it.
16:06When someone's ears are a little fixed, they look like this.
16:12It's like this, which can be embarrassing at times.
16:15But there are some people, you are right,
16:21who are over-smart and come to you and tell you to sing like this, not like that.
16:26I feel very bad about it.
16:27Because until you are someone's guru, don't correct him.
16:31Or he may have given you the position of a guru.
16:34Until you are his guru, his father, his brother, his friend, don't correct him.
16:39If you don't know someone, don't correct him.
16:41Because if you correct him, he will be hurt.
16:42Praise him.
16:43And if you have to tell him something wrong,
16:45then you should wrap a stone around his neck so that he doesn't feel it.
16:50You should do it like this.
16:52Sir, tell us a small incident that made you very happy.
16:57There are a lot of incidents.
16:59One of them is that once I was doing a show with Mehndi Singh on TV.
17:07I had heard that he is very much against Pakistan and India.
17:16Someone had said that Mr. Mehndi Singh speaks on behalf of India.
17:21How would I know?
17:22I had heard it from someone.
17:24So when I met him, he turned out to be different.
17:27God and India, my country, I was born in India.
17:33I felt so good meeting him.
17:35He is such a secular person and he is praising both India and Pakistan.
17:41I felt very good.
17:42After that, he couldn't sit.
17:45He had an accident or had some problem.
17:48So he needs someone's support to sit.
17:50So when I used to ask him to sing, I had to help him sit.
17:55So a few people used to come to catch him.
17:58So he had to take off his shoes to sit.
18:01Before this, he used to bend down.
18:03I used to take off his shoes.
18:06Then I used to help him wear his shoes.
18:08So when he saw me like this twice, he kissed me on my cheek.
18:13He took the mic from me and said,
18:15this boy has given very good praises.
18:18He gave a lot of blessings.
18:21He was crying.
18:23I was also crying.
18:25Because meeting such a big person and such blessings.
18:27I feel that he is a very emotional person.
18:30There are many such incidents that are very important to me.
18:34And I like to always cherish it throughout my life.
18:37Sir, like there is a Ghazal or a folk song.
18:41Yes.
18:42By breaking it, pop songs or remix songs are being made these days.
18:47Look, I am also like you.
18:50I also feel that the authenticity of anything should not be spoiled.
18:54Whether it is Ghazal or Folk.
18:56Its purity should be maintained.
18:59But the problem is that if you look at it technically.
19:03If you look at it from a shopkeeper's point of view.
19:06Then people are not even accepting folk music and Ghazal in its pure form.
19:11People's souls have become so busy.
19:16That they do not have time to pay attention to Ghazals and folk music.
19:21So at least through a remix or at least through a fusion.
19:26Or by incorporating a little western music.
19:29By adding a little good beat.
19:31They have to know some folk music.
19:34Like the songs of Ilaji Arunji.
19:37Rajasthani folk.
19:39If there is a little assumption of western beat in it.
19:42Then at least people have to know.
19:44The generation that is being born now.
19:46Who were born in 1990, 2000.
19:48They would know what Rajasthani folk is.
19:52There is a little western music in it.
19:54But what will be Rajasthani folk?
19:56And what is Punjabi folk?
19:58Or UP's folk.
20:00Like Bijuria.
20:02Bijuria is a style of UP's folk.
20:04At least people have to know.
20:06That UP's folk should be like this.
20:09So I also want to emphasize on purity.
20:13But the market has changed.