Singer Sonu Nigam sure takes his job as a mentor very seriously. And that is precisely what dragged him into some unwelcome news recently, when he flew to the defence of his proteges Abhijeet Sawant and Prajakta Shukre, after the singers were accosted by a belligerant crowd and Nigam was forced to intervene to sort out the matter. Undrestandably reluctant to talk about the episode, Nigam nevetheless did let us in on his point of view, while in Lucknow to perform at the Lucknow Mahotsav. "Of course! These are young people and if they look to me for guidance, I will help them to the best of my ability. It's my moral responsibility," he reacts when we point out his involvment in the episode.
But controversies are not all that are happening in Sonu Nigam's life. In fact, he says he's a busy man who chooses work carefully now.
"I'm being choosy about my work," says Sonu Ji, and explains why: "I strongly believe that life mein quality honi chahiye. One should respect one's art and not over utilise and over expose it. That way one can maintain a quality and respect in one's profession, which is what I'm doing now."
And it is this mindset that perhaps led him to explore a new facet to himself recently, that of singing in 54 different voices for a track in the forthcoming "Tees Maar Khan". "Yes, that was very interesting. Initially Shirish (Kunder) had thought of making 10-15 singers sing the same track and I was supposed to be one of them. So he came to my studio to record the track and when I started singing he offered me to sing all of them. And then the track went on to be in 54 different voices right from females to different male voices. It was fun."
"I'm being choosy about my work," says Sonu Ji, and explains why: "I strongly believe that life mein quality honi chahiye. One should respect one's art and not over utilise and over expose it. That way one can maintain a quality and respect in one's profession, which is what I'm doing now."
And it is this mindset that perhaps led him to explore a new facet to himself recently, that of singing in 54 different voices for a track in the forthcoming "Tees Maar Khan". "Yes, that was very interesting. Initially Shirish (Kunder) had thought of making 10-15 singers sing the same track and I was supposed to be one of them. So he came to my studio to record the track and when I started singing he offered me to sing all of them. And then the track went on to be in 54 different voices right from females to different male voices. It was fun."
Another activity that keeps the singing star engaged and excited is the Singer's Association of India (SAI), formed this year in June, which he's an active part of. "Yes, it's been a dream come true for singers in Bollywood. It was actually Lataji's (Mangeshkar) dream but somehow she could not fulfill it. Along with me there's Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala and Alka Yagnik who are all a part of the association and we hope to help protect the interests of the singers in India."
Among the issues the organization plans to take up are ensuring that singers are given their due. "If you notice, there have been a few films like "Lakshya" where the names of singers wasn't mentioned, which I feel is not right. We can't be ignored as most movies do well because of their music. The association will bring in a moral code of conduct in the industry towards and for the singers. We'll also be helping old and out-of-work singers so that they can lead a life of dignity," he says.
Among the issues the organization plans to take up are ensuring that singers are given their due. "If you notice, there have been a few films like "Lakshya" where the names of singers wasn't mentioned, which I feel is not right. We can't be ignored as most movies do well because of their music. The association will bring in a moral code of conduct in the industry towards and for the singers. We'll also be helping old and out-of-work singers so that they can lead a life of dignity," he says.
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