Sonu Nigam says TV channels can’t afford him now
From the time of the iconic Sa Re Ga Ma to the Gen Y appealing Indian Idol, one artiste, who has upped the game of musical reality shows on television is singer-actoranchor Sonu Nigam. But he is no longer seen on TV. He says that’s not because he doesn’t want to, but because the channels don’t have the budgets to hire him.
In a candid chat, Sonu says he didn’t move out of the reality TV space because of having experienced a lot in the realm. He explains, “The clear fact is that the channels can’t afford me. That’s it. They do come to me, but when they hear the price, they have to shy away. So, that’s the main reason I don’t do television. It’s a fact, a professional decision. They don’t have budgets these days. The GEC channels are going through a very rough patch, so they can only afford judges who are on a medium level.”
If given an option, Sonu doesn’t mind doing a music reality show again. “I have done major music reality shows, and they have been sensible and good. Last year they could pay me, but this year they can’t. I like to associate with sensible people, sensible co-judges, and I don’t like to participate in a show that makes a mockery out of music. I make sure that the genuineness of whatever I am doing is maintained,” he says.
Being one of the few Indian artistes to have collaborated with western artistes such as DJ Avicii and DJ Kshmr, Sonu says “Indians are non-patronising to such collaborations”. He says his song, Indian Levels, which was produced by Avicii in 2012 — was looked down upon because Sonu is not an EDM artiste. “All the EDM fanatics ganged up against me [saying] ‘Sonu Nigam kyun kar raha hai, humko karna chahiye tha (Why is Sonu Nigam singing an EDM song? We should have sung it). It’s a f*** all song’. That’s unfair, and I feel this is typical Indian mentality. If somebody is doing something good, instead of hailing them, they indulge in making filth out of it. And because of that, Avicii never came back to India. If they had promoted my collaboration, Avicii would have done something else with probably Sunidhi (Chauhan) or Shreya (Ghoshal) or Benny Dayal. But when you do not encourage your own countrymen, you are killing your own chances,” adds Sonu.
All the EDM fanatics ganged up against me [saying] ‘Sonu Nigam kyun kar raha hai, humko karna chahiye tha (Why is Sonu Nigam singing an EDM song? We should have sung it). It’s a f*** all song’. That’s unfair, and I feel this is typical Indian mentality.
SONU NIGAM, SINGER