Sonu Nigam issues apology after backlash over Kannada song row

Sonu Nigam apologizes for controversial remarks at Bengaluru concert, faces backlash from Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.

Playback singer Sonu Nigam late on Monday issued an apology following the controversy related to his recent concert in Bengaluru. Hours after justifying his remarks through a post on social media, the playback singer put up another post to apologise to the people of Karnataka.

Sonu had faced backlash when he lost his cool at a fan who demanded he sing a Kannada song during his concert in Bengaluru recently, and had said, “This is the reason why incidents like Pahalgam take place... For such attitude.” Comparing the fan demanding a Kannada song to terror attack had caused outrage.

On Monday night he said on his social media handle, “Sorry Karnataka. My love for you is bigger than my ego. Love you always.” However, in his first post earlier on Monday, Sonu had said that he was “entitled to take offence” by the incident. “I am not a young lad to take humiliation from anyone,” he had written. Throughout the controversy, Sonu has maintained that he felt threatened by “4-5 thugs” who demanded he sing Kannada songs during his concert.

“I am 51-years-old, in the second half of my life and I am entitled to take offence for someone as young as my son for threatening me directly in front of thousands in the name of language, that too Kannada, which is my second language when it comes to my work, that too right after my first song of the concert! He provoked a few more. Their own people were embarrassed and were asking them to shut up,” Sonu wrote.

Before his apology, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) decided to be “non-cooperative” with the singer. “Sonu Nigam will not be invited for any Kannada film-related events. We have written to the Police Commissioner’s office to not permit any Sonu Nigam concert in Bengaluru,” said M. Narasimhalu, chairman, KFCC, during a press conference.

Narasimhalu added that there has been no step taken to ban the singer from the Kannada film industry yet. “The chamber will have a meeting with audio labels, producers, music directors, singers and directors to discuss the issue.” Producer Uday K. Mehta, who was at the press conference, slammed Sonu Nigam’s remarks. “He has received immense love from the people of Karnataka. He has hurt them all with his words. Nobody with a stable mind will compare a request for a song to a terror attack,” Mr. Mehta told The Hindu .

The genesis of the controversy was a statement by Mr. Nigam at the concert, when he told a fan who demanded that he sing a Kannada song, that it was “such an attitude” that leads to incidents like Pahalgam.