Sonu Nigam receives the Padma Shri from president Ram Nath Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind awarded singer Sonu Nigam the Padma Shri at a ceremony in Delhi's Rashtrapati Bhavan. On Monday evening, India's President took to Twitter to share a photo. At the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II, the President conferred Padma awards for the year 2022.

For the event, Sonu was seen donning an all-white traditional attire. He complimented the look with black shoes and was all grins while receiving the award. 

Sharing the picture, he captioned it, "President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Shri Sonu Nigam for Art. A well-known singer and music director, he has sung over 6,000 songs in more than 28 languages."

Sonu has primarily given his voice in Hindi and Kannada films. Other Indian languages in which he has sung include Odia, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, and others. He has also won numerous awards, including a National Film Award for the title track of the love film Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003. Kal Ho Na Ho, Ye Dil Deewana, Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin, Mai Agar Kahoon, Saathiya, Hans Mat Pagli, Do Pal, and Sandese Aate Hai are just a few of Sonu's hit songs.

Sonu has previously stated that he would not be able to accept the prize in an interview with Bollywood Hungama last month. He had already prepared a response in case he would be called 'Don't you think it's rather late in the day to present me Padma Shri?' he had said. 

Sonu felt that there should be a right time when an accolade is being presented to the artist.