Sonu Nigam - Page 3

Sonu Nigam sings 'Dilli Chalo'

Subhash K Jha

Hey I found the article from where the picture came too.

Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam is having a blast at Melbourne, where he has gone to perform at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. "I'll be performing a new song composed by the band, Trio," says Sonu. "It's called 'Dilli chalo', and it's basically an invitation to the world for the 2010 Commonwealth Games which will be held in Delhi. It's an honour to represent my country. And this is as close as it gets to opening the door of our nation to the world…"

"I'm more relaxed here in Melbourne than I've been long time," he continues. "I'm catching up on much-required sleep. I'm doing several other things that I had been putting off for months now due to time constraints, like maintaining my diary. I'm relaxing and enjoying solitude after a long time."

Sonu Nigam's co-performer, Saif Ali Khan, isn't so relaxed though. "I'm going to perform the bhangra at the event," says Saif. "I'm very excited about it, and very nervous too. I've never performed the bhangra before. It's one thing to play the guitar with a rock band, quite another to do the bhangra, especially with the whole world watching."

Sonu is having a ball at Melbourne.Thank God he is finally getting some rest..........

this is from the show in Melbourne

Expectations 2006


Sonu Nigam:



"I want to be able to devote more time to introspection and meditation this year. I started off this year with a lot of yoga and spirituality but somewhere in the middle of the year, I lost touch with it due to my commitments. I had also decided to take up vegetarianism as a rule and I intend to stick to it in the coming year. I think it is very important to connect to yourself to be able to succeed in life. On the professional front too, I am coming out with a classical album that will enable me to relate to my strong sense of music and give me creative satisfaction. As far as playback singing is concerned, I'll continue to do it as part of my profession."

Main Hoon Na: Sonu Nigam to hearing impaired students




Sonu Nigam might have crooned his way up through commercial singing, but on Thursday afternoon at the Lion's School for the Hearing Impaired, Nigam matched duets for a cause - and giving him competition were the 30 odd speech and hearing impaired students. Not only did he entertain the students, but he also decided to present them a unique New Year gift - a set of 10 sophisticated hearing aids. An NRI from London also made a donation of 20 pieces of hearing machines.

"The donation will help our institute, since most of the students hail from poor homes. We had in fact given digital hearing equipment to a girl three months ago and it worked for her. She made huge progress. These new donations will be utilised in the best possible way," remarked a teacher of the school.

Meanwhile, Nigam has been stationed at Rajkot for a series of stage shows that he is doing for a cellular brand and in fact came on the venue directly from the airport. He was invited by friend and actor Kunika. "I thought it might be for cancer patients or some other cause, because Kunika is always involved in social work. It is strange that my audience are these children, because they can't hear properly. Yet in a way they are my audience," he says. The singer, who also handed over some other gifts to the kids, kept them entertained throughout. He sang songs from 'Kaho Na Pyar Hai' and 'Main Hoon Na' for the children. Needless to say, they seemed impressed. Evidently, he turned out to be as popular with the kids, as with the music connoisseurs.

Celeb Talk: Sonu Nigam
A teenyboppers craze, Sonu Nigam today is one of India's versatile talents. Gone are the days when teens found him cute, they now find him "sexy".
Winning awards left, right and centre for his singing, Sonu Nigam has his sights now on histrionics on the silver screen.

What is your food regime like? Eggs, cornflakes and sandwiches constitute my breakfast. Roti, paneer make my lunch. Fresh fruit juice is a must in the evenings. Dinner is almost the same as lunch

What's your favourite cuisine?
I love Chinese, Lebanese, Japanese cuisines. In fact whether Mediterranean or Continental, I love foods that fulfill my sense of taste.


Is there anything you abstain from?
Smoking and alcohol.

What does homemade food mean to you?
It's a part of you the aroma itself is so filling. As a child whether I went for a picnic or a school trip, it was always homemade tiffin for me. It's difficult to actually describe the nourishing and nurturing that a homemade food can give.

Do you have a sweet tooth?
I'm a dessert freak. Hot gulab jamuns with vanilla ice-cream are my favourites.
Your favourite restaurant in Mumbai?
The Legacy of China.

Your favourite health magazine?
I preferably read body-building books that are available abroad.

When ill what home remedy do you rely on?
Whenever I have cold or cough, I prefer homemade kaadha prepared in herbs.

What's your secret behind healthy living and a lyrical voice?
I have proper oil free meals, check my weight regularly. I always make sure that I have done my riyaaz for some hours during the day.

Your fitness regimen.
Mechanical exercise thrice a week fol-lowed by a little meditation.

What refreshes you after a hectic day?
A good night sleep.

Sonu Nigam
This person's handwriting denotes that his heart rules his head. He is extremely emotional and highly sensitive. Not only is he artistically inclined, he is also gifted with a poetic sense. His power of visualization is very strong.

he is also spiritually inclined and has intuitive powers…something not many people are blessed with!

His writing clearly suggests that he will always benefit from somebody's support. However, he should be extremely careful with whom he gets into business with for chances are that he might get cheated. Not to mention that he does not possess the required business acumen. Apart from this, mismanagement of finance will be a constant problem with him.

Indipop singer and TV personality Sonu Nigam is quizzed about all things musical by aspiring singer and DNA reader Ruchika Tiku.

You have been a part of both 'Sa Re Ga Ma' and 'Indian Idol'. How do you think you would have fared if you were to take part in any of today's reality show talent hunts?

If you mean when I had just come into the industry, I would, in all modesty say that I would have won them both. I am very confident about my talent. Though I have to say that these talent hunts are not just about talent, you have to get one million Indians to love you and vote for you. That's also a talent in its own way as you never really know what connects with them. On hindsight, I might not have won the 'Indian Idol' at that point as I was very raw, not stylish, and didn't have that much confidence. The judges would have liked me but I am not so sure about the public.

You have maintained that the quality of singers discovered through these shows is very good. At the same time, you say that these shows aren't just about talent?

These shows make stars out of ordinary people. What sets the winners apart is the fact that they have the complete package. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are mind-blowing singers. They are just 'Idol material'. If you look at the history of the music and the film industry in India, there have been and are a lot of so-called 'stars' who weren't or aren't great singers. So what's the big deal?

Your personal life always seems to be making as much news as your professional life. Does that upset you?

Except for this one time last year when a city supplement quoted me saying that my marriage is over, it's never affected me. The only reason I got upset was because I hadn't said anything like that. I really don't care what's written about my personal life as far as journalists don't try to put words into my mouth. People can speculate as much as they want to, only I know what is true.

The other non-musical aspect that takes up as much column space is your hair!

Really? I had no idea! Seriously, I love experimenting and if people want to keep track, then good for them. I have noticed that every time I wear something outrageous or stupid or do something to my hair, I am immediately written about. And any publicity is always good publicity.

The one question that every Sonu Nigam fan has always wanted to ask – why did you act in movies?

Everyone always told me that I could be a good actor, so I did some movies. The problem was that I did the wrong movies. I had no idea what to do, who to work with - that's where I failed.

Will you do any more films?

I really doubt it. Between my stage shows, recordings and television commitments, I have no time. If I do take up something, it will have to be well worth my time because I'd have to stop everything else for 4 to 5 months. I don't have to do movies for the money because I'm as if not richer than the biggest actors in Bollywood.

Simplicity, Sonu's beauty

Friday, January 20, 2006

''FIRE AND talent are the basic ingredients to achieve success. Talent does not need looks, though it could be an added plus point for a person. The foremost, of course, is patience and hard toil.'' These were the views playback singer and actor Sonu Nigam expressed talking to Hindustan Times here today. He is in town for a music programme organised by Idea Cellular.

"A person who has a melodious voice cannot be considered as a good singer unless he can feel what he is singing," he said. Sonu started performing on stage in 1977 and then moved to Mumbai to become a successful singer.
After achieving success, he also tried his hand at acting in films like 'Jaani Dushman', 'Kash Aap Hamare Hote' and 'Love in Nepal'.

He is keen to work in new and interesting projects. He considers lack of experience and bad publicity responsible for the failure of his films.

Currently he is also grooming budding talent at talent hunt programmes like Indian Idol. As a child artist, he performed in various movies such as Kaamchor, Ustadi Ustad Se, Betaab, Humse Hai Zamana, Taqdeer, Krishna Krishna, and Sacchi Ibadat. Being a judge at talent hunts, Sonu considers, is tough due to the immense talent among participants.

Sonu, who has learnt voice culture from Ghulam Mustafa Khan Saab, would like to work for television software in future. He also displayed keen interest in politics, but would like to stay in a farm far from the city rush in his gray days.

Having a good number of concerts in his kitty, Sonu is also recording for a semi-classical album composed by Deepak Pandit. Sonu Nigam's attitude seems rather simple, compared to his career achievements. He believes in continuous learning, and he always practices a lot and tries out something new every time he performs.

Sonu does not find it odd to begin with remixes. "What one should have is the capacity to prove his talent and the zeal to touch the masses," suggested Sonu.

Sonu Nigam — the talented singer who almost walked into singing with the very first steps he took, with a stage performance at age three with his singer father Agam Nigam, is a familiar face with audiences since those days when he hosted the Sa Re Ga Ma Show on TV. My first meeting with him was at a popular awards nite, where one saw him skip upstage to collect his trophy as best singer.

Jungle cabin office with Masai warrior

While overwhelmed he voiced chagrin at being overlooked for so long; and was followed by the inimitable Javed (Akhtar) who received his award tongue-in-cheek, wit in place, declaring he had no grievances vis-a-vis awards, swinging the audience to peals of laughter.

Then I met him again at an actor's intimate birthday dinner. But much water has obviously flown neath the bridge since then. Today at his home, I see many a blow-up of Sonu receiving trophies and besides play-back singing he has forayed into acting too. As his sister fondly voices, "He is no ordinary man, he is a star!"

Sonu has come far indeed from his childhood in Faridabad and Delhi, where he accompanied his father who sang for the love of it, at weddings and stage performances non-professionally and from those bit roles in film as a child artiste in Betaab, Hum Ee Hai Zamana, Taqdeer……and the present is it's natural consequence.

Haryana in Bombay

But those early days must have been impactful times, for he seems to have carried over the nostalgia to his Mumbai home, where you find yourself in the unusual ambience (to say the least) of a Haryana tableaux re-created: A simulated well, with a rope to "pull out water", a rural mud and clay seating.

Baroque meets St Peter's meets Haveli living room, round seating corner with archangel painted ceiling
The signature harmonium placed appropriately ready for mood, under the "shade" of the heavy 'growth' of faux trees, lanterns hung from the branches, fire urn, brick wall background, all in a Lokhandwala flat!

As you enter the glitzy towers of his residence, a three-foot tall domestic help, with the appropriate appearance of a village lad guides you to a space uniquely combined of Baroque-meets-neoclassic-meets-Haveli.

A domed ceiling a la St Peter's Cathedral, painted with archangels. And towards this magnificent end the ritzy bar is faceted with m
irrors, while bottles and glasses glint the reflections of lights that go off and on disco style.

A display of porcelain figurines and glass dancing women, dukes, duchesses, peasants and a profusion of synthetic flowers in all varieties and colours adorn tables.

The African outback

But the piece de resistance is the balcony, enclosed into a den where he conducts meetings. Here Sonu's penchant for films completely takes over.

You almost expect a lion skin-clad figure to emerge thumping his chest with a "Me Tarzan" note from a complete little African Jungle, thick foliage from art plants and trees, life sized Masai warriors — giraffes too, detailed to the extent of mini cockroaches upon the tree trunks, and bugs and butterflies to which wife draws attention as she plies me with a glass of juice.

Within this ambience (which includes a little Christ nativity corner to crib, infant Jesus and Mary) is set the desk where music and song meetings evolve to inspiration.

And this is his sanctuary, where he, resides with his father, mother and wife, to emerge and take on the world, brickbats and bouquets.