Soumya Vajpayee Tiwari (MID-DAY; July 11, 2018)

Though he was initially apprehensive about giving his nod to Saurabh Pandey’s Spotless, Sonu Nigam says a sense of familiarity rushed in when he faced the camera. The short film marks his return to acting after 14 years since his last film, Love In Nepal (2004). Having mentioned on several occasions that acting is not his forte, the singer-actor says he geenlit the project owing to his faith in Pandey’s vision.

“Initially, I was apprehensive, because this [acting] is not one of my goals. But Saurabh pursued me for almost a month and convinced me with his vision for the film,” says Nigam. Refusing to divulge the social cause that the short film champions, he adds, “It is one of the reasons I decided to accept his offer.”

The drama sees him team up with Shweta Rohira (below). Heaping praise on his co-star, he says, “Shweta is a natural in front of the camera.”

Ask him if his turn as an actor signifies that he is open to doing full-length features and Nigam says, “I never plan my life; I take it as it comes.”

On the singing front, Nigam — who considers Mohammed Rafi his idol — is elated that he had the opportunity to recreate one of his classics for Anil Kapoor-starrer Fanney Khan. “I’ve been a big fan of Anil Kapoor. When he requested me to revisit a track originally sung by Mohammed Rafi saab, I immediately obliged. I wasn’t sure about touching the Rafi saab song, but Anil ji insisted that I render it.”