Singer Mika Singh is heartbroken about the death of singer Sidhu Moose Wala, in a shooting incident, and shares his worries about the gangster nexus targeting celebrities. “It is not just Sidhu who was getting threats; a lot of Punjabi singers, including Gippy Grewal and Mankirt Aulakh, have also received threats. The incident (Moosewala’s murder) should be a wake-up call for everyone,” says Singh, whose security has been beefed up as a precaution.

“Gangsters often demand money from singers in Punjab. Jaise hi aap hit hote ho, ya shows chalne shuru hote hain, threats aane shuru ho jaate hain. For instance, recently, Gippy’s film became a huge hit, and uske baad hi usko threat aa gaya, and security tight ho gayi,” he continues,

“Earlier, we used to hear about Mumbai’s underworld. Ab woh underworld Punjab mein shuru ho gaya hai. Kal ko celebs will stop coming to Punjab for shooting or shows.”

He reveals that he has to live with the regret that he didn’t ask Moosewala to move to Mumbai when he last interacted with him in May. “He came to meet me in Mumbai and was happy that he travelled alone from the airport to my home. He even asked me how I deal with such threats… Now, I feel bad that I didn’t ask him to shift to Mumbai,” shares Singh, who is currently filming a reality show in Rajasthan.

The singer feels celebrities have become easy targets, and asserts, “I am telling you from personal experience, dealing with threats is difficult... Ab aisa dar ho gaya hai ki anyone who goes to Punjab will think about this incident. I am not blaming the government, but the question is: are we safe in Punjab?”

Singh points out that the gangster nexus has become prevalent in the last six years in “Punjab, Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh” and celebs make for easy targets. “In fact, artistes do give them the money they demand. But we need to get hold of these people,” he says, reiterating that a sense of fear has engulfed the industry.

“Sab dare hue hain. Kuch toh post bhi nahin kar rahe hain dar ke maare. Now, many will give the gangsters what they want, and not file a complaint against them. We need to speak up about it and find a solution, instead of getting into blame game,” he concludes.

After attending many weddings as a performer, it seems like the wedding bells are finally going to ring for Mika Singh. In the age ofdating apps, the singer has decided to find love on TV through a reality show. Going all out to find a life partner for himself, the Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag singer will be seen on an upcoming TV show Swayamvar - Mika Di Vohti. He shares that he was offered to do the show a decade back as well but he didn’t take it up then. However, now he felt that it was time for him to take the plunge.

In a chat with us, Mika revealed why he decided to take this route to find himself a partner. He says, “I think many people would want to have a swayamvar like this. I am lucky that I got an offer like this after many years. I was not ready earlier, I have said no to at least 100-150 rishtas in last 20 years, and my work was really important to me. People would think that I like to party and hangout with girls and that is my reason of not getting married but that was never the case. Meri family mein aaj tak meri itni himmat nahi hui ki main Daler paaji ko apni koi girlfriend dikhaun, humare mein yeh system nahi hai. Woh respect rehti hai. Finally, when this offer came Daler paaji said,‘Kar le, kya pata koi mil jaye. Tu waise toh humari baat nahi maan raha.”

Mika Singh and self-proclaimed critic Kamaal R Khan (KRK) have been at loggerheads ever since the singer supported actor Salman Khan in his defamation lawsuit against KRK. And Singh is in no mood to back down; he says, “Isko seedha karke hi rahunga”. He tells us, “I’ve been watching KRK, and I keep thinking about his personal attacks. He has tried some on me too. Industry mein agar iss pagal ghode ko koi thik kar sakta hai, woh main hi hoon.” Until now, the singer refrained from getting into any feud for the sake of his family.

“They kept telling me, ‘Abhi sab achha chal raha hai, kya zaroorat hai’. That’s why I ignored. Ab woh itna sarr pe chadh gaya hai. Yeh cheez bahut pehle control ho jaani chahiye thi,” says Singh, 43, adding that a lot of people from the film industry are afraid of getting caught in KRK’s “dirty tactics”, and that’s why they keep ignoring him.

“Sabke baare mein itne gande remarks. [Late actor] Sushant Singh Rajput ke baare mein bhi he has said so much. Isiliye mujhe beech mein kudna pada,” Singh shares.

For the last two weeks, Singh and KRK’s feud has been gaining steam on social media, with the former announcing a song, KRK Kutta.

Explaining his stance, the Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag hitmaker says he’ll not take it lightly if KRK continues to talk about his family instead of critiquing his work. “He’s only seeking publicity by picking up names in Bollywood,” Singh adds.

But what took him so long to act against KRK’s defamatory statements? “He has also committed fraud by forging a signature while selling my cousin his property in Delhi. He apologized to me for that, and for targeting me on social media. I didn’t say anything back then to avoid controversies,” admits Singh. 

In fact, he has already completed the song dedicated to KRK. “Gaane ke lyrics sunke dar jayega woh. Uss song ka meaning kuch bhi ho, but beats and sounds are very good. I’ll release it once things get better in the country,” Singh shares.

Their spat started when Mika jumped into KRK’s ongoing legal tussle with actor Salman Khan over a defamation case. Backing Salman, Mika criticised KRK for making personal attacks against actors. Since then, Mika has been calling him out — from standing in front of his house in Mumbai to dedicating a song to him. KRK retaliated through Twitter, labelling him as a “chirkut singer”.

Mika Singh is out of Comedy Nights Live. His recent appearance on rival Kapil Sharma's show has cost him dearly. The channel airing Comedy Nights Live, hosted by Krushna Abhishek, has even sent a notice to Kapil's production house asking them to refrain from telecasting Mika's portions.

However, Mika remains unperturbed with the development. He says, “I am not hurt or disappointed with their decision. No artiste is bigger than the channel and my absence will not cost them much. I know that the channel is upset and I hope things get resolved soon. But I can only say that it wasn't intentional.“

The singer claims that like every other artiste, even he went to Kapil's show and many others to promote his songs in Housefull 3. “Yes, I could have informed the channel, but it needs to be taken into account that I didn't go to Kapil's show in place of Sidhuji (Navjot Singh Sidhu) or become a permanent fixture, as I understand that my responsibilities are quite similar to Sidhuji's on my show. I appeared on Kapil's show as a celebrity to promote my songs.“

But isn't his appearance on a rival show a conflict of interest? He says, “Every show has a loyal audience and one person can't affect that.“ Mika adds, “I agree that it could lead to a divided viewership, but people come back to watch their favourite shows. I love both Krushna and Kapil equally and no one is better than the other. They are equally talented. While one infuses dancing in comedy, the other sings to enhance his comedy. I immediately agreed when the channel contacted me to become a part of Krushna's show because of my equation with them. I was signed on for 26 episodes and I have shot around 15 episodes so far.“

Does he feel that he has been caught in the war between the channel and Kapil? “I wouldn't want to comment on their equation. Kapil is like a younger brother and I keep telling him and Krushna that we will party together some day,“ he replies.

It's easy to get blinded by his bling. His personality is over the top, too, but that comes as a package of being brand Mika. However, when you put all of that aside, you see a man, who is honest about his beginnings, realistic about his music, his success and limitations. In this candid interview, Mika talks to us about his contemporaries, controversies and criticism...

You have mentioned in your earlier interviews that you don't like award functions. Why?
I like performing at awards rather than collecting them. I think they slow me down. The real evaluation of your work is when learned people appreciate it. Awards are meant to encourage strugglers, whereas I made a name for myself in pop music before I came to Bollywood. So, I can't say I have ever struggled. At this stage of my career, awards don't matter much.

What gives you a bigger high - performing on stage or recording songs in studios?
I would perform a medley of songs, which was initially looked down upon. The idea was to make people dance. If other singers have given hummable numbers, I have made India dance and I take pride in that fact. Singers are often cagey about attempting their contemporaries' songs, but I have no qualms in doing so. The idea is that the show should be a hit and not the singer. I don't restrict myself to a certain set of tracks. Instead, I gauge the audiences' mood and sing accordingly.

Did your brother Daler Mehndi's popularity help you get a break?
Daler paaji was already successful when my first song Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag released. Only those close to us knew that we were brothers as we didn't flaunt the connection. Forget me, it was difficult for any singer to compete with him. Besides, he never favoured me just because I was his brother. In fact, he told me I had to make it on my own. My voice wasn't that great at that time, I have honed it over the years. If I sang like Daler paaji, it wouldn't have worked.

How much has he contributed to your journey?
I worked with him for eight years as a back-up vocalist and guitarist in his band. I also learnt the nuances of stage performance from him. A good live performer lasts longer than his contemporaries. I wanted to be a music director, but then I started getting offers for shows. I spent five years to polish up and be presentable on stage. We have really worked hard on our way up. I don't have the talent or time to compose an entire album for a movie. Music is difficult and I know my limitations.

What has been the biggest learning from Daler Mehndi?
He would tell me to touch everyone's feet, which annoyed me. He believes that we should respect the one who has been blessed with name and fame. Daler paaji always says that an artiste should not have an ego. Unlike other singers who think that they can bring about a revolution, I believe that I can't change anything else, but myself. Pehle khud ki uljhan suljha lo.

Was your nasal singing a deterrent initially?
My song Saawan Mein... got a mixed reaction, but it did make a mark. Himesh Reshammiya was already a hit in the industry. Naak se gaa gaa kar usne sabki naak mein dam kar diya tha. Around that time, I sang my composition Ae Ganpat (Shootout at Lokhandwala). Fortunately, I didn't have to sing it, but just mouth dialogues. One shouldn't break away completely from one's style in an attempt to try something new or the listeners won't relate to you. I have limited songs, but I know how to make them a hit.

Have controversies also helped brand Mika?
Singers create controversies, but people don't pay heed. Main paani bhi peeta hoon uspe controversy ho jaati hai. They think it's alcohol. People still associate me with that one incident that happened in 2006 (the Rakhi Sawant kiss controversy).

What is your opinion about our new-age singers?
I feel sad and agitated because some really good singers did not cash in on the success of their songs. We work here to make money for our families, so one should make hay while the sun shines. It's an opportune time for newcomers as you can do a lot in Bollywood today. All I would say is that soch ko oonchi rakho and ego ko neeche.

Today, songs don't become evergreen like those from the golden era...
Now, singers try to perfect the song so much that in the process, they lose the essence, which is why it fails to strike a chord. It's the imperfection that grows on people. Common people can't sing a perfect song, they get hooked to easy songs. Besides, singers were revered by the actors in the past. That's not the case any more. Today, if one singer is upset, they approach others. Singers aren't respected anymore.

Mika, 37, considers himself a singer, performer and a businessman. He is the first singer to have lent one voice to five actors in a song and feels happy when another singer becomes a hit. Over an hour-long conversation, he talks to Bombay Times about his self-respecting father, guru Daler Mehndi and why he would never ask anyone for a song. Excerpts:

How did you become a singer?
I was born in Durgapur, but brought up in Patiala. I am the youngest of six brothers and we were all into music. I actually wanted to become a music director and thought that to become that, you need to learn instruments, so I learnt how to play the guitar, tabla and drum set. My oldest brother had moved to the US and was driving a taxi there. Dalerji, who is nine years older to me, also moved there and started driving our Khalsa cabs that we owned. But he did not like it, he fought and came back to Delhi in 1991 to become a singer. I too shifted along with him. I was just 15 and got a band together for Dalerji by teaching them instruments. The band obviously, had Dalerji as its lead singer. In 1995, Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra became a huge hit. I then composed Dardi Rab Rab for him that too became a hit. In 1998, one of his managers told me, 'You can become a big star if you sing yourself.' I told him, 'I don't want to become a singer, I only want to become a music director.' He said, 'No one will give you a chance, till you compose and sing as that is the way you can make people hear your work.' That's the time I composed Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag in Hindi, as I had to distinguish my work from Daler paaji. I never knew that it would become a hit. If I made Rs 1,000 being a part of Dalerji's band, I started making Rs 50,000, so khoon lag gaya mujhe. Even though I was not a good singer, people had made me one. For three years, I did riyaaz for singing and I released Gabru in 2001 that became a big thing within the Punjabi circuit. By this time, I had become a full-fledged singer.

Talk about your brother Daler Mehndi?
Today, reality shows make you a star first and then you start struggling. But he first struggled and then became a star and built his image of India's first pop star. He always supports his family a lot. He bought each of his brothers, minus me, a flat. Whatever I am today, I have learnt from him. He is my guru and I learnt to become a pop star from him. I follow him in all my shows. It was his idea that you make your own identity. But he got upset with me that I had left him because he would say, 'Ek toh you don't know how to sing' and second, that I was his laadla. When I separated from him, he had cried a lot saying, 'Don't leave my band.' I had said to him, 'Paaji, I will go for six months. If I become something, it's fine, otherwise I will come back.' I had left him when he was on the top in 1998. Even though I separated, I would meet him every Sunday over lunch and he would insult me every time. He has hit me many times and till today he can slap me. Once in 2000, we had a show in the USA, where the organiser had called Daler Mehndi, Mika and Karisma Kapoor. Daler paaji had all the big songs and it was not easy for me to manage. He did not like the idea of sharing the stage with me and said to me, 'I won't give you my band.' So I made a very punchy track and somehow managed. While he knows that I am honest, he also thinks that I am a very chalak, oversmart and rich boy. He feels that if I am giving someone a gift, I have some work to take from him. In 2003, when he got into that big panga, everyone left him and he was angry, but I stood by him and stayed with him for those two months when the police were searching for him and he couldn't understand what to do, even though he was innocent. He is a very bhola and shareef person, who has nothing to take from the world and for him, it was a big thing to go to the thana. For him, a singer has work with a lawyer only for royalty and for nothing else. I was always naughty and loved to take pangas and solving pangas. Today, Dalerji will call me after hearing my song and feel proud of me and he now tells me, 'Tu paagal hai aur paagal hi rahe.' Recently, his daughter got married and I did everything. After Lata and Ashaji, we are the only two famous siblings.

How did Bollywood happen?
My friends told me, 'Mika, don't go to Bollywood as it's very difficult'. But I said the day I come, I will hit a sixer, I won't struggle. I am a born star and they thought I was mad. In 2006, I came to Mumbai just to prove my friends wrong. Someone told me that Shah Rukh Khan owned a Prado. So I bought a Hummer. My friend Shaan, the singer, told me, 'Are you mad? You have come in a Hummer and you think any one is going to give you a song. Go and buy a Santro or get off an auto, so that music directors taras kha ke give you work'. I said, 'I can't do that as with so much difficulty, I have created this image, that too, with just singing three songs.' Hummer ka plus point was that every one came to know there is a Mika. Luckily, Sanjay Gupta met me and he liked my work. I went to Sanjay's house and he made me hear a song. I did not like it and I told him it should be sung differently. He must have thought that ek toh I am giving him a chance and on top of that, he has the cheek to tell me that he doesn't like it. But he called me after six months and Ae Ganpat happened. And then the Rakhi Sawant controversy happened and people thought that maybe Mika wants to become famous only through controversies. In 2007, one, my song had become a hit and two, I had become famous.

Who are you most attached to?
My parents. My mother died in 1997 and my father in 2011. My father was a farmer, who used to do kirtan in a gurudwara. He was a trained classical singer. He lived on the farm house bought by Dalerji. Can you imagine I could have gifted him four Mercedes if he wanted, but even though he was the father of Daler Mehndi and Mika Singh, he would go around on a cycle in Delhi. He would say, 'Remember that I am your father and don't forget that. You roam around in your Hummer, my aukad is of a cycle and that is the way I will stay.' Till his last day, he would teach music to his six students making  Rs 4,000 a month and was very happy. My mom always wanted to help others. Looking at her, I started my NGO called Divine Touch. Even today, if I go to a hotel and if the AC is not working, I don't create a fuss as I always remember that we come from an ordinary background. I would tell my father so many times that it is very embarrassing that you travel on a cycle. But he would say, 'I am your father and when I am not embarrassed, why are you? You should feel proud that I am spending my own hard-earned money.' Now the farm house, where he lived has been turned into a gurudwara, where there is a 24-hour langar. Initially, Dalerji had bought this place to live in himself. My father loved me the most, as probably he felt that I am the most responsible and all my brothers would fight with him for that. I have some 200-300 cousins, who I will support and I am very emotional when it comes to my family. It's so surprising that 20 years back, my father would say to me, 'Iski aawaz badi ustaadon wali aawaz hai' even though I was besura then. He would say, 'Aane waale waqt mein sirf  tone chalegi.' People thought he was saying that because he was biased towards me, but he would always say that as he found my tone different. Today, 20 years later, it has come to becoming true.

Do you miss your father?
He always told me, 'You are not calculative, don't ever change yourself. Don't forget your roots.' When my mom died, I cried a lot, but when dad died, I was strong. In his last few years, he stayed with me and I did a lot of seva. I spent beautiful time with him, bahut seva ki, aur raajon ki tarah rakha. I was lucky that I got to look after him. I got a lot of his blessings and duas. I miss him a lot, especially when I sing a song on stage and koi sur lag jaata hai that makes me cry, but I manage to control it and not show it to my audience.

Any plans for marriage?
I fell in love seriously three times and have landed going to all their weddings. I cried a lot when I broke up with my last girlfriend in 2007. I have always been a goonda and if I wanted, I could have picked her up, but somehow I have a lot of respect for a girl's parents and since they did not want to get her married to me, I did not want to embarrass them. She then tells me that you must come for my wedding and organise a good DJ, so I landed up doing that. But I love children and will get married in 2-3 years. Right now, I have to work.

What are you like?
My biggest plus and minus is my attitude. So if I meet a star, even though I like him, I will not tell him, as I feel that he will think that I am asking for work. So, I became friends with Shah Rukh Khan and Salman bhai, but I will never butter them. People will meet them and just before leaving say, 'Bhai, meri tamanaah hai aapke saath gaane ki.' I don't care whether I am singing for a big or a small star. I just want to sing a good song. Even if I am five pegs down, I will never say, 'Shah Rukh bhai, please give me a song.' I feel that if my work is good, songs will come to me on their own. I will not sing if you don't want to use my voice. I have a target of only having two hit songs in a year. I only chase shows and am mad about them. I do 200 shows a year. I take a bath every evening at 6, thinking that I have a show even if I don't. I believe that you need to have an image and style. Once I wear my sunglasses, then I can't see any superstar in front of me. I am very egoistic when it comes to my work. I am both super mental and a super singer.