Sonu Nigam has over 6,000 songs and 47 years of live performances to his credit. With a multi-genre repertoire that includes romantic melodies, dance numbers and soulful tracks, the singer’s range is enviable. His songs include numbers like Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin, Sandese Aate, Kal Ho Na Ho, Suraj Hua Maddham and You Are My Soniya, among others. In a conversation with us, Sonu opens up about the toughest phase of his life, his priorities at 51, the advent of AI and more.

There was a time about five-six years back when I felt that I’ve probably done and experienced everything – be it success, failure, happiness, ecstasy, depression and spiritual elevation – but then something within me told me never to underestimate the universe. Never think ki ‘ho gaya’. So, I surrendered, now the universe will tell me what’s next. My life is good and smooth. The more I surrender to the universe, the better my life is. The love of my colleagues, my seniors, my contemporaries… it’s so organic, and it’s come from surrendering myself. There has been no manipulation or strategy here.

I never got a chance to learn music when I was a kid. I was inspired by my parents, and they told us whom to listen to, but vidhivat training in music is something I didn’t get then. So, what I did not get to learn or enjoy in my childhood, I’m trying to make up for it now. I have just two priorities now – my constant vocal practice and maintaining a reasonable fitness level. I can try to get a six-pack, but I also like to eat (laughs), so I want to strike a balance. I’m fit, and I have good stamina, and that’s what is important. When I’m performing on stage for three-four hours, I need to be physically fit.

AI is a threat to average writers, singers and musicians who are not passionate. Tell AI to write one song on mohabbat in Javed Akhtar’s style, and it will be done. It is being used to program songs, too. But all this is for mediocre people and AI is a threat for them.

Kai cheezein thi… I wasn’t prepared for any of that. So, I’d be a liar to say that it was all fine. No, I did feel, ‘Yaar, kya ho raha tha, yeh bhi dub kar raha hai, woh bhi dub kar raha hai.’ Nobody wanted to work with me because they knew if I sang their songs, some music companies wouldn’t take them. They wanted to work with me and would say, ‘Sonu bhai, zara samjhauta kar lo.’ But I didn’t. So obviously, those were tough times, but I had faith and did not let the negativity seep in. Today, all the music companies love me, aur hum wapas pyaar se rehtein hain. It was a very difficult phase, but some lessons were meant to be learnt.

When you get married, you think you understand the person, but then, the equation changes. You face ups and downs in your marital life and one is not ready for it. You are never prepared for a difficult marriage. Most people have difficulties in their marriage at some point. I believe familiarity breeds contempt. When you live with a person, you forget who that person is. You start looking at them contemptuously. It starts hunky-dory, but later, the taken-for-granted feeling creeps in. Some people are okay with it, perhaps I’m not. I don’t deny the fact that times have been tough for me, but I have a beautiful son, and he deserves the love of both his parents. So, you come to a mutual understanding after a point. You mature over the years and also start looking at the other person differently and accept each other. My work is such that I travel a lot and that also gives us enough space. It’s good to have space… you don’t get on each other’s nerves (laughs).

Sonu Nigam was among those conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, this year. The singer was given the honour for his contribution to the field of art. Sonu, who has a plethora of songs to his credit in various languages, had won the prestigious National Award in 2003 for the title track of Kal Ho Naa Ho. Some of his popular songs include Sandese Aate Hai (Border), Yeh Dil Deewana (Pardes), Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin (Agneepath), Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna (The Legend Of Bhagat Singh) and Suraj Hua Maddham (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), among others. In a chat with Bombay Times, the singer talks about winning the honour and his family’s emotional reaction. Excerpts:

I have been showered with calls and compliments ever since the announcement was made. It’s a humbling and overwhelming feeling. All I can say is, bahut der kar di meherbaan aate aate.

I had stopped thinking about it. The Padma Shri Award has been playing hide and seek with me for over 25 years. The first time someone mentioned that I might receive the Padma Shri was in 1998. After that, every now and then, people would tell me that I am among the prime candidates that year, and it would raise my expectations. Gradually, I matured and stopped looking in that direction entirely. This was absolutely unexpected.

I look at it as appreciation from India for my journey as an artiste in the last three decades. It felt really good to see my father and family shedding tears of joy. Awards are like gifts. You must not boast about them if you receive them, and you must not sulk when you don’t get one. They don’t determine the calibre of an artiste.

I got to know about it while I was shooting a musical show in Kolkata. So, I had to make quick calls to my family between takes. My first call was a video call to my father (Agam Kumar Nigam). I told him, ‘Papa, sit down comfortably somewhere. I just received a call from The Ministry of Home Affairs. Padma Shri for us!’ My younger sister and he started screaming. He and I then cried, remembering my mother (Shobha Nigam). I was on the set and couldn’t tell anyone why I was crying until 7 pm when the winners were announced. As for my family in Dubai, I broke the news to my wife Madhurima’s mother first over a video call while the rest of the family was around her. Nevaan got to know about it after he returned from school. He was obviously extremely happy and quipped, “Now, I’ll call you Padma Shri Chhotu.” He and I address each other as Chhotu.