Sonu Nigam on not speaking bad against KJo

When ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ (2016) released, there were a couple of controversies surrounding it.

While, the much talked about Pakistani actors ban was widely reported about, the other news that emerged after the film hit cinemas was a dialogue, which suggested some sort of mimicry against legendary Bollywood playback singer, Mohd. Rafi. It was a scene in the film, which had Anushka Sharma’s character in the film asking “Mohammed Rafi? Woh gaate kam rote zyada the na?”

At the time, a number of personalities took to social media to express their disgust at the scene. Karan Johar at the time said, “Filmmakers making irresponsible remarks at events. Singers revelling in self importance… Press releases sent to mask insecurities! Ufff.” Singer Sonu Nigam responded to this saying, “So it’s all about loving your family, and disrespecting others’!! And this is not revelling in self importance. UFFFFFFF…”

Enough water has passed since then and Nigam has opened up about his relationship with Johar. He told Bombay Times, “Anyone who has achieved such immense success in life can’t be a small person. Sometimes, the people around exaggerate and magnify matters. We never got a chance to meet each other after that (row). But recently, while I was hosting an awards show, I paid a tribute to him by singing three of my hits from his films. We hugged each other after that and both of us were on the verge of crying. I was happy he reciprocated my love and respect. Life is very small for all this. You never know when your time is over.”

He added, “We never had an altercation on a personal level. Social media has a way of fanning the flames. I neither spoke ill of his film, nor uttered his name even once. I just expressed my love for Rafi saab. That doesn’t make me anti-Karan Johar. I revere Rafi saab and I have a right to say so. I never spoke against Karan and he knows it.” Instead of indulging in a public face-off, why didn’t the two sort out the matter in private? “I didn’t feel the need to call him. You do that when you either feel guilty or are in need of that person. So I didn’t call him and neither did he.”