(Army Day) Sonu Nigam owes his career to Sandese Aate Hain, a song for the Army
On Army Day, Padma Shri Sonu Nigam talks about singing over 10 songs dedicated to the Army and his favourite song.
Having spent over three decades as a playback singer, Sonu Nigam has several songs dedicated to the Army to his credit. Sharing how singing for the jawans has been like, the Padma Shri recipient says, “My career was destined to catapult from a patriotic song, Sandese Aate Hain (Border; 1997), which is one of the most popular ones dedicated to the Army. So for someone who is a product of a song like that, singing patriotic songs, especially those about the jawans, is like coming back to his home ground.”
Ask if he’s ever performed for the Army, and the Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004)and Kandhon Se Milte Hain Kandhe (Lakshya; 2004) singer says, “I performed for the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force in 2018. Also, I have done a lot of concerts for the Navy and Army personnel over the years.”
Recalling how performing for the ITBP wasn’t easy, Nigam says, “I had a very memorable experience in Leh, Ladakh. It’s known that it’s not easy to stay normal, health-wise, due to the lack of oxygen up there. I got so unwell that I had to use an Oxygen cylinder the night before the concert. But I got normal the next day and when the soldiers saw me perform so ferociously, they showered me with compliments for my energy and stamina at such an altitude. The next day, I went to Pangong Lake and stayed in the Army cantonment for the night. It was a very humbling experience.”
Talking about his most memorable song dedicated to the Army, the singer, who will be performing at a concert called Haazri on January 17 in Mumbai, says, “Sandese Aate Hain is special because it was my first-ever big song, and a really tough one. Pulling off the expressions, the range and the emotions required in this song was quite a big task for a 23 year old.”
