Sonu Nigam responds to Kannada row: I leave it up to the sensible people of Karnataka to decide who's at fault
Calling Kannada his ‘second language’ when it comes to work, Sonu Nigam says he loathes ‘anyone trying to create hate in the name of language or religion’.
The controversy surrounding Sonu Nigam has intensified days after his statement from a concert held at the East Point College of Engineering and Technology in Bengaluru. A video from the concert went viral, where the singer was seen schooling a group of attendees who insisted that the singer sang in Kannada as soon as he started the show. After a police complaint was apparently lodged against him by a pro-Kannada organisation, Sonu Nigam took to social media to share a video, titled 'Just love', as a response to the controversy. However, yesterday, some reports claimed that the Kannada film industry is planning to distance itself from Sonu.
In a statement shared with us, Sonu said, "Namaskara. I have given unprecedented love to the language, the culture, the music, the musicians, the state and the people not just when I am in Karnataka, but anywhere in the world. In fact, I have revered my Kannada songs way more than my songs in other languages, including Hindi. There are 100s of videos circulating on social media as a testimony. I have more than an hour-long set of Kannada songs when I prepare for every concert in Karnataka. However I am not a young lad to take humiliation from anyone. I am 51, in the second half of my life and I am entitled to take offence for someone as young as my son threatening me directly, in front of thousands, in the name of language, and that too Kannada, which is my second language when it comes to my work. That too right after my first song of the concert! (sic).
The singer added, "He provoked a few more. Their own people were embarrassed and were asking them to shut up. I told them politely and lovingly, 'The show has just started, it's my first song.' I said I won't let them down, but they have to let me continue with the concert the way I had planned. Every artiste has a song list prepared so that the musicians and technicians are in sync. But they were hell-bent on creating ruckus and threatening me wildly. Tell me who is at fault?"
Sharing why he felt the need to school the group at the concert, Sonu adds, "Being a patriot that I am, I loathe anyone trying to create hate in the name of language, caste or religion, especially after what transpired in Pahalgam. I had to school them, and I did, and thousands of students and teachers cheered me for it. The matter got over and I sang Kannada songs for more than an hour. It's all there on social media. I leave it up to the sensible people of Karnataka to decide who is at fault here. I will accept your verdict gracefully. I fully respect and trust the law agencies and Police of Karnataka and will comply with whatever is expected from me. I have received divine love from Karnataka and will cherish it always with no malice whatsoever, irrespective of your verdict."
