Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam has, on various occasions, stirred up a hornet’s nest with his controversial statements publicly. Wading into the ongoing debate over playing the national anthem in public places, he – obviously – had his own style to give his opinion on it.
On Monday, the Supreme court directed the Centre to decide on the playing of the anthem in public places, including cinema halls. “I respect my parents and if I know they will not be respected at certain places, why should I take them there? I want them to be respected when they go out. Similarly, the national anthem should not be played at places where it will not be respected.”
However, what irked the social media was when Sonu said, “If the national anthem of Pakistan is played and all Pakistanis are standing, I will also stand out of respect for that country and those people. There are some people who are saying the national anthem should be there (in cinema halls), some say it should not be there. The national anthem is a prestigious and sensitive thing and I think it should not be played in certain places– in movie theatres or restaurants.”
Following the latest controversy featuring the singer, we look at some high-profile controversies surrounding the singer in the past.
Sonu had found himself in the eye of a Twitter storm earlier this year, for his comments against the use of loudspeakers in religious places. He had expressed his annoyance over being woken up by azaan every morning.
He had tweeted, “God bless everyone. I’m not a Muslim and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India. And by the way Mohammed did not have electricity when he made Islam.. Why do I have to have this cacophony after Edison? Gundagardi hai buss.”
However, the singer today said his tweet was just not about ‘azaan’, but temples, too, as he was against the use of amplifiers in shrines.
“I am an atheist. I worship everyone as I see God in everyone. I am not a fanatic, I do not belong to any religion. Suddenly, I saw some people, who know me since quite some time not standing by me. But at the same time, I got a lot of support. Lot of people tell me I raised the issue in a good way, without abusing anyone.”
The singer, who quit Twitter after the controversy, said he is not even on WhatsApp since celebrities easily land in trouble for their comments, while others are allowed to use abusive language on the social media.
In another incident, Sonu landed in trouble when a video of him singing on a flight mid-air using the aircraft’s address system went viral.
A debate sparked off after the aviation safety regulator asked the airline to suspend the airhostesses on-board. Sonu was extremely upset about the airways’ action and defended his stance saying, “This lack of common sense is real intolerance for me. I have witnessed an elaborate fashion show in an aircraft. I also know of concerts happening inside planes. I have seen pilots and crew members cracking jokes to loosen up passengers in other countries, which is so cool. To suspend crew members for asking me to sing on the address system, when the seat belt signs were off, and no announcements were to be made, is nothing less than punishing someone for spreading happiness.”
