'Sonu Nigam insulted our language': Kannada film and music industry demands complete ban on singer

Popular Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam has sparked controversy in Karnataka after allegedly making disrespectful remarks about the Kannada language during a recent musical event.

In a strong statement, Vishwanath, President of the Music Directors' Association, declared a complete boycott of Sonu Nigam within the Kannada film industry. "From this moment, we are united in boycotting Sonu Nigam. He will not be allowed to sing in any Kannada films, nor will he be invited to any cultural or musical events in Karnataka," he said.

Attempts were reportedly made by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to reach out to Nigam for clarification or an apology, but he remained unavailable. The association has now appealed to the Film Chamber and commercial bodies to officially ban him until he issues a public apology.

“Sonu Nigam has insulted the Kannada language and Kannada film industry. We have requested the Chamber to impose a complete ban on him,” Vishwanath added. The controversy continues to stir strong emotions across the state, with fans and artists expressing solidarity in defense of the regional language and culture.

Meanwhile, Sonu Nigam has issued a clarification in light of allegations against him for making provocative statements and hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas. This comes after an FIR was filed against the singer at the Avalahalli Police Station in Bengaluru. On April 25 and April 26, during the event at East Point College, it is reported that a student requested Sonu Nigam to sing a Kannada song.

 

 

 

 

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Responding to the same during his performance, the singer had made an objectionable statement, saying, “Kannada, Kannada, Kannada, this is exactly why the incident happened in Pahalgam”, as he referenced the recent terrorist attack that occurred in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, where 26 tourists were killed.

Sonu, on his part, took to his Instagram on Saturday, and issued a clarification as he said that there were only 3-4 fringe elements in the crowd, and other people in the audience were very respectful. He said that such people need to be dealt with strongly.

He said in the video, “There were only 4-5 goons who were shouting. In fact, thousands of people were stopping them. I remember the girls were shouting at them, telling them, ‘Don’t disturb the scene'. It was very important to remind them that when the pants were removed in Pahalgam, the language was not asked. Kannadigas are very nice people. One should not think that there is a wave about language extremism. There is nothing like that. There are 4-5 such bad people everywhere”.

“But it is very important to remind them that you cannot allow them to threaten you to make you sing. I intended to perform an hour-long set of my songs in the Kannada language. It is very important to stop the people who are provoking people. Please do not generalise the entire Kannadiga community. There were only 4-5 boys on that day, who looked at me with anger after my first song, not even like half an hour of the show”, he added.