Kannada groups to lodge complaint with film chamber seeking ban on Sonu Nigam

BENGALURU: A statement by renowned singer Sonu Nigam made on stage during a musical event held on April 25-26, at East Point College in Bengaluru, and captured in a video, has since gone viral, inviting strong reactions from people in Karnataka, with many, including Kannada groups, expressing anger on social media.

Kannada cinema artists are outraged against the singer’s remarks and there are murmurs of banning him from the Kannada film industry.

Kannada groups say that statements have deeply hurt the sentiments of the Kannadiga community, incited hatred among various linguistic communities in Karnataka, and are likely to provoke violence.

Sonu Nigam, during the concert, remarked saying, “Kannada, Kannada, Kannada, this is exactly why the Pahalgam incident happened”.

Kannada activists, including Rupesh Rajanna of pro-Kannada groups and former president of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Sa Ra Govindu, have demanded action against Sonu Nigam and urged the Film Chamber to take steps against him.

A joint meeting between the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and the producers’ association will be held to decide whether Sonu Nigam should be allowed to sing in Kannada films in the future.

The controversy began when Sonu Nigam compared a demand from a section of the audience for Kannada songs at a concert to the Pahalgam attack, where 26 people were killed.

Sonu Nigam has defended his statement, saying he was responding to a few individuals who were demanding that he sing in Kannada in a threatening manner. He said his comments were not directed at all Kannadigas, but rather at the specific individuals who were making demands. “I had Kannada songs on my list, but I just forced and shouted”, he claimed.

“There is a difference in shouting Kannada with love and with force. They demanded the second song in Kannada when I just began the performance. That’s why I addressed those four youths. This is not what I said to all Kannadigas. I wanted to convey that the terrorists in Pahalgam did not ask for language; they killed them asking for religion”.

“They did not appeal for a Kannada song, they asked me in a threatening manner. They should have been answered in their own language. Kannadigas are people who share love. I did refer to all Kannadigas, I answered those four people in their own language. Those who spread hatred should be stopped at the start”, Sonu Nigam said in his clarification on Instagram.

The producers’ association has condemned Sonu Nigam’s statement and demanded that he should not be given opportunities to sing in Kannada films in the future.