Sonu Nigam hits back at IIFA 2025 after being snubbed from nominations

MUMBAI: Playback singer Sonu Nigam has voiced his disappointment after being snubbed from the Best Playback Singer (Male) nominations at the IIFA Awards 2025. The event, held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, did not include Nigam in the nominations despite his massive hit song “Mere Dholna 3.0” from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 being among the many chartbusters last year.

The nominees in the category included Arijit Singh, Karan Aujla, Diljit Dosanjh, Baadshah, Jubin Nautiyal, and Mitraz. Ultimately, Jubin Nautiyal won the award.

Nigam took to his Instagram account on Wednesday to share a screenshot of the nominee list along with a sarcastic caption that read, “Thank you, IIFA… After all, you were answerable to the Rajasthan bureaucracy.”

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A post shared by Sonu Nigam (@sonunigamofficial)

The singer didn’t stop there. He also played “Mere Dholna 3.0” in the background, possibly hinting that the song deserved at least a nomination.
In no time, fans and colleagues chimed in the comment section to show their support to the singer.

Composer Amaal Malik commented, “Such is the world that we live in… Mazaak banake rakh diya hai (They have made it a joke).”
One user wrote, “You are incomparable, @sonunigamofficial ji. For us, you are the music.”

Another fan added, “Sonu Nigam himself is an award. They don’t have the ability to measure the depth of your voice… Love you.”

Nigam has several awards to his credit. Apart from Hindi and Kannada, he has sung in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, English, Assamese, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Tulu, Maithili, and Manipuri.

Nigam began his career with the song “Hum To Chhaila Ban Gaye” from the TV serial Talash (1992). (ANI)