No more Sonu Nigam songs in Sandalwood? Filmmaker removes 2 songs from upcoming film

Well, it seems that the Kannada film industry is determined to cut all ties with singer Sonu Nigam who has been in the eye of a storm ever since his most recent concert in Bengaluru. During the event, Sonu, who came with a pre-determined set of songs, which included his hits across languages, he was reportedly ‘heckled’ by some youngsters, who demanded that he switch to singing Kannada songs after the very first number. Perturbed by the consistent chant for Kannada, Sonu lost his cool, and likened the Pahalgam terror attack to what was unfolding at his event. He did sing his Kannada hits later on, but a video of his reaction went viral, sparking outrage from various sections, including the Kannada film industry.

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Kannada filmmaker removes Sonu Nigam song from upcoming film; more to follow?

Only days ago, Sonu was unofficially banned, not only from singing for Kannada films, but also from performing at public events, with stakeholders calling it a non-cooperation movement against the singer. And now comes the next step – a filmmaker has removed to songs that he’d got Sonu to sing and is replacing them with the track version that was sung by Chethan Sosca. Kuladalli Keelyavudo, which is set to be in theatres on May 23 has two Sonu songs, the title track and another, Manasu Haadtade, both of which had been released prior to the film’s theatrical outing. The title track has now been removed, while Manasu Haadtade remains on Sonu’s YouTube page.

For nearly two decades since 2000, singer Sonu Nigam has been an integral part of Kannada cinema, singing some of the most popular songs of the times, collaborating with composers like Hamsalekha, Mano Murthy, V Harikrishna, Arjun Janya, among many others. In fact, it was thought that for, say, actors like Golden Star Ganesh, the music album would be incomplete without a Sonu Nigam number. Even his latest, Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi has one – Hey Gagana. Every year, the singer would have at least 10-12 films in Kannada cinema, until the pandemic, after which there’s been a slow down, what with composers favouring singers like Sanjith Hegde and Armaan Malik for the kind of songs that would typically go to Sonu.

Films like Mungaru Male, Milana , Gaalipata, Sanju Weds Geetha , Simplag Ond Love Story, Googly , to the more recent Gaalipata 2, Kousalya Supraja Rama and Martin, among many others, have benefited greatly from the success of Sonu’s songs. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce had said that the non-cooperation would be effective until the singer tenders an apology, which he has, but there's already been a fallout.