Sonu Nigam, a veteran singer and a well-known name in the Indian film and music industry yesterday in a vlog, talked about the menace of mafias in India’s music industry, which has now come to be controlled by two individuals and their respective music companies. The vlog titled disturbingly, “You might soon hear about suicides in the music industry” by Sonu Nigam came in the backdrop of Sushant Singh Rajput committing suicide.
Sonu Nigam in the video, called upon the hegemons of the music industry to be more kind and humane to newcomers who enter the industry high on aspirations, dreaming to make the cut for themselves. He also recalled how even he has been a victim of the music mafia in India, wherein notwithstanding his seniority in the industry, the singer was called to sing, and his songs were then subsequently dubbed. Sonu Nigam said, “Sushant Singh Rajput died, an actor died. Tomorrow, you can hear the same about a singer, or a composer, or a lyrics writer. Because the music scenario in our country… there are bigger ‘mafias’ here that in the film industry, unfortunately.”
Also taking a dig at Salman Khan, Sonu Nigam remarked that one of those responsible for the repeated replacement of singers was the man at whom “fingers are also being pointed at right now.” To quote the singer, he can be heard saying, “An actor, the one at whom everybody is pointing fingers these days, has done this with me, saying I should not be made to sing, the same actor has done this with Arijit Singh also. What is this? How can you use your power like that?”
In 2016, Salman Khan had reportedly asked a song recorded by Arijit Singh to be dropped from his film Sultan, since his ego seemed to be offended by the singer’s behaviour at an award show. Speaking about the mental state of the majority of new singers, Sonu Nigam said, “I want to make a request, especially to our music companies. Today Sushant Singh Rajput has passed away, he was an actor. Tomorrow you might hear something similar about a singer, a composer, or a lyrics writer. Because the atmosphere of the music industry in our country is such that bigger mafias exist here as compared to the film industry, unfortunately.”
Sonu Nigam also revealed that he has almost self-consciously opted out of the music and film industry, saying that he did not even feel like singing any longer. “I have come out of this and I am very happy in my own world for the last 15 years.”
Read: Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide has triggered a massive movement against nepotism driven Bollywood
Sonu Nigam’s tirade against Bollywood and specifically the music industry comes at a time when there is an increasing conversation around the filth of nepotism which pervades in Bollywood, even leading to the death of actors. In the past few days, the likes of Karan Johar and his minions have come under increasing fire for almost abetting the suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput. With Sonu Nigam speaking out now, the rot within Mumbai’s music industry also stands exposed.
