VELLORE ,TAMIL NADU:14/02/2019: Sonu nigam play back singer performed at VIT in connection with RIVIERA 2019 in Vellore on Thursday 14,february 2019. photo: C. Venkatachalapathy/ TheHindu
| Photo Credit: VENKATACHALAPATHY C

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) on Monday (May 05, 2025) decided to be “non-cooperative” with Sonu Nigam after the singer courted controversy in the State. The popular playback singer received backlash after he turned down the demand of a fan to sing a Kannada song during his recent concert at East Point College in Virgonagar, Bengaluru.

During his performance, Sonu responded to the demand saying he didn’t like the tone of the concerned person from the crowd and compared the incident to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The singer’s reference to a terror attack irked Kannadigas, resulting in a case being booked on him by a pro-Kannada outfit for “inciting language hatred.”

The police has sent a notice to the singer to appear before them for questioning.

M Narasimhalu, chairman, KFCC, told reporters at a press conference that the chamber has decided to cut off all kinds of communication with the singer unless he renders a “public apology.”

“Mr Sonu Nigam will not be invited for any Kannada film-related events. We have written to the police ommissioner’s office to not permit any Sonu Nigam concert in Bengaluru,” said Narasimhalu, adding that there has been no step taken to ban the singer from the Kannada film industry yet.

“The chamber will have a meeting with audio labels, producers, music directors, singers and directors to discuss the issue. Some upcoming movies might have his songs. It’s not right on our part to hold the releases of those movies unless the producere are willing to re-record the tracks with new singers,” Narasimhalu said.

Producer Uday K Mehta, who was at the press conference, slammed Sonu Nigam’s statement during his concert. “He has received immense love from the people of Karnataka. He has hurt them all with his words. Nobody with a stable mind will compare a request for a song to a terror attack. As artistes and fans of cinema, we deserve respect. His recent video doesn’t seem like an apology. It feels like a justification of his act,” Mehta told The Hindu.

Responding to the outrage, Sonu Nigam said in a video that he felt “threatened by 4-5 thugs in the crowd. “My show hadn’t even started and these guys looked at me in a rude manner and demanded me to sing Kannada songs. No artiste should allow their audience to threaten him or her,” he said, adding that he always found people of Karnataka “sweet and humble”.

Sonu Nigam also spoke about his Pahalgam terror attack comment that left the fans furious. “We need to remind such people that at Pahalgam, people weren’t asked about their language before being killed.”