Sonu Nigam is the voice behind hits such as Satrangi Re, Yeh Dil Deewana and Saathiya
Singer Sonu Nigam has denied that he asked for payment for his work in new film
Chalk N Duster after first having waived his fee. In tweets, Mr Nigam has described a news report that said he was 'miffed' with the film's makers as 'absolutely false.' He also explained that while he hadn't been paid, the producers presented him with a watch and he had no complaints. (Also Read:
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Sonu Nigam, 43, agreed to sing for
Chalk N Duster because of a long association with make-up man Subhash Singh who was producing the film. Mr Singh was later ousted from the project after disagreements with director Jayant Gilatar and the movie's financiers. A report in
mid-day quoted a source as saying, "Singh was shown the door following a series of arguments with director Jayant Gilatar and the financers. That happened just before Sonu recorded the
Aye Zindagi track, penned by Javed Akhtar and composed by Sandesh Shandilya. Later, when Sonu was told that Singh no longer has anything to do with the project, he got upset. He had waived off his fee because of his personal equation with him. Sonu felt he was duped by those who took over the project."
After this, Mr Nigam reportedly asked to be paid - which he now says he didn't do. The
mid-day.com report also carries a confirmation from director Gilatar: "Yes, we have not paid Sonu Nigam for the song, but we gave him a gift later."
Subhash Singh told
mid-day.com, "I had requested Sonu to render the track, but I was thrown out of my own film. I worked on the project for one-and-a-half years, but the director and financers took over. They went and recorded the song with him and it was much later that they informed him about the developments."
Chalk N Duster, based on the student-teacher relationship, stars Juhi Chawla and Shabana Azmi in key roles. The film opens on Friday.