Sonu Nigam is happy to be back as a judge on the TV with Indian Idol. “The main incentive to be back on Indian Idol as a judge was sharing the panel with Anu and Farah,” insists Sonu Nigam, who is getting back to the show after a decade. When asked why he was away from television for this long, Sonu says candidly, “I’m not the kind of person who is going to waste my life just for the sake of money or for being on the camera. I’m a secure person. When I stopped enjoying being on television, I stopped doing it completely. All these reality shows on television today approached me; I won’t take names, but they have all approached me. They did not materislise because we haven’t reached any agreement. When I don’t want to do anything, I ask for the kind of money they won’t be able to pay me.”
So what did Indian Idol do right? “When the guys at Sony came to me with Indian Idol and said if you’re coming on board, we will also get Anu Malik and Farah Khan back on the show. I have a lot of respect for them. My first foray into being a judge was with Indian Idol. So, I wanted to go back and revisit those days,” adds Sonu.
As a judge, the singer has also been part of rival reality singing show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. When pointed out that the quality of singers emerging from Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is better than those coming from Indian Idol, Sonu shakes his head in disagreement. “I don’t agree to that because I’ve seen some great singers coming up from Indian Idol season 1 and 2. It’s not about any particular show, it’s about availability of singers. This season we have made it a point to completely focus on the talent and not compromise on it. They are all good singers, but some contestants probably need to work on their expressions. I want to coax the Idol singers to enact the songs not just sing them,” he signs off.
