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Controversy: Much ado about nothing!
The differences between singer Sonu Nigam and lyricist Faaiz
Anwaar have snow-balled into a major controversy. 
It all started with Sonu insisting that Anwaar’s name
shouldn’t be given prominence as a lyricist for his latest
album Yaad, and Super Cassettes in turn crediting the lyrics
to a BKN. The press unravelled the story of how Anwaar was
not given his due credit when he had actually penned all the
lyrics, and published the lyricist’s comments on the
episode. In a surprise
reaction, Bhushan Kumar, MD, Super Cassettes, issued an official
press release against Anwaar, a regular with the music company,
accusing him of harbouring “impure inetentions.”
Screen spoke to Anwaar who countered the allegations, and
gave his version of the story. Presenting both versions for
you to judge...
Bhushan Kumar
Anwaar is taking advantage of Sonu’s silence
“An unncessary controversy has arisen
out of the misreporting in a section of press that our company,
T-Series, had withheld the name of Mr. Faaiz Anwaar as the
lyricsist of our album Yaad in all our publicity campaigns,
at the behest of Mr Sonu Nigam, the artist. This is what the
real story is, and finally we would like to put everything
straight.
“Super Cassettes Inds. Limited has released three private
albums of their renowned artist Mr. Sonu Nigam in the past,
before their latest album Yaad,  out
of which Deewana and Jaan had lyrics written by Mr. Faaiz
Anwaar. In view of the tremendous popularity of Mr. Sonu Nigam
as a very talented singer and performer, both the albums released
by the company created history.
“It all started when Mr. Faaiz Anwaar started giving
some outrageous and senseless interviews to some newspapers
and magazines, claiming himself as the sole reason of the
success of not only the albums Deewana and Jaan, but also
the career of Mr. Sonu Nigam, which is quite an arrogant and
baseless claim. It goes to show that he was unable to comprehend
the sudden success that Mr. Sonu Nigam has got, thereby, not
acknowledging the trememdous team-effort behind each album.
This, to a large extent, had hurt the feelings of the normally
happy-go-lucky singer of the album, Mr. Sonu Nigam.
“In fact, during the press release of the album Jaan,
Mr. Faaiz Anwaar acknowledged everybody in the team, from
the company to the chairman, to the music composers, to the
video director, except Sonu Nigam in his speech, which was
quite embarrassing for all of us. But Mr. Sonu Nigam didn’t
complain.
“It was only after the continuous publications of such
statements in the media that Mr. Sonu Nigam decided not to
work with somebody who doesn’t respect him.
“In the meantime, we had gone ahead with the lyrics of
the album and did not have the time to get the songs re-written
by any other lyricist, since this would have delayed the release
of Yaad. Therefore, we tried to intervene and resolve the
issue amicably. As a matter of fact, we discussed with Mr.
Faaiz Anwaar two options:
1) Either the name of Mr. Faaiz Anwaar may not be incorporated
as the lyricist in the album publicity. OR
2) We engage some other lyricist to rewrite the lyrics.
“It may be noted that Mr. Faaiz Anwaar himself opted
for the first option of non-incorporation of his name in the
album as a lyricist.
“It may also be noted that Mr. Sonu Nigam was not ready
for this and wanted the second option to be considered, but
we assured him that we would take prior written consent of
Mr. Faaiz Anwaar and get rid of any misunderstanding whatsoever.
Hence the question of Mr. Sonu Nigam proposing the deletion
of his name as lyricist is a false accusation by Mr. Anwaar.
“Mr. Sonu Nigam worked for the album Yaad day and night
before leaving for his two-month tour of the USA. We, as a
company, doubt if any other artist as busy as Mr. Sonu Nigam
would have been able to complete this album, that is record
10 songs, shoot two videos and even check some of the final
mixes of the songs, all this in just 15 days.
“During one such late night recording, due to the absence
of Mr. Faaiz Anwaar in practically every song dubbing, the
company changed a repeatedly appearing minor line of a particular
song, that too after Mr. Bhushan Kumar took prior consent
from Mr. Faaiz Anwaar before the release of the album. Thus
there is no personal prejudice involved in this, as claimed
by Mr. Faaiz Anwaar in the press.
“There is no question of any kind of jealousy whatsoever
in Mr. Sonu Nigam’s heart for Mr. Faaiz Anwaar as he
has never doubted Mr. Faaiz Anwaar’s capabilities as
a lyricist. In fact he appeared to be most upset when Mr.
Faaiz Anwaar was not nominated for the album Deewana in one
of the award functions, in the category of the Best Lyricist.
“Mr. Sonu Nigam is our company’s prestigious artist
and a man of commitment and dignity, and Mr. Faaiz Anwaar
has no right to take undue advantage of his silence on this
issue. His attempt to keep away from unnecessary controversies
by keeping mum should not be taken for granted.
“The actions of Mr. Faaiz Anwaar, the entire manner in
which he has dealt with the the matter, during the recording
and subsequent release of the album, has hurt the team spirit
of the company.
“No heed should therefore be paid to the negative publicity
of Mr. Sonu Nigam being done by Mr. Faaiz Anwaar with impure
intentions.”
(Signed Bhushan Kumar, MD, Super Cassettes)
FAAIZ ANWAAR
Except for T-Series all of Sonu’s other albums have flopped
“I can’t believe that Nanubhai (Bhushan Kumar) can
issue such statements against me. I’m certain that he
is under pressure from Sonu Nigam. I have  given
hit albums with T-Series, Deewana, Jaan, Jaanam, Ishq Hua,
Aashiqui and now Yaad, which too is doing well. The truth
is that Sonu grudges my success. After Deewana, Sonu turned
popular overnight, but while his singing was appreciated,
so were my lyrics. That Sonu didn’t like and constantly
made snide remarks when we met. He would say, ‘The album
is your success, humne to jhakmaari ki hai.’ I thought
he was being immature and would insist that the success is
due to teamwork.
“At the launch of Jaan, everyone associated with the
album was called on stage. Sonu went overboard in praising
me. He said, ‘Yeh duniya ke azeem shayaron mein se hain’.
It was quite embarrassing. When it was my turn to speak, Sonu
expected that I would do the same for him. I didn’t.
I merely said that the album was an effort of teamwork, which
Sonu found offensive. He was hurt and later complained to
Bhushan Kumar that I was deliberately sidelining him. When
Bhushan Kumar questioned me about it, I said I didn’t
indulge in flattery to feed egos. Besides, I am Sonu’s
senior and don’t need to do so. Let’s get it clear
that Sonu shot to fame only after Deewana and Jaan, while
I have been giving hit lyrics much before that. If Sonu chooses
to interpret this as pride, I can’t do anything about
it.
“The problem is much deeper. Let me start at the beginning.
After Jaan, when T-Series was planning Yaad, Bhushan Kumar
asked me to write the lyrics. I told him that since Sonu wasn’t
comfortable with me, it was better that they take another
writer. But Bhushan Kumar insisted that I write because of
our long association. He insisted and I relented. I wrote
10 songs, and in the process Bhushan Kumar tried clearing
the misunderstanding between Sonu and me.
“Everything went well for a while. Sonu dubbed for three
songs and I was present at all the recordings, as against
the allegation made by T-Series. You can verify this with
composer Vinay (of Nikhil-Vinay).
“The recording of the fourth song was to be done by composer
Ravi Pawar. Sonu rang him up one fine day and said that he
would record at 12.30 midnight the same day. Now, since there
was no intimation, I couldn’t be present for the recording
at such short notice, and at such an unearthly hour. Nevertheless,
they went ahead with the recording and said that if I had
any changes I could do so later. During the recording of the
song Yeh dil tere bin tadpe, Sonu altered the line ‘Deewana
tera main ho gaya... to ‘Mera dil tera hi ho gaya...’.
When composer Pawar conveyed his fears about the line being
changed, Sonu said he was assuming responsibility for the
consequences. So much for his bloated ego! The composer informed
me about this, and consequently, when I bumped into Sonu I
confronted him. He was unapologetic, and coolly said, ‘Line
achchi nahin lagi, to kaat di’. I was furious and gave
him a piece of my mind. Even Bhushan Kumar told him he was
wrong, but he was undeterred.
“After this incident, Sonu refused to dub for the other
six songs and told Bhushan Kumar that he would record further
only on condition that my name should not be credited to the
songs, or the credit-line should be almost invisible.
“By now Sonu should know that no album is a hit only
because of the singer. The composer and the lyricist have
their contribution as well. Check any success story and it
is always a result of teamwork. And in case he thinks he alone
is responsible for his success, whatever happened to his other
albums? Except for T-Series all his other albums have flopped.
“The condition put by Sonu about my credit-line wasn’t
acceptable to me. Both of us stuck to our guns and things
came to a standstill. Bhushan Kumar got worried because Sonu
was leaving for the US for two months, and the album couldn’t
be further delayed. The only way out was to come to a compromise.
I decided that instead of being insulted by allowing my name
in fine print, better not to give my name at all. Bhushan
Kumar supported my decision, and even though I felt hurt,
I let it go because after all he is Gulshan Kumar’s son,
who was my mentor.
“I gave up what was rightfully mine and what’s sad
is that they didn’t care to give me justice. It’s
not as if Yaad is the be-all and end-all of my career. Songs
will come and songs will go. I decided that I would gift my
lyrics of Yaad to Bhushan Kumar, which is why you see the
lyrics being credited to BKN. Contrary to what’s mentioned
in the chargesheet, I haven’t agreed to this in writing.
But I agreed on principle and to me that’s what matters.
“Now, as things stand, I have decided that I will not
work with Sonu Nigam until he apologises. I have penned the
lyrics for the album to be recorded by his father, Mr. Nigam,
though. I am a creative person and will not punish the father
for his son’s misbehaviour. Let me tell you that the
father is a much better singer than Sonu. It’s just that
he didn’t get a break.
“This unfortunate episode in no way ends my association
with T-Series. No matter what Bhushan Kumar says to people
or the press, I know he doesn’t mean it. I am like his
brother and will overlook his weaknesses. With Bhushan Kumar
it’s an emotional bond. I have been with T-Series for
15 years now, and this long relationship can’t come to
nought due to one incident. I owe my career to Gulshan Kumar
and will remain loyal to T-Series come what may.” l
(NB: In a bid to pacify Faaiz Anwaar, T-Series have just come
out with an album titled Deewane Hoke Hum - Hits of Faaiz
Anwaar. Rarely has one heard of albums being credited to a
lyricist before).
As told to Salma Khatib
salmakhatib@hotmail.com
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