Mika Singh’s Take on Nepotism Battle: ‘This industry gave us our career, we should respect it’

Asking Sonu Nigam to not give out a wrong message about Bollywood being controlled by “mafias”, Mika says that we must not diss the industry that gives us everything.

Mika Singh says that the music industry in Bollywood works only on merit and nothing else.

In life, everything happens in its own time. I came to Mumbai in 2007, and filmmaker Sanjay Gupta gave me a break in his film Shootout at Lokhandwala,” says singer Mika, who believes that the Bollywood music industry is a beautiful place and should not be disrespected.

After the recent vlog that singer Sonu Nigam released, accusing Bhushan Kumar of running a mafia in the music industry, Bollywood stands divided on this front. While some believe that yes, favouritism exists, others believe that everything works purely on merit. Mika says that in the recent years, he has seen so many new singers who have made a name for themselves.

“Sonu Nigam is saying he is not getting any songs but there are so many new singers who have gained immense popularity in the industry. There is Arijit Singh, Arman Malik, now of course, B Praak has made a name for himself. And apart from that, our singers from Punjab are continuing to do excellent work. Ab B Praak toh industry ke kisike bua ka beta nai hai. Bohot logon ka naam horaha hai and un mein se kaafi logon ko Bhushan Kumar ne hi break diya hai. Music labels can only give you a break, but after that, what happens with the song or the singer, whether they become successful or not, is not unto the label,” says Mika.

The singer believes that the music industry is a beautiful place, and even though, he was born in Punjab, Mumbai is his karm bhumi, and he loves the city. “Mumbai is such a beautiful city that I have not met anyone till date, who came here looking for work and didn’t get any. Mumbai ka itna bada dil hai ki yeh sabko sama leta hai apne andar. The government and police of this city are so brilliant that nowhere else will you find the freedom that you get in this city,” adds Mika.  

And about the constant war that Nigam and Kumar seem to be entangled in, Mika says with a laugh, “Sonu Nigam ji and Bhushan Kumar are like boyfriend girlfriend or husband and wife. Whenever they fight, you should let them be. Sonu Nigam ko banane wale bhi Gulshan Kumar the, so since then, they have a love-hate relationship and we should not get into it.”

While Mika says that Nigam is a legendary singer, he is of the opinion that Nigam is giving out a wrong message to the world about the music industry. “He shouldn’t give a wrong message to the world that Bollywood is ruled by mafias etc. We have got everything from this industry and this city, we must not diss it. Even Bhushan Kumar’s family came from Delhi and found so much success in Mumbai. The top actresses in Bollywood today like Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif are all outsiders. It’s just that some people get success while others don’t. Everyone needs a break, and after that everything is based on talent. Every two years, I see a singer who becomes momentarily popular with millions of views and then disappears. But singers like Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam have been singing for so many years. Our industry is made of legends such as Lata Mangeshkar and the likes, so we should not disrespect it,” says Mika.