March 13, 2025: Playback singer Sonu Nigam has expressed his displeasure after being excluded from the Best Playback Singer (Male) nominations at the IIFA Awards 2025, despite his hit song “Mere Dholna 3.0” from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 being a massive chartbuster last year.
The nominees in the category included Arijit Singh, Karan Aujla, Diljit Dosanjh, Baadshah, Jubin Nautiyal, and Mitraz, with Jubin Nautiyal ultimately winning the award. Nigam took to his Instagram on Wednesday to share a screenshot of the list of nominees, adding a sarcastic caption: “Thank you, IIFA… After all, you were answerable to the Rajasthan bureaucracy.”
To further highlight his point, Nigam played “Mere Dholna 3.0” in the background of the post, potentially implying that the song deserved at least a nomination. Fans and colleagues quickly flooded the comments section with support, expressing their admiration for Nigam’s contribution to music.
Composer Amaal Malik commented, “Such is the world that we live in… Mazaak banake rakh diya hai (They have made it a joke).” One fan wrote, “You are incomparable, @sonunigamofficial ji. For us, you are the music.” Another added, “Sonu Nigam himself is an award. They don’t have the ability to measure the depth of your voice… Love you.”
Sonu Nigam has earned numerous accolades throughout his career, lending his voice to songs in various languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, English, Assamese, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Tulu, Maithili, and Manipuri. His career began with the song “Hum To Chhaila Ban Gaye” from the TV serial Talash (1992).
Despite the IIFA snub, Nigam remains an iconic figure in the Indian music industry, and his fans continue to show unwavering support for the singer, recognizing his vast contributions to music across multiple languages and genres.