Sonu Nigam expressed disappointment days after the IIFA awards in Jaipur, criticising the event for not nominating him as Best Male Playback Singer for his Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 song.
On Tuesday, Sonu Nigam shared a screenshot of the IIFA 2025 Best Male Playback Singer nominees on Instagram. Along with the image, he added his song Mere Dholna 3.0 from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
He captioned, ‘Thank you, IIFA. After all, you were answerable to the Rajasthan bureaucracy‘.
Shreya Ghoshal won Best Female Playback Singer for the same song Sonu Nigam expected a nomination for, while Jubin Nautiyal won Best Male Playback Singer for Dua from Article 370.
Amaal Malik wrote, “Such is the world that we live in… Mazaak banake rakh diya hai (It has become a mockery).” Kumar Sanu’s son, Jaan Kumar Sanu, commented, “Dada, you are above these awards, to be honest. We all love you.”
While one user wrote, ‘Fake awards go to autotune. You are above awards’, another one added, ‘You’re an award to them and to us… that we can hear you! Only a few truly value the gift we get from God. Likewise, we got you from Him! You’re an award yourself, sir.’
Last December, during his performance at the Rising Rajasthan event, Sonu Nigam noticed that several political figures, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, left midway. Expressing disappointment on social media, he urged politicians to respect artists, emphasizing that leaving during a performance felt disrespectful and dishonored the arts.
Mere Dholna 3.0 from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 became an instant hit upon its release.