INTERVIEW OF SONU NIGAM
So you owe your base to T-series? Of course, I do. The moment Gulshan started supporting me things completely changed. Were you ever bound by a contract with them? No, I was not. You know Ramesh Taurani of TIPS really appreciated my work when 'Aacha Sila Diya Tune Mere Pyar Ka' was released. He asked me to sing for his company, but I refused because I had given a verbal commitment to Gulshan Kumar that I would not sing any versions for an outside company. My verbal promise meant more to me than any written contract ever could.
When did it snap with T-series? It gradually faded as they did not want more of me. T-series thought that I had reached saturation point. Actually they underestimated me. It started with the album 'Sapnon Ki Baat', which I wanted to name 'Agar Mera Bus Chale'... lekin mera bus nahin chalaa. That's when I realised that after working for four years for a company, I still didn't have the right to give the name I liked for my own album. That's when I felt that I had to spread my wings and move ahead and let them know my importance. You know, they were doing everybody else's videos on 35 mm, but I was given a video camera to do the same. I'd warned them that others were ready to give me the world, and they should not underestimate me, but it had no effect on them. I had never asked for more than what I deserved. They had not gifted me a Tata Sierra or a Maruti. And they had no business to take me for granted.
