Sonu Nigam’s Srinagar concert sees low turnout amid boycott calls

Sonu Nigam performed in Srinagar on Sunday evening, and visuals from his concert are now doing the rounds on social media. While he enjoys a large fan base in India owing to his musical prowess, the singer has also had his fair share of controversies. One of these controversies resulted in a low turnout at his Srinagar concert due to his eight-year-old azaan controversy. Meanwhile, another viral video shows Sonu pausing his concert to honour the azaan.

Sonu Nigam halts concert for azaan

In a clip from the concert that has gone viral on social media, Sonu Nigam can be seen pausing his performance. He said, “Please give me two minutes; the Azaan is about to begin here.” His gesture was met with applause and cheers from the audience as a token of appreciation. After the Azaan, Sonu Nigam resumed his concert and entertained the crowd with his hit Bollywood numbers.

Sonu Nigam’s concert witnesses empty seats

Sonu Nigam is one such Indian singer who usually has no trouble selling out live concerts. However, his Srinagar concert held at the SK International Conference Centre (SKICC) near Dal Lake witnessed a low turnout. The reason? Reportedly, there was a call for a boycott of the event owing to Nigam`s past comments on the Azaan.

About Sonu`s azaan controversy

Back in 2017, Sonu Nigam shared a series of tweets condemning the practice of reciting azaan through loudspeakers. He described it as “forced religiousness” and “gundagardi (hooliganism).” “God bless everyone. I’m not a Muslim, and I have to be woken up by the azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India?” he wrote in one of his tweets back then.

In later posts, he wrote, “And by the way, Mohammed did not have electricity when he made Islam. Why do I have to endure this cacophony after Edison? I don’t believe any temple or gurudwara should use loudspeakers to wake up people who don’t follow their religion. Why then..? Honest? True? It’s just gundagardi.”

While the tweets are reportedly no longer on Nigam`s X handle, screenshots of the same have resurfaced recently, prompting renewed boycott calls in Srinagar.

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