Sonu Nigam receives Raj Kapoor Vishesh Yogdaan Puraskar: I didn’t see it coming

Singer Sonu Nigam has added another feather to his cap, as he has been honoured with the Raj Kapoor Award for Special Contribution To Cinema for 2023 at the 57th Maharashtra State Marathi Film Awards. “It feels very humbling to receive this honour, as this award comes from a state that has shaped my life. I have a lot of respect for Mumbai and Maharashtra. My mother was born in Mumbai, so this is truly my motherland. Mumbai taught me the value of labour and consistency. Whatever I am today is because of the shade and shelter provided to me by the state,” says the Padma Shri recipient. Did he expect the honour? “No, I didn’t see it coming at all,” says Sonu Nigam.

The ceremony, organised by the Government of Maharashtra in Mumbai on Thursday, also saw the Papa Meri Jaan (Animal; 2023) hitmaker win the Best Singer award for the track Yeshil Tu from the 2019 Marathi film Miss U Mister. However, he had left the venue by then, as he didn’t expect the second honour. “I had to rush for a show, so I’d left. Sachin Pilgaonkar (actor-director) bhaiya took the award for me,” says Nigam.

Meanwhile, the ceremony also saw actor Ashok Saraf winning the Maharashtra Bhushan Award for 2023, which is the highest civilian honour of the state. Saraf has acted in more than 250 Marathi films and is known for his impeccable comic timing. The Lata Mangeshkar Award for Lifetime contribution to music for 2023 was given to singer Suresh Wadkar. The Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Award went to veteran actors Aruna Irani (for 2020) and Mithun Chakraborty (2021). The V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award in Marathi cinema for 2020 was conferred posthumously on late actor-director Ravindra Mahajani. Veteran actress Helen received the Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hindi cinema for 2022.