Is my not being a homosexual a punishable offence? – Sonu Nigam

In an open letter to the media, Nigam has stated that senior film journalist – Subhash K. Jha had asked him for sexual favours in return for publicity. Sonu claims that when he did not agree to Jha’s requests, Subhash started fabricating reports about the singer to show him in poor light.

He used to harass me with his homosexual desires to an extent that my family was affected. We all know that the film industry consists of many gays and homosexuals. Even I have many gay friends but they have never tried to come close to me because they know that I am not interested in it, news website zeenews.com quoted the singer as saying.

In 2001, he proposed me and said that he loves me. He even misbehaved with me after getting drunk but later apologised in the morning. I even told him that you are Lataji’s friend and elder to me so please don’t talk such things with me as I’m not gay. But he still continued harassing me with his calls. I’m not a fool that I don’t understand his intentions. I’m not a villager that I don’t know whatever is happening. I even told him about my girlfriends but slowly and slowly when he did not get any positive response from my end, he started criticising me in his articles and his feelings got bitter towards me. the singer was quoted by the website as saying.

Sonu’s letter to the media:

For a long time I’ve been reading, at the insistence of my fans and well wishers, various articles humiliating me and my work written by this film journalist — let’s call him Mr X.

All I want to say is I am sure he is a great asset to your reputed paper and very well known to his fraternity, but I’d like to put to your notice that Mr X is the same guy who has always had great words of praise for me once upon the time (Please surf the net and read his review of my movie ‘Love In Nepal’ three years ago).

Of course, I am not the only one in his hate list. There’s Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman, Shilpa, Ashaji, Anu Malik, Ismail Darbar, Alka Yagnik, Adnan…the list goes on. But here I want to talk about myself!

I’ve kept quiet for too long just hoping that his conscience will someday overcome his vengeance for me. It’s not a secret in the industry that he is a homosexual.

God bless him for homosexuals are normal people with just different sexual preferences, but am I suppose to reciprocate to something that I am not interested in? And do I have to be subjected to this kind of dadagiri for no fault of mine?

Some time back there was an article where he stated that I threatened him. Yes I did! He challenged my audacity for not allowing him to take my interview. I didn’t want to talk to him.

I did tell him to stay away from me when he comes to Mumbai. No one is obligated to interact with people who make one feel uncomfortable!

I am going to have my first baby soon and I want to give my child all my time and focus in the next few months. Like any other father, I think I deserve this space.

I don’t want to be subjected to this strange kind of sexual assault where all that I did like a “phenomena” (in his own words) some time back, has become something so hate-worthy for this sick man.

I have his ‘I miss you’ and ‘I love you Sonu’ and ‘I am sorry’ messages saved in various phones of mine and today I thank God that I never erased them!

Whether I succeed or fail, I have never resorted to cheap means of publicity or scandals. But is my not being a homosexual a punishable offence? If someone can do this to me, I wonder what the new strugglers, models and actors have to go through in this industry?

My heart goes out to them. Please let them know we are not living in a jungle where someone’s silence is taken as a sign of weakness by a beast! Let them know that homosexuals have their right to be themselves in this society, but so do heterosexuals!