Playback singer Sonu Nigam on Thursday, 17 September 2026, publicly addressed a fabricated video circulating online that falsely depicted him reacting to Bollywood star Salman Khan's singing. The clarification, posted on Nigam's official Instagram account, came after the doctored clip began spreading rapidly across social media platforms.

What the Fabricated Video Shows

According to Nigam, the viral clip was deceptively stitched together using footage from his original video, in which he was reacting to the singing of a young Pakistani girl. That genuine footage was reportedly edited and wrongly paired with a clip from Salman Khan's song 'Main Hoon Hero Tera', creating a false impression that Nigam was critiquing or reacting to Khan's vocal performance.

In a note accompanying the post, Nigam wrote: 'Can expect the unexpected on internet. I stumbled upon this edited video. This was my reaction for a Pakistani little girl singer.' The clarification was direct and unequivocal — the video was not about Salman Khan in any way.

A Long Professional History Between the Two

The fabricated video drew attention in part because of the well-documented professional relationship between Nigam and Khan, which dates back to the 1990s. One of their most celebrated collaborations is the song 'Jaane Kya Hua Hai', picturised on Salman Khan and sung by Sonu Nigam — a track that remains among their most recognised joint works.

Reports of a fallout between the two reportedly emerged in the mid-2010s, around the period when 'Main Hoon Hero Tera' was released — a time when a micro-trend of Bollywood actors lending their voices to their own film songs gained momentum.

Nigam's Broader Views on Actors Singing

Notably, Nigam has previously articulated nuanced views on the trend of actors singing in Hindi cinema. While he has stated that he respects actors who explore music, he has also emphasised that professional playback singing demands years of dedicated training, practice, and emotional depth that cannot always be replicated by acting talent alone.

He has occasionally questioned whether the trend sidelines trained professional singers when capable voices are available. However, his position, according to his own statements, is not dismissive of actors who sing — rather, it underscores the importance of recognising the distinct craft and expertise that professional singing requires.

Why This Matters

The incident is part of a broader pattern of AI-generated or digitally manipulated videos targeting celebrities and misrepresenting their views or reactions. For Nigam, whose public stances on the music industry are well known, such fabrications carry the added risk of being mistaken for genuine commentary on a specific artist — in this case, a major Bollywood figure with whom he shares a complex public history. The singer's swift response underscores the growing need for public figures to actively counter viral misinformation before it embeds itself in public perception.