Quotes

'Grateful' is a small word to express my gratitude, as God has blessed me with so many opportunities to restart my life.

If there is a new airport in Mumbai, I would feel proud about it, and I equally feel angry when I see potholes.

I come from a very affluent family. I have been educated in one of the finest institutions of the world. Money was never a factor in my life: by the grace of God, I was blessed with a golden spoon.

A song's lyrics can't be held culprit for the overall change in society.

I like to greet anyone who comes to my house with a lot of positivity and peace.

My father was a great admirer of music and the arts, so there was always a lot of culture in the house. As it happened, while my father was the ambassador in Portugal, the ambassador's residence had a piano, and so I started learning how to play it at the age of five.

My songs are my girlfriends. I have a secret romance with all of them. I romance with them year after year.

I was born in England, but India is the only place I feel at home.

My roots are in classical music and jazz, and I want the freedom of being able to improvise. This freedom is possible only in a live concert.

I am a singer; my job is to create music and harmony. Wherever I see harmony, I would go towards there.

I am a singer. You love me or hate me based on my music. If you are judging me based on my nationality and religion, you are a racist. This is very offensive. I cannot encourage that.

Being a public figure, you cannot make everyone happy. Some people will criticise your actions, and I cannot stop expressing my opinion based on that.

Recording a Hindi song takes me around 40 minutes whereas a Kannada song takes me about two hours. The music isn't a problem, since the notes used are universal. The language is the problem. I try my best to get it right, as I'm sensitive about respecting every language, since all of them are sacred in my heart.

I come from a non-musical family.

My education has allowed me to be more open to ideas which I would not have been had I not been as educated.

My father was a great connoisseur of music and arts. He said, 'I will encourage you in anything you do, but make sure you get a solid education.' So, I studied in the finest schools and went on to become a qualified barrister but didn't take up law because my music was my area of interest.

When my first album came out, it wasn't Bollywood.

People said that I had liposuction surgery, but you tell me how can a man of 230 kgs lose weight only with a prick of a needle.

I am glad that my weight never affected my singing career, but other than this, I faced a lot problems: like, I was unable to talk for 20 minutes after coming down from the stage after my shows. I got very tired because of my fatness.

My weight is this permanent topic that just doesn't fade away. Most days, I am fine with people talking about it. That doesn't bother me as much as how people use the fact to promote their own ventures.

I want people to get over my weight and the loss of it. It's been years, and I am sure people can find better things to talk about.

I have been working and composing music since 1986. Over the years, I have seen our music industry go through all kinds of transformation.

Though music was not in my blood, I always considered myself belonging to music, and that remained with me throughout my studies. The studies were my parents' wish, which I fully complied with, as one must be educated at the highest possible level.

I do not think classical music faces any threat because new music is being made through computer, as the real charm of classical is its purity, and one who is seeking purity will surely find classical music in spite of so many alternatives.

Sufis were always spreading love with their music, and if some kind of extremism is a threat to it, it is a threat to all humanity.