Latest revision as of 15:33, 5 October 2025

[edit] YEAR-WISE DEVELOPMENTS

[edit] 2017: When Himesh Reshammiya made the headlines

Rohan Valecha | When Himesh Reshammiya made headlines |TNN| June 08, 2017 | IndiaTimes/ The Times of India

Famous music director-singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya was granted divorce from his wife Komal on Wednesday. The couple was married for 22 years. While it was rumoured that Himesh and Komal separated over his closeness with TV actress Sonia Kapoor, but the separated couple have denied the speculation and have said that they faced compatibility issues with each other. But this is not the first time Himesh made headlines, here’s looking back at instances in the past when the outspoken music director couldn’t stay away from the headlines. by Rohan Valecha

When he had differences with Salman Khan

Himesh started his career by composing music for Salman Khan-starrer ‘Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya’ in 1998. The combination worked and Salman preferred Himesh to compose the music for most of his family’s productions. Himesh went on to create melodies for more Salman films like ‘Bandhan’, ‘Hello Brother’, ‘Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge’, ‘Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye’, ‘Ye Hai Jalwa’, the chart-busting ‘Tere Naam’ and many more. In 2009, while the ‘Sultan’ star was a guest on a reality show where Himesh was a judge, Salman didn’t hold back with his trademark jokes. This time around, it was Himesh’s nasal twang that was the target of his joking. The singer got a little perturbed and asked Salman to stop with his remarks, which led to a short-lived fight between the two. However, they later patched up as Himesh resumed composing music for Salman’s films. by Rohan Valecha

Cold war with singer Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam and Himesh Reshammiya were reportedly in a cold war after exchanging unpleasant remarks. During a press conference in 2006, Himesh had reportedly called himself a rockstar and ridiculed Sonu, besides questioning his popularity. This statement had reportedly irked Sonu, who had slammed Himesh back, saying that Himesh has gone mad and that his fame has gone to his head. However, there was another report in which Himesh had denied making any such remark about Sonu. by Rohan Valecha

When Asha Bhosle wanted to slap Himesh

Back in 2006, a statement made in Surat by the ever-controversial Himesh Reshammiya incensed singing diva Asha Bhosle beyond repair, provoking her to express violent thoughts about him. Apparently, the offensive remark had Himesh accusing RD Burman of singing nasally. Bhosle, not one to take such remarks lying down, responded, "If anyone says Burman sa'ab sang through his nose, he should be slapped." After making such provoking statements, Himesh seemed baffled by the turn of events. "I don't know what has hit me. It was never my intention to insult Panchamda (RD). How can I, when I've grown up learning music compositions by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and RD? During an event I was asked about my 36 hits in two years, and how I tackled charges of singing through my nose. To this I responded by saying Mukesh sa'ab, R D Burman sa'ab and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan sa'ab were never accused of singing nasally. I only wanted to prove a point. Now I realise I made a mistake. I should've never brought in the names of these great musicians in my argument. Chote mooh badi baat, I guess,” he said.

About Asha's response to Himesh's statement, he had just one thing to say. "I respect and admire Lataji and Ashaji. To me they're the pillars of the music industry. My upbringing and sanskar don't permit me to offend people who are far more distinguished and senior than me." by Rohan Valecha

His tussle with Boney Kapoor and a music label

In his debut film as an actor, ‘Aap Kaa Surroor’, Reshammiya added a song ‘Tanhaiyaan’ from Boney Kapoor's film 'Milenge Milenge'. Initially, Himesh had composed the song for Kapoor's film but later decided to use it for his own movie. The music company, which held the audio rights of ‘Milenge Milenge’, accused Reshammiya of copyright violation, as audio rights for ‘Aap Kaa Surroor – The Real Luv Story’ were acquired by another leading music label. However, Himesh defended himself saying that he had made Kapoor listen to the song, but it was not included in ‘Milenge Milenge’. He also claimed to have tried to get in touch with Kapoor for seven months, and since there was no progress on the film, he decided to use the song for his own movie. by Rohan Valecha

[edit] As of 2025

Mohua Das, Sep 7, 2025: The Times of India

These days, Himesh Reshammiya enters the stage like Batman might. He doesn’t walk on so much as emerge through smoke and trap door in black flared cape and sunglasses. The cap is firmly welded to his head and has become the leitmotif of his Cap Mania Tour, with a giant red replica looming over the stage.

“The cap happened because I lost my hair. It was the best look possible then but created an emotional connect,” he says. The admission is oddly disarming. His camouflage attempt spawned parodies but made him instantly recognisable. The transplanted hair that followed has been mercurial too — silky curtains, poker-straight spikes, side-swept bangs, retro shag. And while the hair styles may change, the nasal twang remains non-negotiable. Only some artists can turn what they were once mocked for into a punchline. Himesh, now 52, does that with ease. On stage, he asks fans: “Naak se gaaun kya?” (Should I sing from my nose?) and the stadium roars back, “Yes!”
 That twang has carried him further than even he’d imagined. Along with Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran, he’s made it to Bloomberg’s Pop Power List. Debuting at No 22, he is the first Indian to do so. The feat, he says, isn’t a fluke. “My strength has always been as a composer who knew how to spot the X-factor. My voice needed Himesh the composer to deliver those 50 back-to-back hits.”


It sounds faintly absurd phrased that way, except for one thing. The ranking is based on seven data-driven metrics including live revenues, ticket sales, digital song streams and social media following. “The numbers have spoken, so I've nothing to add,” he deadpans.


He’s had his share of critics. About ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’, which released 20 years ago, he recalls, “People loved the song and I got awards, yet they asked, ‘Arre naak se kyun gaa raha hai?’ (Why are you singing nasally?)”


Fast-forward to 2025, and fans dressed in HR-emblazoned caps and jackets watch Reshammiya sing ‘tera tera… surroooor’, the song that launched a thousand memes and is now chanted by Gen Z in sold-out stadiums with the kind of fervour you usually witness for boybands and cricket finals. 
 The Delhi and Mumbai concerts saw 50,000 turn up. When Mumbai sold out, fans flew to Delhi where the concert was over two nights because one wasn’t enough. Though the show was meant to close at 10pm, Himesh informed the crowd, “Aaj main mood mein aa gaya hoon,” and carried on for another hour. Nobody complained.


This is the same man who once baffled linguists by releasing an album titled ‘Aap Ka Surroor’ with the respectful ‘Aap’ not even used once. Instead, it was Tera on a loop — Naam Hai Tera, Tera Fitoor, Tera Mera Milna, Tera Aana, Tera Deewana — like a Freudian fixation running through his discography like a watermark. Now, after two decades, five movies, a hair transplant, a vocal-cord surgery that gifted him a second bass octave, and a six-pack, he has been rebranded by fans as ‘Lord Himesh’.


His unlikely comeback began with Surroorgasm. Not a medical condition but a meme page that mutated into a stan account with nearly 1.5 lakh followers on Instagram.

Soon came spin-offs like Himesh Doing Things. Exhibit A: Himesh as a gym bro downing protein. Exhibit B: Himesh slow-walking through a desert in a black trench coat embodying global warming. Exhibit C: Himesh licking his lips diagonally for the first time. “I love it,” he says about his meme-ification. His listeners, he insists, were always there at parties, weddings and clubs. “Even when the films didn’t work.”

Every singer, he argues, has a USP. The nasal twang is his. “It’s not a gimmick,” he insists, but a lineage. “Even Kishoreda (Kumar) loved KL Saigal saab, who was nasal. Our roots have always been nasal.” 


But the “real Himesh” he explains, is about smuggling complex ragas to unsuspecting masses, the way a parent sneaks veggies into a child’s sandwich. “Sometimes it’s a pure raga, sometimes a mishra raga. Sanam Teri Kasam, for instance, was raga Bhairav in disguise,” he holds forth. His trick, he says, is simplifying India’s musical DNA until everyone can hum it on the bus.


Something he learnt from his father, composer Vipin Reshammiya, one of the first to plug electronica into Bollywood. “Composing was in my blood. But he taught me how to compose for the common man with high-standard notes.” Armed with that formula, Reshammiya built himself an arsenal of 350 songs — tragic ballads, shaadi bangers, heartbreak anthems — you name it. 
 He has his own homegrown focus group of family, neighbours, school friends. He plays them a tune, watches their reactions, and sorts the track into cool urban, desi, or universal. If they love it, it stays. If they don’t, it gets tweaked until they do. He now has a library of more than 2,000 songs. “Even today, I compose one a day.”


The point, he adds, was never to stay a ‘panchwa gayak’ (fifth backup singer).” Playback felt too small a box. “Michael Jackson never sang for Tom Cruise, did he?” His ambition was to be “a complete package. Voice, composition, visual character.” His signature chant: “Jai Mata di, let’s rock!” is part of the package, and it works equally well in stadiums, on Instagram, and at Vaishno Devi, where he’s performed half a dozen jagrans in recent years.

But his way back into the public imagination was ‘Badass Ravikumar’, a retro ’80s-type action film released in Feb where he leans into his memes, sprinting across Florence’s Duomo roof, slicing villains in half, and gnawing on an unlit cigarette because the line goes: ‘Woh cigarette peeta nahi hai par cigarette ke bina jeeta nahi hai (He doesn’t smoke but can’t live without his cigarette).’ “The film’s tagline was ‘logic is optional’,” he deadpans.


And it lived up to it. It’s the sort of absurd that saw fans on Reddit and elsewhere induct ‘Badass Ravikumar’ into the “so-bad-it’s-good” hall of fame. The Rs 20-crore film made over Rs 25 crore in its first run and unleashed the sort of delirium in theatres that big stars now crave as multiplex footfalls thin. Apparently, OTT platforms are now fighting over rights. “I just needed one film to give me that ‘hit actor’ tag that connected with the youth,” he says, fully aware that Gen Z discovered Ravi Kumar first and only later dug into Reshammiya’s catalogue of nasal bangers. 


In a curious prequel to his pop stardom, while most 17-year-olds were solving algebra, “I produced my first Hindi show, ‘Andaz’ in the ’80s,” he recalls, starring heavyweights like Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Poonam Dhillon, Prem Chopra and others. 


Ask Reshammiya about hobbies, and he valiantly says, “Cricket and board games.” His wife, sitting nearby, cuts in. “He’s giving you fakeology! Basically, he eats, sleeps, drinks, travels, dreams only films. He has no hobbies!”

Reshammiya laughs but doesn’t protest too hard. “We’re lucky that our hobby is our profession.” If Sonia keeps him grounded, she’s also the reason his cap matches his cape. “She’s my stylist and says heads should turn when I enter a room. My curated look and fitness are part of the job.”


So, what other summits does he want to scale? “I’m a very bad dancer,” he admits, “but I’m going to learn so that in ten years I can perform with a six-pack.” Before you raise an eyebrow, he talks about his next project: “An English-language global pop blockbuster.” He says he’s already written and sung 15 tracks, due this December.

And will it be nasal? He doesn’t flinch. “See, my basic texture will always be there. But the grammar, production, composition… those will be genuinely international.” 
 The nose, it turns out, knows no borders.