Mika Singh is one of the most popular singers from the Indian film industry, but even before he made his way into Bollywood in the mid-2000s, Mika had established himself as a hit machine in the Punjabi music industry, especially with the hit track ‘Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag’. Thanks to that song, Mika had done thousands of live shows, and had accumulated some wealth for himself. So when he landed in Bollywood and started looking for work with Hindi film music composers, he would drive a Hummer, which must have easily cost him between Rs 1-2 crore.

Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 per show

In a chat with Kapil Sibal on his YouTube channel Dil Se with Kapil Sibal, Mika recalled this phase of his life and said that since ‘Sawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag’ was a hit, he had started earning Rs 10,000 per show, which was much more than what he made previously. Before this, he had been performing with his older brother Daler Mehndi’s group, where he got Rs 500 per show. “I wanted to be a music director but my song was a superhit, even though I didn’t sing well. I wrote the song myself,” he recalled.

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When Mika started trying to find work in Bollywood in 2006, he met many new singers whose only target was to meet music directors like Anu Malik or AR Rahman, so they could get a chance to record with them. “No one was paying attention towards getting shows. Contestants from shows like Indian Idol were trying to get an opportunity with music directors and would struggle for years. My target was to do maximum shows,” he shared.

‘Shaan told me to travel in auto, not my Hummer’

Recalling his days in his luxury car, he shared that even a singer like Shaan told him that if he drives in a car like this, no one would give him work, as they would get the impression that he is too rich to work. Shaan suggested that he travel in an auto-rickshaw when he goes to meet music directors and producers. “When I would drive in my Hummer, people would say you won’t get a song like this. They told me you should travel in an auto because a music director might get offended if you are too successful and have a big car. Shaan told me the same thing, ‘Go in an auto. The producer should not get the impression that you are rich. They should feel like you need work’. I said I won’t do that. I will drive in my Hummer. Someone will spot me,” he said.

He shared that back in those days, singers would advertise for themselves in major national newspapers, and those ads would sometimes cost them Rs 4 lakh. Mika gathered that him driving in his car would act as his advertisement. “My plan was, I will go around in my Hummer, they will get the impression that he is a big singer, even though I wasn’t,” he said.

‘Thought Pritam would be a Sikh man’s name’

After a short while, he met music composer Pritam but Mika did not know Pritam by face and had assumed that Pritam would be a Sikh man named Pritam Singh as he had made many Punjabi-based Bollywood songs. He somehow also assumed that Vishal-Shekhar was also the name of one man and was not aware that Vishal and Shekhar were a musical duo.

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Upon meeting Mika, Pritam asked to come and record for him the next day, but Mika refused. “He asked to come see him the next day to record a song. I thought if I tell him I am free the next day, he will think I have nothing to do. I told him I am busy, so he said come the day after that. I said yes and that’s how I got ‘Dil Mein Baji Guitar’,” he shared.

‘Dil Mein Baji Guitar’ from Apna Sapna Money Money was one of the biggest hits of 2006. The following year, he also recorded ‘Mauja Hi Mauja’ from Jab We Met with Pritam, which was again a massive success. Soon after, Mika’s voice became one of the most recognisable voices in Hindi film industry.