“I used to get rude and hateful messages, but now I get a lot of comments complimenting my singing abilities,” said Ajmal Mughal, a Pakistani musician whose videos went viral after he was seen singing Kannada songs with actor Puneeth Rajkumar.

According to the 35-year-old mechanic, he has a store in Lahore. He sings various Kannada tunes in addition to Puneeth Rajkumar’s songs. “I heard Puneeth Rajkumar was not only a terrific actor, but also a great human being,” Mughal told The Indian Express over the phone. It’s a huge loss. Art knows no boundaries, and the death of Puneeth Rajkumar has left me as devastated as Kannadigas all across the world.”

“I’ve been posting music since 2012, and the comments section was frequently inundated with hatred and hate messages. Many people used derogatory remarks towards me simply because I was from Pakistan. My videos became viral after Puneeth Rajkumar’s death, and I’ve been receiving compliments and requests to sing in Kannada music reality programmes,” he said.

For about a decade, Mughal has been singing Kannada songs. He added, “I came to know that Sonu Nigam had won the Filmfare Awards South for best male playback singer for ‘Ninnindale Ninnindale Kanasondu Shuruvaagidhe’ from the movie Milana in 2008.” As a big fan of Sonu Nigam, he added, “I came to know that Sonu Nigam had won the Filmfare Awards South for best male playback singer for ‘Ninnindale Ninnindale Kanason I was completely enamoured with the song.

It took me a month and a half to master the lyrics and get started singing.”

“I started listening to Vijay Prakash and Puneeth Rajkumar’s songs since I was listening to Sonu Nigam. This inspired me to perform “Bombe Heluthaite” by Vijay Prakash from the film Rajakumara. He stated, “I used to watch the movie’s making video, which used the song, and it was incredibly joyful, and he instilled positive vibes.”

Mughal stated that he chooses music based on melody and mood. “Even though I don’t understand Kannada, those words moved me, and I ended up singing at least ten Kannada songs… It takes me at least 30-45 days to properly sing it.

He explained, “I have to listen to it several times, write down the lyrics, and then practise enough before singing.” He is now working on SP Balasubrahmanyam’s song “Jotheyali Jothe Jotheyali” from Shankar Nag’s film Geetha.