He is one of the most successful and popular playback singers in Bollywood, but it is acting that gives Sonu Nigam greater happiness.

'I admit my films did not do well, but my work was appreciated. Acting gave me great happiness. Not a single critic wrote bad things about my performance. I think it is better to be appreciated in a flop than to be a part of a hit film where your work is not recognised,' Sonu told IANS.

Sonu said he still gets acting offers, but can't accept them.

'I am busy with my singing assignments which include shows, playback singing and private albums. Right now I am busy with my shows abroad and also a few albums. So, I have put aside my acting offers. But I am open for it and will perhaps do a project a year later.'

In the recent past, he had shows in Birmingham, London and Manchester in Britain and in various cities in the UAE.

Sonu, who has won 33 awards for playback singing including the Filmfare award, says initially music directors were hesitant to work with him.

'I was never the first choice for the best compositions. Music directors used to give all the good compositions to singers like Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan and Abhijeet. I was only offered qawali or songs that needed a voice like Rafi,' said Nigam, who has recorded the highest number of songs of Mohammad Rafi in T-Series's 'Rafi Ki Yaadein' series.

Today he is singing for top league actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Ali Khan">Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan, among others.

Sonu, who started his career as a playback singer with Gulshan Kumar's 'Aaja Meri Jaan', also clarified that Kumar was not his mentor.

'Gulshan Kumar gave me the much-needed break, but he was not responsible for shaping my career.'

However, Sonu admits Gulshan Kumar gave him the chance to survive in the playback world.

'Gulshan Kumar was the reason for me and my family shifting to Mumbai from Delhi. Regular work opportunities from T-Series helped me to survive in the city.'