# Sonu Nigam recalls begging on Mumbai streets, boy gave him Rs 12 2026-08-19T22:38:09+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Nearly a decade ago, playback singer Sonu Nigam disguised himself as an old beggar and performed on Juhu's streets for three hours, an experiment documented in a video titled 'The Roadside Ustaad'. Nigam wore makeup so authentic that passers-by did not recognise him, and he sang without a microphone amid traffic noise. During the act, a young boy named Shahbaaz approached Nigam, held his hand, asked if he had eaten breakfast, and slipped Rs 12 into his palm. Nigam later said the gesture felt like earning lakhs and he had the money framed and kept among his awards. Nigam tracked down Shahbaaz and invited him home, where the boy was surprised to meet the singer he had unknowingly encountered. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The experiment echoes a tradition of celebrities testing anonymity, from Robin Williams performing in New York subways to Cristiano Ronaldo's Madrid disguise. Nigam's story stands out for its aftermath: he framed a stranger's Rs 12, treating it as an award. The gesture highlights how street performers in India often survive on small sums, and the boy's compassion became a rare counterpoint to urban indifference. The video remains on Culture Machine's Being Indian channel, a reminder of pre-pandemic viral content that relied on human connection rather than algorithms. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Straightforward retelling of a past event with quotes from the singer, no editorialising. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Being Indian, Culture Machine, Juhu, Mumbai, Sonu Nigam Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sonu-nigam-recalls-begging-on-mumbai-streets-boy-gave-him-rs-12/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sonu-nigam-recalls-begging-on-mumbai-streets-boy-gave-him-rs-12/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/