Mumbai, Mar 15 (IANS): Shy, reserved and hugely talented musician Hitesh Sonik has revealed that he will be marrying singer Sunidhi Chauhan next month.

"First I was her fan. Now, I am going to be her husband," Sonik told IANS.

He has known Sunidhi for 15 years. "She was a little more than a child when she won the "Meri Awaz Suno" music contest on television. That is when when we became friends. Gradually, over the years as she grew into a fine singer, our friendship blossomed into love," says Hitesh softly.

He is the grand-nephew of the well-known music composer Sonik of the Sonik-Omi pair of the 1960s and 1970s.

Says Hitesh proudly: "My grand-uncle Sonik was blind by birth. He first struggled to establish himself as a singer. Then, when he lost his voice, he got together with his nephew to form the successful Sonik-Omi composing duo who gave us such evergreen hits as 'Kanha Re Kanha' ('Truck Driver'), 'Kaan Mein Jhumka Chaal Mein Thumka ('Sawan Bhadon') and 'Raaz Ki Baat Keh Doon To' ('Dharma')."

Hitesh who served as an assistant musician to Vishal Bhardwaj in 11 films is now trying to establish himself as an independent composer. "I have done songs in Luv Ranjan's "Pyaar Ka Punchnaama" and Raghav Dhar's "My Friend Pinto". Now I'm working on the songs of Luv Ranjan's new film "Akaash Vani"."

And yes, Hitesh lets out shyly that Sunidhi has sung for him. "She has so far sung my composition only once, in 'My Friend Pinto'. Just because she is the woman in my life doesn't mean I would want to use a voice as powerful as hers until it is needed for one of my compositions."

Hitesh intends to keep the professional and personal spheres apart. "That Sunidhi is a wonderful singer is only a part of her personality. I love her first and foremost for the person she is. She has blended so well into my family. My folks dote on her. And I am also very comfortable with her family."

Hitesh says there is very little time and so much to do before the wedding. "We thought the wedding would be an intimate affair. But when we went through her and my invitation lists, we discovered we had to invite a lot more people than we thought. We are working on the preparations. April is not far off. She is a very busy singer and I have my assignments. We made sure we both had time to prepare for the wedding."