Sunidhi Chauhan

Sunidhi Chauhan was born on August 14, 1983. A successful playback singer, she has earned huge accolades over the years. Sunidhi is hugely talented and has sung more than 2000 songs. Her talent was first discovered when she was a child. She started to sing at an early age of four and a televised singing contest named ‘Meri Awaz Suno’ got her national recognition. She debuted with Hindi film Shastra but what got her fame and appreciation was Ram Gopal Verma’s film, Mast, in which she sang the hit song, Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi. Since then, it has been a truly remarkable journey for Sunidhi. She has worked with almost all the top musicians and her songs have often proved to be chartbusters. She has been nominated for no less than twelve Filmfare Awards out of which she has won it thrice. Other awards won by her are, Star Screen Awards, IIFA Awards and Zee Cine Award.

Sunidhi Chauhan is a very versatile singer as can be witnessed from her songs belonging to diverse genres. She can sing in any genre. She is proficient in genres as diverse as rock, pop, classical, folk and semi-classical. Last year was especially good for her as she gave numerous hits like Chhaliya, Rock Mahi, Lucky Boy, Desi Girl (Dostana), Dance Pe Chance (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), and Race Saanson Ki (Race). Top notch music composers like A. R. Rahman, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Pritam Chakraborty, Nadeem-Shravan, Vishal-Shekhar, Himesh Reshammiya etc have worked with her and have given wonderful hits. Some of her popular songs are, Ruki Ruki, Mehboob Mere, Dhoom Machale, Kaisi Paheli, Deedar De, Beedi, Soniye, Aashiqui Main, Aaja Nachle, Sajnaji Vari Vari, Dance Pe Chance etc to name a few.

 

Kunal Ganjawala

In recent years, many new talented singers have emerged on the anvil.  Some of them have kept conquering new heights and have left no stone unturned in imporving their class. One such singer is Kunal Ganjawala who has grown by leaps and bounds in Hindi music industry. He has also earned accolades in Marathi and Kannada film industry. His first major hit was ‘Bheegey Hont’ from the film Murder and that was also his big bang arrival in bollywood. That song won him 2005 Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer (male). Apart from that he has sung in several other films including Saawariya whose songs earned critic approval.

Apart from that he has been a participant on several music shows on TVs in different capacities. First he participated in Sa Re Ga Ma, an Indian singing talent competition on Zee TV and then acted as a judge on Amul Star Voice of India with Shreya Ghosal and Pritam as co-judges. Kunal’s talent lies in his diverse singing capabilities. He is not only a good singer but also a wonderful performer.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, he started to show his singing talent in school. He performed in college festivals and that’s how began his journey. He is ammried to a fellow singer Gayatri Iyer and they have sung together some times. His talent has truly been explored in other languages like Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi and Telugu. His famous songs include, ‘Humdum suniyo re’, ‘Kaal Dhamaal’, ‘Dil Na Diya’, ‘Bheegey Hont’, ‘Yaar Ko Maine’, ‘Kyaa Kool Hai Hum’, ‘channa-ve-ghar aa jaa ve’, ‘Chodo na Mujhe’, ‘Dil Keh Raha Hai’ and ‘Salaam-E-Ishq’ etc.

 

Shaan

Shaan is a popular name in Indian music industry. His songs have proved to be huge hits and he commands a great fan following. Shaan’s real name is Shantanu Mukherjee and he was born on September 30, 1972 at a place called Khandwa. Shaan belonged to a family of musicians as father late Manas Mukherjee was a music director and his sister Sagarika was quite popular in Indipop genre. He is also an accomplished vocalist and bass player. Shaan first began his career as ad jingles singer. Soon after, he moved to the next level of singing remixes and cover versions.

His first remix album named Q-funk was a major milestone for him. But his real moment of fame with the song ‘Tanha Dil’ in year 2000. Song proved to be a major hit and it brought him popularity and recognition. He also made his entry in Hindi film industry. His second album called ‘Aksar’ was also successful. The interesting part of the album was presence of international artists like Mel C, Blue and Samira Said.  Shaan also made a foray into TV shows and gained huge popularity. He was a host for popular show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa from 2000–2006 and also for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs. Currently, Shaan is the host for another popular reality show called Star Voice of India.

He has sung in various movies and gave us huge hits. His hit songs include, Musu Musu, Chand Sifarish, Jab se tere naina, Take me to your heart, Dus bahane, Nikkama, Socha Nahi Tha, Koi kahe kehta rahe and many others. Shaan has won several awards including Filmfare Best Male Playback Award, Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer, MTV Asia Music Awards etc.

 

Ravi Shankar

Ravi Shankar is undoubtedly India’s most famous musical export to the west. Born on April 7, 1920, he has made a significant contribution in making Indian classical music popular in the western world. He is a legend in classical music and second to none when it comes to playing Sitar. One of the early movers, he dared to dream big and even collaborated with top music groups of west. The hidden gems of Indian music were unearthed by west thanks to the persistent efforts of Pandit Ravi Shankar. He is a winner of Padma Vibhushan, Magsaysay Award and two Grammy Awards.

 Pandit Ravi Shankar was born in holy city of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. His elder brother was a renowned classical dancer and even went on to perform in Paris. This happened way back in 1930. Ravi Shankar’s inclination to join dance soon gave way to classical music and he started to learn sitar from no other than Allaudin Khan. His initial foray into classical music saw him joining IPTA and composing music for several ballets. He first stepped outside India in 1954 to perform in old ally Soviet Union. Apart from that, Ravi Shankar performed at famous places like Edinburgh Festival and Royal Festival Hall. His moment of truth came when he collaborated with legendary group, The Beatles. The fusion music created by him and George Harrison made Indian classical music very popular in west. Ravi Shankar has also won India’s highest civilian award ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1999. He is a true legend in by every yardstick.

 

AR Rahman

If there is one music personality that has given new voice and direction to Indian music then it is no other than A R Rahman. A winner of Oscar awards, he has truly made India proud. Mr. Rahman did what no other Indian musicians could achieve. Now, his is a name to reckon with on international music arena. Born on 6 January 1967, A R Rahman completely changed the landscape of Indian music. He not only changed the style but also brought never heard before freshness in film music. He is in the industry for just over one decade and he has managed to sell no less than one hundred million records world-wide and more than two hundred million cassettes. If that is not sign of popularity and charisma then what else could be?

He was born as A.S.Dileep Kumar in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He later on converted to Islam and got rechristened as Allah Rakha Rahman, or better known as AR Rahman. His is a kind of music that encompasses every genre and instrument. A truly versatile personality, Mr. Rahman uses styles as eclectic as reggae, folk, soft rock, classical, jazz and several other styles. No wonder, people call him Mozart of Madras.

A R rahman first shot into limelight with music of Roja. We all know how soulful soundtracks of Roja are! Since then, there was no looking back. He kept climbing ladders of success and kept surpassing his own excellence. He has given us wonderful Hindi Movie songs like Dil Se, Bombay, Rang De Basanti, Taal, Rangeela, Jodha Akbar, Lagaan and Dilli 6 among others.

 

Talat Mahmood

Indian music industry has produced many great singers. One of the legends of the golden era was Talat Mahmood. Born on Feb 24, 1924 in Lucknow, he belonged to a middle class family. Like several other great artists, he showed inclination for music at an early age. He would enjoy listening to all night music and shero-shayari occasions. Talat Mahmood was also inclined towards listening to great classical singers of the era. He took his first official plunge in the world of music when he joined Music College.

 Talat Mahmood was primarily a ghazal singer. H started by singing ghazals of Jigar, Daag, Mir at a relatively young age of 16. He had a very unique voice and that fetched him his first big offer from HMV. That turned out to be the beginning of the great jouney by one of the greatest ghazal singers of India. His fist big hit was ” tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi ” in the year 1941. There was no looking back after the huge success of this album. Talat Mahmood sang numerous songs in Hindi, Urdu and Bengali. Apart from that he also acted in 3 movies.

 Talat Mahmod was also credited to make filmy ghazal popular. He in fact, redefined the way ghazals were perceived by the people. Soon he became the favorite singer of great music composers like Anil Biswas. He was a master of intonation and diction. His vice had an unparalleled sweetness, emotional nuances and pathos. A proud owner of a different voice, Talat Mahmood was known as King of Ghazals. He gave numerous hits apart from acting in few hit movies.

 

Hemant Kumar – Making of A Legend

As they say, true talent can not be suppressed for long. Sooner or later success is bound to come your way. Famous music composer Salil Chowdhury recognized talent of Hemant Kumar and teamed up with him and churned out one hit after another in Bengali film industry. They gave rise to a new form of music that was known as Kvya-geeti. This form had ballad at its core but they refrained from limiting this form to romantic songs. Soon Hemant Kumar started getting multiple offers from bollywood and that was the beginning of his fruitful association with Hindi film industry.

 

He sang numerous wonderful songs in movies like Anarkali, Baat Ek Raat Ki, Jaal, Anupama, Nagin, Khamoshi and Bees Saal Baad etc. All his songs proved to be major hits. He also formed a glorious association with famous actor Dev Anand and together they gave several melodious hits. He showed another side of his huge talent when he started composing music as well. Equally adept at composing and singing, he received his first Filmfare award for Best Music Director in 1955 for movie Nagin.

 

He gave several hits in Bengali music as well. He is said to be one of the best exponents of rabindrasangeet. He gave innumerable hits in both Hindi as well as Bengali film industry. He composed music for more than 50 Hindi movies and 150 Bengali movies. A truly talented singer, he sang more than 2000 songs. Hemant Kumar also experimented with film direction. His contribution to the film music will always be remembered and cherished.

 

Hemant Kumar – Introduction

Tune into ‘Naino se keh do tum, nishaana chuk na jaye’, ‘Yeh raat ye chaandni phir kahan, Sun ja dil ki daastaan’ and did you realize your heart skip a beat? So who sang these wonderfully melodious songs and many others of similar ilk? Well, it’s none other than legendary singer Hemant Kumar. No doubt, he was a singer par excellence. Hemant Kumar was a proud owner of a deep voice and mellifluous voice. His arrival in the Hindi music industry added quality and class to the rich tradition of Hindi film music. He was adept at enthralling the music lovers with his lilting voice and mesmerizing style of singing.

 

His actual name was Hemanta Mukherjee. Born on the 16th of June 1920 in Varanasi, right from his childhood Hemant Kumar was deeply interested in the magical world of music. His first public appearance took place at an early age of 13 when he sang his first song on the All India Radio (AIR). Soon, a company as prestigious as HMV recognized his talent and released his first gramophone disc. But it took him some time to make a firm entry into the elite music circle of Hindi film music. Despite the release of his disc he had to wait for few years he was finally able to establish his name. He sang his first Hindi song ‘Kitna dukh bhulaya tumne’ in 1940. But his struggle to get a foothold in the bollywood continued.

 

Kumar Sanu

Most of the music lovers in their 20s and 30s have grown on the staple diet of melodious songs sung by Kumar Sanu. Throughout the 90s, he kept giving us one hit after another. His popularity knew no bounds. Kumar Sanu was born on 23^rdSeptember 1957 and his actual name was Kedarnath Bhattacharjee. He was from a family of musicians. His father Pashupati Bhattacharjee earned several accolades as a classical singer and composer. Kumar Sanu was the taught the basics of music by his father who had recognized his talent at an early age. After completing his graduation from Calcutta University he started to give public performance.

 

Kumar Sanu was a die hard fan of legendary singer Kishore Kumar and that’s why his style of singing was very much on the line of Kishore Kumar. It was never a smooth journey for him in the initial stage. He struggled a lot and finally got a chance to sing in the movie ‘Aandhiyan’. Thereafter he kept getting small opportunities in few movies but his real break came with blockbuster ‘Aashiqui’. The songs of Aashiqui proved to be mega hits and Kumar Sanu had finally managed to establish himself. This movie also earned him his first Filmfare award for Best Playback Singing. He followed success with films like Saajan, Deewana, Baajigar, Sadak, Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi, 1942: A Love Story and many more. He won Filmfare award for consecutive five years. He also holds the world record for recording the maximum number of songs in a day and that number is an astonishing 28. Unfortunately he was diagnosed with throat cancer and that forced him to cut down on his singing. However he is still active in other fields of entertainment.

 

Sonu Nigam

Sonu Nigam commands popularity and huge fan following amongst the music aficionados. One of the most talented singers around, he can be definitely termed as a teen idol. He is credited to inspire many youths across India to pursue singing as a viable career. Known for belting out one romantic song after another, he has done wonderfully well in songs of other genre as well. A talented singer is known for his variety and Sonu Nigam exemplifies that notion.

 

Born on July 30^th 1973, Sonu Nigam took his first breath in Faridabad district of Haryana. He belongs to a family of singers as his father Agam Kumar has perfomed in various stage shows and also launched an album. He moved to Mumbai at a very early age to pursue his encounter with destiny. He used to accompany his father in his childhhod and also gave few moving performances as a kid. His first break came in movie ‘Janum’ in the year 1990. Seeing his talent he was approached by music magnate late Gulshan Kumar. His songs in the movie ‘Bewafa Sanam’ were appreciated by all and thereafter offers poured in. In between he also started to host singing talent show ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’. His shot to fame came with song ‘Ye Dil deewana’ in the movie Pardesh and it was followed by melancholic ‘Sandese Aate Hain’ from the movie Border.

 

Thereafter, he gave one hit after another. He sang songs for film hits like Taal, Pukar, Saathiya, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega etc. One of the most sought after singers, Sonu Nigam also released popular albums like Jaan, Deewana, Mausam, Yaad, and Chanda Ki Doli. A multitalented personality he also tried his hands at acting in movies like Love in Nepal, Jaani Dushman and Kash Aap Hamare Hote. He has continued to be one of the most sought after singers in India.