Indian Idol
Encyclopedia
Indian Idol is an adaptation of the Pop Idol
format. It started airing in India with the first season
in 2004-2005 and followed that with second
(2005–2006), third (2007) and fourth
(2008–2009) seasons. In February 2010, Sony Entertainment Television announced the launch of the Fifth season
.
The Fifth season
of Indian Idol started airing on Sony TV
from 26 April 2010 and concluded on 15 August 2010, when Sreeram Chandra
, participant from Hyderabad, India was named the Indian Idol 5. In addition to a recording contract with Sony BMG, the winner of Indian Idol 5 was awarded a one year contract with Sony Entertainment Television worth 5,000,000, a Suzuki GS-150R motorbike, a Tata Winger Platinum car and a chance to be a playback singer in a forthcoming movie of Yash Raj Films
, said a press release issued by Sony Entertainment Television. One of the Top 5 Contestants will also be given the opportunity to become a RJ in Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM.
The new series sees two new judges - Bollywood playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan
and composer and singer Salim Merchant. The third judge is Anu Malik
, who has been a judge on the show since its launch in 2004.
, from Mumbai
. This season was aired from October, 2004 to 5 March 2005 on Sony TV
. Amit Sana
from Bhilai
, Chhattisgarh
was declared the 1st runner-up, while Rahul Vaidya
from Nagpur
and Prajakta Shukre
from Jabalpur, MP
came 3rd and 4th respectively, in the competition.
The judges for the First season
were Anu Malik
, Sonu Nigam
and Farah Khan
. They retained the same spot for the Second Season
. The first season was hosted by Aman Verma
and Mini Mathur
.
The winner, Abhijeet Sawant, went on to release his first album "Aap Ka Abhijeet". He participated in Asian Idol
representing India and was placed third in the competition. He also released his second album Junoon which was a success and he also did play back for the movie, Ashiq Banaya Apne. Abhijeet also did some commercials for Spraymint. He started acting with his debut film "Lottery", which was released in March 2009, but could not do well at the box office.
Rahul Saxena, who failed to make it to the top 6, was offered a song by Indian Idol judge and director, Farah Khan, in her own film Om Shanti Om and Amit Tandon got work in a new serial from Ekta Kapoor
and Balaji Telefilms
. Amit Sana
, Rahul Vaidya
and Prajakta Shukre
have released their solo albums.
Rahul Vaidya
, the 2nd runner up, hosted the show Aaja Mahi Ve on the channel STAR Plus
. He also hosted the popular dance show, Jhoom India. He did playback singing in the film, Shaadi no. 1
. He was also the part of the winning team, Shankar
's Rockstars in the musical game show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
on Star plus and also the winner of the reality singing show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar on the same channel, whereas Abhijeet Sawant
was the 1st Runner-up in the same show.
. The 1st Runner-up was N. C. Karunya from Hyderabad, while the other talented singers from season 2, Anuj Sharma
, Amey Date and Antara Mitra
were placed at 3rd, 4th and 5th places respectively.Karunya was the favourite of the judges and was later declared the unofficial winner of the second season.
Menal Jain has released her solo album Mehram and has done stage shows with Sonu Nigam and also received an offer from Anu Malik. In addition, Antara Mitra, a regular favorite of Anu Malik, has got many playback offers, sung the remix version of 'Yeh ishq hai' from Jab We Met
composed by Pritam
and was also a contestant of the music show [Junoon] and also is recording her solo album. She has also sung a song in the film raajneeti.
Monali Thakur sang the song Zara Zara Touch Me in the film Race as well as the song Sexy Lady (Khaab Dekhe Jhoote Moote). Music director Pritam
offered her another chance in the film Golmaal Returns
with a song titled, Meow
, picturised on Kareena Kapoor
. She also has sung in Bengali.
Karunya released his solo album titled Aapka Karunya. Karunya also got an opportunity to sing in the film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai
, with the song, "Aane Chaar Aane".
Amey Date was a part of the team, Mohit's Fighters in the musical game show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
on Start plus and also participated in the reality singing show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstaron the same channel.
, who hails from Darjeeling in West Bengal
. The runner-up, Amit Paul was from Shillong
, Meghalaya
.
The judges for this season were Anu Malik
, Javed Akhtar
, Alisha Chinai
, Udit Narayan
. The third season was hosted by Hussain Kuwajerwala
and Mini Mathur
.
Prashant Tamang has cut a solo album Dhanyabad as per contract with Sony
. He also conducted a world tour of shows. Suhit Gosain
(Top 14) appeared in a successful KitKat chocolate advertisement. Four finalists, Meiyang Chang, Suhit Gosain
, Parleen & Abhishek entered into a contract with Sony BMG and cut an album named Tu To Na Aayi as a band of Boys named F4. The song Udd Chale had become very successful . F4 was also declared 'The Next Big Thing' on channel V. Emon Chatterjee from Kolkata and Deepali Kishore sung a song I Love You, composed by Anu Malik for the film Don Muthu Swami. Emon also hosted a popular show, Royal Bengal Superstar on Star Jalsha
.
Meiyang Chаng
, who was placed 5th in this season, hosted the IPL 2009 and also got an offer to act in Badmaash Company
directed by Parmeet Sethi
. He hosted the 4th season
of the Indian Idol with Hussain Kuwajerwala
. 6th runner-up Deepali Kishore
had hosted a musicsl reality show on Doordarshan. He also won the dance reality show JHALAK DIKHLA JAA on Sony
Amit Paul sang the song "Pyaar Ki Dastaan" in the film Luck by Chance
(starring Farhan Akhtar
and Konkona Sen Sharma
). He, alongside the 3rd runner-up Ankita Mishra represented India in the Indian Carnival, 2007, at Kuwait
.
of Indian Idol was aired on Sony TV from 19 September 2008 to 1 March 2009. For the first time in Indian Idol history, there were two girls in the top 3 . Sourabhee Debbarma
won the title of the Indian Idol and became the first female contestant to do so. By doing so, she also won a contract of Rs. 1 crore with Sony Entertainment Television
and a TATA Winger. She released an album Meherbaan as per a contract with Sony
. Kapil Thapa stood 1st runner-up while Torsha Sarkar finished third.
Sourabhee did some stage shows around the country and overseas with Sony TV, receiving immense response from her fans world-wide.
The fourth season saw Anu Malik
and Javed Akhtar
on the hot seats as they took judges' chair once again for the show. New to this season were singer Kailash Kher and Indian actress Sonali Bendre
. The fourth season was hosted by Hussain Kuwajerwala
and Meiyang Chаng
.
Like the previous season, the first four finalists to be eliminated were female, and the judges opinions were that some of these girls were better singers than some of the remaining boys. All the previous years' top 3 finalists have also been male, leading to speculation of sexism against women among the Indian voting public. These speculations were laid to rest when Sourabhee was declared the eventual winner.
One of the contestants Bhavya Pandit received an offer to sing the song Aaja Lehraate for the
film What's Your Raashee, alongside famous singer Shaan
.
from Hyderabad.
The fifth season was judged by Anu Malik
, along with two new judges Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan
.
The contestants at the Grand Finale were Sreeramchandra
, Bhoomi, and Rakesh. The finale was held on 15 August 2010 (which also happens to be the Indian Independence Day). For the first time in Indian Idol, the finale was held between three contestants.
The judges first selected the top 112 contestants from across the country. After several rounds, the judges selected the top 16 contestants. After public voting, a total of 6 were directly given entry to the top 12 (Indian Idol Gala) while out of the remaining 10, only seven were chosen by judges on the basis of their live performances. The selected top 13 competed for the title of Indian Idol 5. This season the selected singers seemed more promising than ever before, as per Anu Malik and the other judges.
On the episode aired on 13 May 2010, the top 13 finalists selected by the judges for the Gala Rounds were Bhoomi Trivedi, Vishwas Rai, Swaroop Khan, Sashi Suman, Manisha Karmakar, Tia Kar, Shivam Pathak, Naushad Ali Kawa, Sreeram Chandra, Arpita Khan, Meghna Kumar, Rakesh Maini and Yashraj Kapil.
Vishwas Rai was eliminated in Gala Round 1, Meghna Kumar in Gala Round 2, Manisha Karmarkar the next week, Yashraj Kapil next and Arpita Khan the week after that. The week after that, the public voted out one of the most promising singers, Sashi. After that, another very shocking elimination was Naushad Ali Kawa. Next to be eliminated was Tia Kar. Tia, who never came in bottom 3 was another surprising elimination. Rakesh was evicted the week after, but he was retained by the judges using their "VETO Power" . Very talented and versatile contestant Shivam had to leave next. The last to be eliminated was Swaroop Khan. Thus, Season 5 got its top 3 - Bhoomi, Rakesh and Sreeram.
Sreeram Chandra
has already made his debut in Telugu movie industry. He also sang a song with Shreya Ghoshal for Salim Suleman Merchant during the course of Indian Idol 5. Swaroop Khan also got the chance to sing a song as the playback singer during the course of Indian Idol 5 before his elimination. Bappi Lahiri
gave him this opportunity.
It was a huge shock when Rakesh Maini was eliminated. But the Judges used their veto power, which gave them special power to save any eliminated contestant, and Rakesh was saved from being eliminated. According to people it was used appropriately. This Veto could be used just once during the course of the entire competition. The judges had not been granted this special power in any of the previous seasons.
The Grand Finale was held on 15 August 2010. Sreeram won the title of Indian Idol 5.
Anu Malik
Anu Malik has been the jury member on Indian Idol since its inception. Known for his cheeky and straightforward comments, he was also a judge in the first Asian Idol
held in Indonesia
, representing Indian Idol.
The son of veteran composer Sardar Malik, brother of Abu Malik and Daboo Malik, Anu learnt music from Pandit Ram Prasad Sharma. He composed music for various films but his music finally gained recognition in 1993 for his work in movies like Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee
, Jaanam, Sir and Baazigar
. Some of the prominent films that Anu gave music for are Aks
, Fiza
, Filhaal...
and Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai
to name a few. His recent work includes Love Story 2050
, Kambakkht Ishq, Jaan-E-Mann
and the Aishwarya Rai
starrer Umrao Jaan
.
Anu won the National Award for his work in Refugee
and Filmfare Award
for Best Music Director twice - for Baazigar
and Main Hoon Na
. He also got a Special Jury Award (Filmfare) for his outstanding contribution in music. He has worked with some of most prominent playback singers including Sonu Nigam
, Kumar Sanu
, Udit Narayan
, Alka Yagnik
, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Anuradha Paudwal
, Shaan
, Abhijeet, K.K., Sunidhi Chauhan
and many more.
With his work in crossover films like Bride and Prejudice
, he is among the few Indian film composers with international projects to his credit.
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam started hosting Sa Re Ga Ma
, a television singing talent competition, which soon became one of the most popular shows on Indian television. Singing offers poured in thereafter, albeit slowly at first. He rose to fame with the Anu Malik
composed song "Sandese Aate Hain," in Border
in 1997. Sonu's image as a Rafi clone changed after his rendition of the Nadeem-Shravan
composed song "Yeh Dil Deewana" in Pardes
in the same year. Since then, he has created a unique style of his own, and has become a role model for emerging vocal talent in India.
Over the years, Sonu has provided playback singing for a large number of Hindi movies and won many awards. He is recognised for his versatile voice as well as excellent emotion range. Sonu is known to sing with clear pronunciation, and in many languages besides Hindi, including Bengali
, Telugu
, Oriya
, Kannada
, Punjabi
, Tamil
, English
, Bhojpuri
, Urdu, Nepali
and Marathi
. He remains particularly popular in Southern India for his Kannada songs and has won a few awards in this particular industry.
Sonu has released a number of pop albums, both in Hindi
and in Punjabi
. He has also released several devotional albums, both Hindu and Islamic ones, as well as albums of Mohammad Rafi's songs. These are from the "Rafi Ki Yaadein" collection in his early years, although they have been re-released in September 2007 as a 6-disc collection of 100 songs, titled "Kal Aaj Aur Kal", in Mohammad Rafi's memory.
He has won many awards, such as National Award
, Filmfare Awards, both in Bollywood
and in South Film Industry
, Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA Awards, Indian Television Academy Award
, Bollywood Music Awards and much more.
Farah Khan
Farah Khan Kunder is an Indian film director
and choreographer
. She is known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood
films, as well as directing the films Main Hoon Na
and Om Shanti Om
. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. In addition Khan has worked on international projects such as Marigold: An Adventure in India, Monsoon Wedding
and the Chinese film Perhaps Love.
Farah Khan achieved international recognition with her work in Monsoon Wedding
, Bombay Dreams
and Vanity Fair
. She was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award
as Best Choreographer
, along with collaborator Anthony van Laast, for Bombay Dreams.
Farah Khan then went on to direct her first film Main Hoon Na
which was produced by Shah Rukh Khan. The film was a huge success, and Khan became the second female director to be nominated for Filmfare Best Director Award
. As a director, her second movie Om Shanti Om was the highest grossing Hindi film of all time at its time of release.
Farah Khan has received numerous awards for her choreographical
work, predominantly from Filmfare
. She won the Filmfare Best Choreography Award
five times: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004. She remains in second place for the most awards won in the category of Best Choreography, first place being Saroj Khan
. In 2004, she won National Film Award for Best Choreography
- Idhar Chala Main from Koi Mil Gaya
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar is an Urdu
poet, Lyricist
and Scriptwriter
from India
whom most of the work is done for the Hindi Cinema. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan
as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed
. Akhtar continues to be prominent in Bollywood
and is a sought-after lyricist.
Javed Akhtar was awarded the Padma Shri
by the Government of India in 1999 and received the Padma Bhushan
in 2007. Akhtar has also won the Filmfare Award fourteen times, seven times for Best Script, and seven times for Best Lyrics for "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha..." in 1942-A Love Story, "Ghar Se Nikalte Hi..." for Papa Kahte Hain, "Sandese Aate Hain...." for Border, "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jhonke..." for Refugee, "Radha Kaise Na Jale" for Lagaan, "Kal Ho Na Ho" for Kal Ho Na Ho, "Tere Liye..." for Veer-Zaara and "Jashn-e-Bahara" for Jodhaa Akbar.
Akhtar has won the National Award
five times. He has been awarded the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award
19 times. In 1996, he won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for the film Saaz and in 1997, he won the National Award for Border
. He again won the National Award in 1998 for Godmother
. In 2000, he again won the National Award for the song "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jonke..." from the film Refugee
and in 2001, for "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from Lagaan
. He is also on the advisory board of the Asian Academy of Film & Television
. In 2001 Akhtar received the "National Integration Award" from the All India Anti-Terrorist Association and the Avadh Ratan from the U.P.
Government. He also won the 2003 Hakim Khan Sur Sammaan Award from the Maharana Mewar Foundation, Udaipur
.
Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai is an Indian pop
singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing
in Hindi cinema.
Alisha's initial albums include Jadoo, Baby Doll, Aaah Alisha. Alisha was introduced to the Hindi film music by the veteran music director and composer Bappi Lahiri
. They had many disco hits together in many films in the 1980s including "Tarzan
", Dance Dance
, Commando, Guru, Love Love Love etc. When she started her career with him, she was doing playback singing for many actresses, such as Smita Patil
, Mandakini, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla
, Madhuri Dixit
and Divya Bharati etc. In 1985, Alisha sang with Remo Fernandes
in the album Old Goan Gold
. She also recorded a song for Pankuj Parashar's film Jalwa (1987), composed by Anand-Milind
. One of her biggest hits during the 80's was Kaate Nahin Katte (Mr. India) in 1987, which she recorded with Kishore Kumar
under the music direction of Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Another successful track in 1989 was Raat Bahr Jaam Se from the film Tridev
, which had music by Kalyanji-Anandji and Viju Shah
. In the 90s, she took on working in different films, collaborating with other music directors, such as Anu Malik
, Anand-Milind
, Rajesh Roshan
and Nadeem-Shravan
.
Simultaneously with playback singing, she has recorded many songs as a pop singer, with album releases. Chinai was noted for her 1996 hit single and album, titled Made in India
, which was composed by Biddu
. Made in India
went on to become one of the highest selling pop albums of its times and Alisha became a household name. With the success of this album, Alisha announced her departure from playback singing and wanted to concentrate only on private pop albums. However, following the less success in the pop albums, she came back to the playback singing with a bang. In 2005, she had one of her highest career points came with the song Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli
. The song was a hit and Alisha won her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Alisha received the International Billboard Award around the time "Made in India" came out and also won the Freddie Mercury Award for Artistic Excellence. Internationally, Alisha received attention when her song "Seulement Vous" won first place at the International Song Festival "Asia 2004". It was also the first victory for India in the Song Contest.
Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan is a playback singer
in commercial Telugu, Hindi
(Commonly known as Bollywood
), Urdu
, Sindhi
, Tamil
, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya
, Assamese
, Angika
and Nepali
language cinema. Narayan has sung more than 15,000 songs in more than 30 different languages, of which over 260 films have been in Hindi alone. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri
award, one of India's highest civilian honours, which he received in 2009.
The actual success story of his career began in 1988 with the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
, earning him a Filmfare Award. The film also brought actor Aamir Khan
, actress Juhi Chawla
and playback singer Alka Yagnik
to stardom. After the success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
, he became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry. This also marked a long and fruitful association with the composers of this film, Anand-Milind
, with whom Udit Narayan recorded several hit songs. At the same time, he became a well-known celebrity in Nepal
and sang in many popular Nepalese movies.
He has worked with musicians like Rahul Dev Burman, A. R. Rahman, Anand-Milind
, Jagjit Singh, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj, Nadeem-Shravan
, Rajesh Roshan, Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshammiya, Pritam Chakraborty, Vishal-Shekhar, and leading directors like Yash Chopra
, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
, Ashutosh Gowariker
and Karan Johar
. These include Lagaan
, Darr
, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
, Dil To Pagal Hai
, Mohabbatein
, Devdas
, Kal Ho Naa Ho
, Swades
, and Veer Zaara.
Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of a large number of awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award. He won Filmfare Best Male Playback Award
for 5 times, National Award
for 3 times, Star Screen Award
for 2 times and one time each of Zee Cine Award
and IIFA Award
.
Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre is an India
n actress and model
. She has starred in Bollywood
films mostly but has acted in a few Telugu
, Marathi
, Tamil
and Kannada
films.
Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Star Dust Talent Search". She was invited to Mumbai and received training from a variety of top actors and performers of the Indian film industry. Though she initially struggled to be a successful actress, she was eventually given critical acclaim for her performances in films like Bhai (1997),Murari
(Telugu film) Sarfarosh
, Zakhm
, Duplicate
,Preethse
(Kannada film), Kadhalar Dhinam
(Tamil film), Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United
(1999), Tera Mera Saath Rahey and Anaahat (2003) among many others. She is also known for being one of the few actresses who acted opposite all top four Khans (Aamir
, Shahrukh
, Salman
and Saif Ali Khan
). She has also starred opposite some of the other biggest names in Bollywood such as Akshay Kumar
, Suniel Shetty
, Ajay Devgan
, Sanjay Dutt
and Anil Kapoor
.
In addition to her well-received performances, she is also recognized as a graceful dancer. She is frequently listed as one of the top most beautiful Bollywood actress. In 1995, she won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award. In 2001 she also won the Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress
for her performance in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai where she co-starred with Anil Kapoor
and Aishwarya Rai
. She was the only cast member who was nominated and won the award. She was appreciated for her comic performances in films like Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega
. In 2004, she won Star Screen Award, Best Actress-Marathi
, for the Marathi Film
Anaahat. She is recognised as one of the most versatile and talented actresses in the Indian film industry
.
Kailash Kher is an India
n pop singer with very diverse music style often influenced by Indian folk music
. He was inspired by legendary Pakistani Sufi singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His other influence has been Pt.Kumar Gandharva.
In 2002, his song "Allah ke Bande" from relatively obscure movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II
, made him a household name.
His band Kailasa includes Mumbai
musician-brothers Naresh & Paresh who were earlier associated with Bombay Black. His song Teri Deewani from the album of the same name by his band Kailasa
and especially the song "Ya Rabba" from the movie Salaam-e-Ishq has become a record-seller. He originally hails from Meerut, where he learned Hindustani classical music
.
His recent venture into the Kannada film industry has proved a huge success. Special mention has to be made to his song "Hale patre" from the movie Junglee has proved a huge hit among the audience. In 2007, he participated in a concert tour in North America
entitled "The Incredibles", also starring Asha Bhosle
, Sonu Niigaam and Kunal Ganjawala
.
About Kailash Kher, the ace Indian composer, A R Rahman says:
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan debuts on television as a jury member on Indian Idol 5. A versatile playback singer, best known for her Bollywood
film songs, she has over 2000 songs to her credit. She began to sing at the age of four and was spotted in the singing contest, Meri Awaz Suno
, which she went on to win.
Her breakthrough in Hindi films was Ram Gopal Varma
's film – Mast
and after that there was no looking back for her. The year 2008 was a highly successful year for the young singer; as she went on to give a huge number of super hit songs like Chhaliya Chhaliya (Tashan
), Rock Mahi, Lucky Boy (Bachna Ae Haseeno
, Desi Girl (Dostana
), Dance Pe Chance (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), and Race Saanson Ki (Race).
Chauhan is one of the few female singers who have sung for some of the leading actresses of this generation like Aishwarya Rai
, Preity Zinta
, Rani Mukerji
, Kareena Kapoor
, Bipasha Basu
, Priyanka Chopra
and more… She has also sung for legendary actress Rekha. She also sang for the comeback films of two leading Bollywood actresses, Kajol
, in Fanaa
and Madhuri Dixit
, in Aaja Nachle
.
She has won several awards—three Filmfare Awards, two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards
, Zee Cine Award and Kelvinator GR8! FLO Women Award 2009.
Salim Merchant is all set to venture into the reality showbiz as one of the judges of Indian Idol 5. Salim is a music director and singer who has been composing music along with his brother Sulaiman Merchant for over a decade and together they are popularly known as ‘Salim-Sulaiman
’. They have scored music for movies such as Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year
, Pyaar Impossible
, Kurbaan
, Neal 'n' Nikki
, Chak De India
, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Fashion
to name a few.Salim and his elder brother Sulaiman have prepared an album for the FIFA world cup 2010 and would be present on the stage during the opening ceremony in South Africa.
Salim-Sulaiman started by composing background scores for the movies. Their tryst with Bollywood music direction began when Karan Johar
’s movie ‘Kaal
’, which was an instant hit. Since then there was no looking back for the Merchant brothers who went on to work with Bollywood’s biggest producers and directors such as Yash Chopra
, Subhash Ghai
, Ram Gopal Verma, and Madhur Bhandarkar
among others.
Salim, who has learned music from the Trinity College of Music
in London
, has brought a global edge to Bollywood’s music world, to go with the changing face of the film industry. While his music has a deep resonance of classical music, it strikes a chord with the contemporary too. Infusing different themes like Western, Indian Folk
, and Hindustani and Sufi
into his music, he has a wide range of audiences across the globe.
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
format. It started airing in India with the first season
Indian Idol 1
The first season of Indian Idol premiered on 28 October 2004 on Sony Entertainment Television. It concluded on March 5, 2005. It was hosted by Mini Mathur and Aman Yatan Verma. Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam, and Farah Khan were the judges...
in 2004-2005 and followed that with second
Indian Idol 2
The second season of Indian Idol began on November 21, 2005 and concluded on April 22, 2006. It was hosted by Mini Mathur and Aman Verma. Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam returned to judge. Sandeep Acharya won the competition. It is the first and only season with a male fourth place finalist...
(2005–2006), third (2007) and fourth
Indian Idol 4
Registration for season 4 began on April 1, 2008. The winner of the show for this season was announced on 1 March 2009. The fourth season have Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar on the hot seats as they take judges' chair once again for the show...
(2008–2009) seasons. In February 2010, Sony Entertainment Television announced the launch of the Fifth season
Indian Idol 5
The Fifth Season of Indian Idol started broadcasting from April 26, 2010, on Sony TV. Anu Malik returned as the judge while Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan were the two new judges this season. The top-17 finals format is used in this season, one among whom will emerge as 'Desh Ki Awaaz'...
.
The Fifth season
Indian Idol 5
The Fifth Season of Indian Idol started broadcasting from April 26, 2010, on Sony TV. Anu Malik returned as the judge while Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan were the two new judges this season. The top-17 finals format is used in this season, one among whom will emerge as 'Desh Ki Awaaz'...
of Indian Idol started airing on Sony TV
Sony Entertainment Television (India)
This article is about the SET channel in India. For the Indian version broadcasted worldwide, see Sony Entertainment Television Asia.Sony Entertainment Television, or SET, is a Hindi-language based general entertainment television channel in India. It was launched in October 1996 and is owned by...
from 26 April 2010 and concluded on 15 August 2010, when Sreeram Chandra
Mynampati Sreeram Chandra
Sreerama Chandra Mynampati is a professional singer and 2010 Indian Idol winner from Hyderabad who debuted his playback career in the Telugu film industry. Sreeram won the fifth season of music reality show Indian Idol 5 and was awarded by one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian...
, participant from Hyderabad, India was named the Indian Idol 5. In addition to a recording contract with Sony BMG, the winner of Indian Idol 5 was awarded a one year contract with Sony Entertainment Television worth 5,000,000, a Suzuki GS-150R motorbike, a Tata Winger Platinum car and a chance to be a playback singer in a forthcoming movie of Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films is an Indian Entertainment company set up by Yash Chopra, an Indian film director and producer who is considered an entertainment mogul in India.-Initial years:...
, said a press release issued by Sony Entertainment Television. One of the Top 5 Contestants will also be given the opportunity to become a RJ in Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM.
The new series sees two new judges - Bollywood playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....
and composer and singer Salim Merchant. The third judge is Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, who has been a judge on the show since its launch in 2004.
Hosts
- Aman VermaAman VermaAman Yatan Verma is a TV show anchor and an actor. He co-hosted with Mini Mathur in the first season of Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment Television and hosted Zee TV's Zee Cinestars.-Career:...
and Mini MathurMini MathurMini Mathur is an Indian actress and television personality. She was a video jockey on SUN TV India and hosted a couple of shows for the channel. She is also a co-host of the Indian reality singing contest Indian Idol....
- Season 1 and 2 (2004–2006)
- Hussain KuwajerwalaHussain KuwajerwalaHussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
and Mini MathurMini MathurMini Mathur is an Indian actress and television personality. She was a video jockey on SUN TV India and hosted a couple of shows for the channel. She is also a co-host of the Indian reality singing contest Indian Idol....
- Season 3 (2007)
- Hussain KuwajerwalaHussain KuwajerwalaHussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
and Meiyang ChаngMeiyang ChаngMeiyang Chang is an Indian actor, television host, singer and qualified dentist.- Personal life :Meiyang Chang studied in Dhanbad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Bangalore. He attended Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun and Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie...
(a participant in Season 3)- Season 4 (2008–2009)
- Hussain KuwajerwalaHussain KuwajerwalaHussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
and Abhijeet SawantAbhijeet SawantAbhijeet Sawant is an Indian singer. He is the winner of Indian Idol , a show that follows the extremely popular Idol series format, which began with Pop Idol in the UK...
(winner of Indian Idol Season 1), Sunidhi Chauhan (one of the judges in season 5) and Meiyang Chang (a participant in Season 3 and a host in Season 4) also hosted a single episode when the original Hosts where not able to come due to some unknown reasons.- Season 5 (2010)
Judges
- Anu MalikAnu MalikAnu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Farah KhanFarah KhanFarah Khan is an Indian film director and choreographer. She is best known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. Khan has since become a noted Hindi film director as well...
and Sonu NigamSonu NigamSonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
- Season 1 and 2 (2004–2006)
- Anu MalikAnu MalikAnu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Javed AkhtarJaved AkhtarJaved Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
, Alisha ChinaiAlisha ChinaiAlisha Chinai in Gujarati family and an Indian pop singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema.-Career:...
and Udit NarayanUdit Narayan-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...
- Season 3 (2007)
- Anu MalikAnu MalikAnu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Javed AkhtarJaved AkhtarJaved Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
, Sonali BendreSonali BendreSonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
and Kailash Kher- Season 4 (2008–2009)
- Anu MalikAnu MalikAnu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Sunidhi ChauhanSunidhi ChauhanSunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....
and Salim Merchant- Season 5 (2010)
Season 1
The winner of the first season of Indian Idol was Abhijeet SawantAbhijeet Sawant
Abhijeet Sawant is an Indian singer. He is the winner of Indian Idol , a show that follows the extremely popular Idol series format, which began with Pop Idol in the UK...
, from Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. This season was aired from October, 2004 to 5 March 2005 on Sony TV
Sony Entertainment Television (India)
This article is about the SET channel in India. For the Indian version broadcasted worldwide, see Sony Entertainment Television Asia.Sony Entertainment Television, or SET, is a Hindi-language based general entertainment television channel in India. It was launched in October 1996 and is owned by...
. Amit Sana
Amit Sana
Amit Sana is an Indian singer. He was the runner-up in the first Indian Idol , a singing competition held in India.He had sung along with Abhijeet Sawant, who was the winner of the Indian idol, in Abhijeet's first album Aapka Abhijeet Sawant. He has made some of his own albums like Chal diye, Yaadein...
from Bhilai
Bhilai
Bhilai or Bhilai Nagar is a city in the Durg district of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. As of 2001, it had a population of 753,837. The city is located west of the capital Raipur, on the main Howrah–Mumbai rail line, and National Highway 6...
, Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
was declared the 1st runner-up, while Rahul Vaidya
Rahul Vaidya
-Life before fame:The son of an engineer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Vaidya grew up in Mumbai, where he studied music under Suresh Wadkar and entered various child talent competitions. While he was a Second Year Junior College student in Mithibai College, he participated in Indian...
from Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
and Prajakta Shukre
Prajakta Shukre
Prajakta Shukre , is an Indian singer who works in Bollywood films, as well as reality shows. She was studying science in 12th standard in Jabalpur when she decided to participate in Indian Idol Season 1. She finished at 4th place....
from Jabalpur, MP
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
came 3rd and 4th respectively, in the competition.
The judges for the First season
Indian Idol 1
The first season of Indian Idol premiered on 28 October 2004 on Sony Entertainment Television. It concluded on March 5, 2005. It was hosted by Mini Mathur and Aman Yatan Verma. Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam, and Farah Khan were the judges...
were Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
and Farah Khan
Farah Khan
Farah Khan is an Indian film director and choreographer. She is best known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. Khan has since become a noted Hindi film director as well...
. They retained the same spot for the Second Season
Indian Idol 2
The second season of Indian Idol began on November 21, 2005 and concluded on April 22, 2006. It was hosted by Mini Mathur and Aman Verma. Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam returned to judge. Sandeep Acharya won the competition. It is the first and only season with a male fourth place finalist...
. The first season was hosted by Aman Verma
Aman Verma
Aman Yatan Verma is a TV show anchor and an actor. He co-hosted with Mini Mathur in the first season of Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment Television and hosted Zee TV's Zee Cinestars.-Career:...
and Mini Mathur
Mini Mathur
Mini Mathur is an Indian actress and television personality. She was a video jockey on SUN TV India and hosted a couple of shows for the channel. She is also a co-host of the Indian reality singing contest Indian Idol....
.
The winner, Abhijeet Sawant, went on to release his first album "Aap Ka Abhijeet". He participated in Asian Idol
Asian Idol
Asian Idol is a reality singing competition, which featured winners of Idol competitions from six Southeast and South Asian countries consisting of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam...
representing India and was placed third in the competition. He also released his second album Junoon which was a success and he also did play back for the movie, Ashiq Banaya Apne. Abhijeet also did some commercials for Spraymint. He started acting with his debut film "Lottery", which was released in March 2009, but could not do well at the box office.
Rahul Saxena, who failed to make it to the top 6, was offered a song by Indian Idol judge and director, Farah Khan, in her own film Om Shanti Om and Amit Tandon got work in a new serial from Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Jeetendra Kapoor is an Indian TV and film producer. She is the Creative Director and Joint Managing Director of Balaji Telefilms, her production company.-Biography:...
and Balaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms
Balaji Telefilms is a production house based in Mumbai, India, and is promoted by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, Jeetendra and Tushar Kapoor.-History:...
. Amit Sana
Amit Sana
Amit Sana is an Indian singer. He was the runner-up in the first Indian Idol , a singing competition held in India.He had sung along with Abhijeet Sawant, who was the winner of the Indian idol, in Abhijeet's first album Aapka Abhijeet Sawant. He has made some of his own albums like Chal diye, Yaadein...
, Rahul Vaidya
Rahul Vaidya
-Life before fame:The son of an engineer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Vaidya grew up in Mumbai, where he studied music under Suresh Wadkar and entered various child talent competitions. While he was a Second Year Junior College student in Mithibai College, he participated in Indian...
and Prajakta Shukre
Prajakta Shukre
Prajakta Shukre , is an Indian singer who works in Bollywood films, as well as reality shows. She was studying science in 12th standard in Jabalpur when she decided to participate in Indian Idol Season 1. She finished at 4th place....
have released their solo albums.
Rahul Vaidya
Rahul Vaidya
-Life before fame:The son of an engineer with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Vaidya grew up in Mumbai, where he studied music under Suresh Wadkar and entered various child talent competitions. While he was a Second Year Junior College student in Mithibai College, he participated in Indian...
, the 2nd runner up, hosted the show Aaja Mahi Ve on the channel STAR Plus
STAR Plus
STAR Plus is a Hindi language general entertainment television channel based in India. The channel is part of the STAR TV network's bouquet of channels...
. He also hosted the popular dance show, Jhoom India. He did playback singing in the film, Shaadi no. 1
Shaadi No. 1
Shaadi No.1 is an Indian film released in November 2005. The film directed by David Dhawan stars Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Ayesha Takia, Soha Ali Khan, Esha Deol, Riya Sen, Aarti Chhabria, Sophia Chaudhary and Satish Shah...
. He was also the part of the winning team, Shankar
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
's Rockstars in the musical game show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
Music Ka Maha Muqqabla was a reality show on STAR Plus, which first aired on December 19, 2009. It aimed to bring a new format to music reality shows in India, which is based on teams rather than individuals. The show lasted for a total of 13 weeks....
on Star plus and also the winner of the reality singing show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar on the same channel, whereas Abhijeet Sawant
Abhijeet Sawant
Abhijeet Sawant is an Indian singer. He is the winner of Indian Idol , a show that follows the extremely popular Idol series format, which began with Pop Idol in the UK...
was the 1st Runner-up in the same show.
Season 2
The second season was aired on Sony TV from 21 November 2005 to 22 April 2006. The winner of the second season of Indian Idol was Sandeep AcharyaSandeep Acharya
Sandeep Acharya is an Indian singer.Sandeep Acharya - Indian Idol Season 2 hails from Bikaner, Rajasthan and was crowned the winner of Indian Idol on 22 April 2006. Acharya is the winner of the second season of Indian Idol while the first was won by Abhijeet Sawant. Acharya beat judges favorite,...
. The 1st Runner-up was N. C. Karunya from Hyderabad, while the other talented singers from season 2, Anuj Sharma
Anuj Sharma
Anuj Sharma is an Indian singer born in the small town of Rehan, Himachal Pradesh, India.Sharma had begun his career while recording a Himachali Folk album in late 1996. Since then he has recorded more than 40 albums of Himachali Folk songs for a number of recording companies. He was among the...
, Amey Date and Antara Mitra
Antara Mitra
Antara Mitra is a vocalist and Bollywood Playback singer who was a contestant in Sony Entertainment Television's reality show Indian Idol 2 in 2006.- Biography :...
were placed at 3rd, 4th and 5th places respectively.Karunya was the favourite of the judges and was later declared the unofficial winner of the second season.
Menal Jain has released her solo album Mehram and has done stage shows with Sonu Nigam and also received an offer from Anu Malik. In addition, Antara Mitra, a regular favorite of Anu Malik, has got many playback offers, sung the remix version of 'Yeh ishq hai' from Jab We Met
Jab We Met
Jab We Met is a 2007 Hindi romantic comedy film directed and written by Imtiaz Ali. The film, produced by Dhillin Mehta under Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd, stars Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in their fourth film together...
composed by Pritam
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...
and was also a contestant of the music show [Junoon] and also is recording her solo album. She has also sung a song in the film raajneeti.
Monali Thakur sang the song Zara Zara Touch Me in the film Race as well as the song Sexy Lady (Khaab Dekhe Jhoote Moote). Music director Pritam
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...
offered her another chance in the film Golmaal Returns
Golmaal Returns
Golmaal Returns is a 2008 Bollywood comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty. The film is a sequel to the 2006 film, Golmaal Fun Unlimited with Ajay Devgn, Tusshar Kapoor and Arshad Warsi reprising their roles and Shreyas Talpade taking on the role originally played by Sharman Joshi. Kareena Kapoor,...
with a song titled, Meow
Meow
Meow is an imitative word for a sound made in cat communication. It may also refer to:- Music :* Miou Miou, a Czech pop band* Miaow , an English band* Miaow , a 1994 album by The Beautiful South...
, picturised on Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
. She also has sung in Bengali.
Karunya released his solo album titled Aapka Karunya. Karunya also got an opportunity to sing in the film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a 2006 Indian musical comedy film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is the second film in the popular Munna Bhai series of Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt stars in this film as Munna Bhai, a Mumbai underworld don, who begins to see the spirit of...
, with the song, "Aane Chaar Aane".
Amey Date was a part of the team, Mohit's Fighters in the musical game show Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
Music Ka Maha Muqqabla
Music Ka Maha Muqqabla was a reality show on STAR Plus, which first aired on December 19, 2009. It aimed to bring a new format to music reality shows in India, which is based on teams rather than individuals. The show lasted for a total of 13 weeks....
on Start plus and also participated in the reality singing show Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstaron the same channel.
Season 3
Third season was aired on Sony TV from 4 May 2007 to 23 September 2007. The winner of the Third season was Prashant TamangPrashant Tamang
Prashant Tamang is a Darjeeling-based singer and actor. He was the winner of Indian Idol Season 3 in 2007. He is the first Indian from Nepali community to make it to the final rounds of Indian Idol and win it...
, who hails from Darjeeling in West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. The runner-up, Amit Paul was from Shillong
Shillong
-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...
, Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...
.
The judges for this season were Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
, Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai in Gujarati family and an Indian pop singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema.-Career:...
, Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan
-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...
. The third season was hosted by Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
and Mini Mathur
Mini Mathur
Mini Mathur is an Indian actress and television personality. She was a video jockey on SUN TV India and hosted a couple of shows for the channel. She is also a co-host of the Indian reality singing contest Indian Idol....
.
Prashant Tamang has cut a solo album Dhanyabad as per contract with Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. He also conducted a world tour of shows. Suhit Gosain
Suhit Gosain
Suhit Gosain is an Indian pop-singer, actor & performer. He was a contestant on Indian Idol 3, a reality musical show aired on Sony Entertainment Television, drived from ...
(Top 14) appeared in a successful KitKat chocolate advertisement. Four finalists, Meiyang Chang, Suhit Gosain
Suhit Gosain
Suhit Gosain is an Indian pop-singer, actor & performer. He was a contestant on Indian Idol 3, a reality musical show aired on Sony Entertainment Television, drived from ...
, Parleen & Abhishek entered into a contract with Sony BMG and cut an album named Tu To Na Aayi as a band of Boys named F4. The song Udd Chale had become very successful . F4 was also declared 'The Next Big Thing' on channel V. Emon Chatterjee from Kolkata and Deepali Kishore sung a song I Love You, composed by Anu Malik for the film Don Muthu Swami. Emon also hosted a popular show, Royal Bengal Superstar on Star Jalsha
Star Jalsha
STAR Jalsha , the newest Bengali General Entertainment channel, owned by STAR TV.STAR Jalsha sets itself with the philosophy of 'celebrating a better tomorrow'. In line with the aspirations of millions of households in the new Bengal, STAR Jalsha is poised to be the brightest star in Bengali...
.
Meiyang Chаng
Meiyang Chаng
Meiyang Chang is an Indian actor, television host, singer and qualified dentist.- Personal life :Meiyang Chang studied in Dhanbad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Bangalore. He attended Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun and Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie...
, who was placed 5th in this season, hosted the IPL 2009 and also got an offer to act in Badmaash Company
Badmaash Company
Badmaash Company is a 2010 Bollywood film directed by actor-turned-director Parmeet Sethi, produced by Aditya Chopra and starring Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chаng and Vir Das in the lead roles...
directed by Parmeet Sethi
Parmeet Sethi
-Personal life and education:Parmeet was educated in Mumbai. He passed out of Sydenham college of commerce. He married Archana Puran Singh, a film and television actress, on 30 June 1992. They have two sons...
. He hosted the 4th season
Indian Idol 4
Registration for season 4 began on April 1, 2008. The winner of the show for this season was announced on 1 March 2009. The fourth season have Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar on the hot seats as they take judges' chair once again for the show...
of the Indian Idol with Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
. 6th runner-up Deepali Kishore
Deepali Kishore
Deepali Kishore is an Indian singer. She was a finalist of Indian Idol 3. She also appeared along with Bollywood actor John Abraham and performed a group song from film Goal. She has sung a song for movie Don Muthuswami. The song is 'I love you', composed by Anu Malik...
had hosted a musicsl reality show on Doordarshan. He also won the dance reality show JHALAK DIKHLA JAA on Sony
Amit Paul sang the song "Pyaar Ki Dastaan" in the film Luck by Chance
Luck by Chance
Luck By Chance is a 2009 Indian drama film written and directed by Zoya Akhtar. Produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, the film stars Farhan Akhtar and Konkana Sen Sharma in the lead roles...
(starring Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar is an Indian filmmaker, script writer, actor, playback singer, lyricist, film producer in Hindi cinema and a television host.His directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi...
and Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma
Konkona Sen Sharma is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of actress and filmmaker Aparna Sen. Sharma appears primarily in Indian arthouse and independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema.Making her...
). He, alongside the 3rd runner-up Ankita Mishra represented India in the Indian Carnival, 2007, at Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
Season 4
The Fourth seasonIndian Idol 4
Registration for season 4 began on April 1, 2008. The winner of the show for this season was announced on 1 March 2009. The fourth season have Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar on the hot seats as they take judges' chair once again for the show...
of Indian Idol was aired on Sony TV from 19 September 2008 to 1 March 2009. For the first time in Indian Idol history, there were two girls in the top 3 . Sourabhee Debbarma
Sourabhee Debbarma
Sourabhee Debbarma was a contestant on the fourth series of Indian Idol, where she became the first female Indian Idol winner.- Personal life :...
won the title of the Indian Idol and became the first female contestant to do so. By doing so, she also won a contract of Rs. 1 crore with Sony Entertainment Television
Sony Entertainment Television (India)
This article is about the SET channel in India. For the Indian version broadcasted worldwide, see Sony Entertainment Television Asia.Sony Entertainment Television, or SET, is a Hindi-language based general entertainment television channel in India. It was launched in October 1996 and is owned by...
and a TATA Winger. She released an album Meherbaan as per a contract with Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
. Kapil Thapa stood 1st runner-up while Torsha Sarkar finished third.
Sourabhee did some stage shows around the country and overseas with Sony TV, receiving immense response from her fans world-wide.
The fourth season saw Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
and Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
on the hot seats as they took judges' chair once again for the show. New to this season were singer Kailash Kher and Indian actress Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
. The fourth season was hosted by Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala
Hussain Kuwajerwala is an Indian actor, anchor and dancer. His most prominent roles to date have been Sumit Wadhwa in the soap Kumkum and Chirag Virani in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi...
and Meiyang Chаng
Meiyang Chаng
Meiyang Chang is an Indian actor, television host, singer and qualified dentist.- Personal life :Meiyang Chang studied in Dhanbad, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Bangalore. He attended Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun and Wynberg Allen School in Mussoorie...
.
Like the previous season, the first four finalists to be eliminated were female, and the judges opinions were that some of these girls were better singers than some of the remaining boys. All the previous years' top 3 finalists have also been male, leading to speculation of sexism against women among the Indian voting public. These speculations were laid to rest when Sourabhee was declared the eventual winner.
One of the contestants Bhavya Pandit received an offer to sing the song Aaja Lehraate for the
film What's Your Raashee, alongside famous singer Shaan
Shaan (singer)
Shaan , is an Indian playback singer, and television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, Star Voice of India and "Star Voice of India 2"...
.
Season 5
The winner of Indian Idol 5 is Sreeramchandra MynampatiMynampati Sreeram Chandra
Sreerama Chandra Mynampati is a professional singer and 2010 Indian Idol winner from Hyderabad who debuted his playback career in the Telugu film industry. Sreeram won the fifth season of music reality show Indian Idol 5 and was awarded by one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian...
from Hyderabad.
The fifth season was judged by Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, along with two new judges Salim Merchant and Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....
.
The contestants at the Grand Finale were Sreeramchandra
Mynampati Sreeram Chandra
Sreerama Chandra Mynampati is a professional singer and 2010 Indian Idol winner from Hyderabad who debuted his playback career in the Telugu film industry. Sreeram won the fifth season of music reality show Indian Idol 5 and was awarded by one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian...
, Bhoomi, and Rakesh. The finale was held on 15 August 2010 (which also happens to be the Indian Independence Day). For the first time in Indian Idol, the finale was held between three contestants.
The judges first selected the top 112 contestants from across the country. After several rounds, the judges selected the top 16 contestants. After public voting, a total of 6 were directly given entry to the top 12 (Indian Idol Gala) while out of the remaining 10, only seven were chosen by judges on the basis of their live performances. The selected top 13 competed for the title of Indian Idol 5. This season the selected singers seemed more promising than ever before, as per Anu Malik and the other judges.
On the episode aired on 13 May 2010, the top 13 finalists selected by the judges for the Gala Rounds were Bhoomi Trivedi, Vishwas Rai, Swaroop Khan, Sashi Suman, Manisha Karmakar, Tia Kar, Shivam Pathak, Naushad Ali Kawa, Sreeram Chandra, Arpita Khan, Meghna Kumar, Rakesh Maini and Yashraj Kapil.
Vishwas Rai was eliminated in Gala Round 1, Meghna Kumar in Gala Round 2, Manisha Karmarkar the next week, Yashraj Kapil next and Arpita Khan the week after that. The week after that, the public voted out one of the most promising singers, Sashi. After that, another very shocking elimination was Naushad Ali Kawa. Next to be eliminated was Tia Kar. Tia, who never came in bottom 3 was another surprising elimination. Rakesh was evicted the week after, but he was retained by the judges using their "VETO Power" . Very talented and versatile contestant Shivam had to leave next. The last to be eliminated was Swaroop Khan. Thus, Season 5 got its top 3 - Bhoomi, Rakesh and Sreeram.
Sreeram Chandra
Mynampati Sreeram Chandra
Sreerama Chandra Mynampati is a professional singer and 2010 Indian Idol winner from Hyderabad who debuted his playback career in the Telugu film industry. Sreeram won the fifth season of music reality show Indian Idol 5 and was awarded by one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian...
has already made his debut in Telugu movie industry. He also sang a song with Shreya Ghoshal for Salim Suleman Merchant during the course of Indian Idol 5. Swaroop Khan also got the chance to sing a song as the playback singer during the course of Indian Idol 5 before his elimination. Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early...
gave him this opportunity.
It was a huge shock when Rakesh Maini was eliminated. But the Judges used their veto power, which gave them special power to save any eliminated contestant, and Rakesh was saved from being eliminated. According to people it was used appropriately. This Veto could be used just once during the course of the entire competition. The judges had not been granted this special power in any of the previous seasons.
The Grand Finale was held on 15 August 2010. Sreeram won the title of Indian Idol 5.
Anu MalikAnu MalikAnu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
- Season 1 to 5 (2004–Present)
Anu Malik has been the jury member on Indian Idol since its inception. Known for his cheeky and straightforward comments, he was also a judge in the first Asian Idol
Asian Idol
Asian Idol is a reality singing competition, which featured winners of Idol competitions from six Southeast and South Asian countries consisting of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam...
held in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, representing Indian Idol.
The son of veteran composer Sardar Malik, brother of Abu Malik and Daboo Malik, Anu learnt music from Pandit Ram Prasad Sharma. He composed music for various films but his music finally gained recognition in 1993 for his work in movies like Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee
Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee
Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee is a Bollywood film released on Zee TV in 1993. It was produced by Jonny Bakshi and Nitin Keni , directed by Mahesh Bhatt, and starred his daughter Pooja Bhatt in the lead female role. The lead male role was played by Rahul Roy. Pooja Bedi and Avtar Gill played...
, Jaanam, Sir and Baazigar
Baazigar
Baazigar is a 1993 Indian Hindi film directed by Abbas-Mustan. Inspired by the novel A Kiss Before Dying, it is a contemporary thriller about a young man who stops at nothing to get what he wants. The film shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula,...
. Some of the prominent films that Anu gave music for are Aks
Aks
Aks is a 2001 Hindi film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.-Synopsis:Aks is a supernatural thriller centering on two main characters - Manu Verma, the cop and Raghavan, the shadowy killer....
, Fiza
Fiza
Fiza is a 2000 Indian film written and directed by Khalid Mohammed. The film stars Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Jaya Bachchan.- Synopsis :...
, Filhaal...
Filhaal...
Filhaal... is a Bollywood film released in 2001. The film stars Sushmita Sen, Tabu, Sanjay Suri and Palash Sen in the lead roles. Meghna Gulzar, daughter of actress Raakhee Gulzar makes her directorial debut with the film.- Synopsis :...
and Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai
Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai
-Reception:Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai received mixed reviews from critics, though mostly positive. Whereas at the box office, the film opened to a weak start, but due to the word-of-mouth, surprisingly it grossed 13.50 crores on its opening weekend. Due to its good opening, it collected 22 crores...
to name a few. His recent work includes Love Story 2050
Love Story 2050
Love Story 2050 is a 2008 Bollywood science fiction film starring producer Pammi Baweja and director Harry Baweja's son Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra. Some parts of the movie were filmed in Adelaide, Australia. Initially the film was supposed to release on 21 December 2007 but got postponed to...
, Kambakkht Ishq, Jaan-E-Mann
Jaan-E-Mann
Jaan-E-Mann is a 2006 Bollywood film starring Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta in the lead roles. The movie is directed by Shirish Kunder and is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film re-unites Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar post the success of Mujhse Shaadi Karogi . This was Shirish...
and the Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
starrer Umrao Jaan
Umrao Jaan (2006 film)
Umrao Jaan is a Bollywood film about the famous courtesan of the title. Aishwarya Rai stars in the lead role. The film is directed by J.P...
.
Anu won the National Award for his work in Refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
and Filmfare Award
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
for Best Music Director twice - for Baazigar
Baazigar
Baazigar is a 1993 Indian Hindi film directed by Abbas-Mustan. Inspired by the novel A Kiss Before Dying, it is a contemporary thriller about a young man who stops at nothing to get what he wants. The film shocked its Indian audience with an unexpected violation of the standard Bollywood formula,...
and Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na is a Bollywood masala film written and directed by Farah Khan. It was the first film of Khan production company Red Chillies Entertainment. It was released on 30 April 2004 and went on to become a box-office success...
. He also got a Special Jury Award (Filmfare) for his outstanding contribution in music. He has worked with some of most prominent playback singers including Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
, Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya , born in Kolkata, is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009....
, Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan
-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...
, Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik is an Indian singer who is ranked among the best Hindi playback singers of all time. She is a seven-time winner of the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award as well as a two-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Awards...
, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal
Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India.She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali.- Biography :She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant...
, Shaan
Shaan (singer)
Shaan , is an Indian playback singer, and television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, Star Voice of India and "Star Voice of India 2"...
, Abhijeet, K.K., Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....
and many more.
With his work in crossover films like Bride and Prejudice
Bride and Prejudice
Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic musical film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film released in...
, he is among the few Indian film composers with international projects to his credit.
Sonu NigamSonu NigamSonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
- Season 1 and 2 (2004–2006)
Sonu Nigam started hosting Sa Re Ga Ma
Sa Re Ga Ma
Saregama India Limited, formerly The Gramophone Company of India is an Indian music company. Saregama also works in the home video business...
, a television singing talent competition, which soon became one of the most popular shows on Indian television. Singing offers poured in thereafter, albeit slowly at first. He rose to fame with the Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
composed song "Sandese Aate Hain," in Border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
in 1997. Sonu's image as a Rafi clone changed after his rendition of the Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan was a music director duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. The duo derives its name from the first names of its two principals, Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod....
composed song "Yeh Dil Deewana" in Pardes
Pardes
The soundtrack was composed by the duo of Nadeem Shravan while the lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. It was released under the label of Tips Music Films. The album was very successful amongst the audience. The tracks "I Love My India", "Meri Mehbooba", "Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain" and "Nahin Hona Tha"...
in the same year. Since then, he has created a unique style of his own, and has become a role model for emerging vocal talent in India.
Over the years, Sonu has provided playback singing for a large number of Hindi movies and won many awards. He is recognised for his versatile voice as well as excellent emotion range. Sonu is known to sing with clear pronunciation, and in many languages besides Hindi, including Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri language
Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...
, Urdu, Nepali
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
and Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
. He remains particularly popular in Southern India for his Kannada songs and has won a few awards in this particular industry.
Sonu has released a number of pop albums, both in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and in Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
. He has also released several devotional albums, both Hindu and Islamic ones, as well as albums of Mohammad Rafi's songs. These are from the "Rafi Ki Yaadein" collection in his early years, although they have been re-released in September 2007 as a 6-disc collection of 100 songs, titled "Kal Aaj Aur Kal", in Mohammad Rafi's memory.
He has won many awards, such as National Award
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...
, Filmfare Awards, both in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
and in South Film Industry
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian film industry. The awards are separately given for Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films...
, Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA Awards, Indian Television Academy Award
Indian Telly Awards
The Indian Telly Awards is an annual Indian television production award given in various technical and popular categories to Indian television channels....
, Bollywood Music Awards and much more.
Farah KhanFarah KhanFarah Khan is an Indian film director and choreographer. She is best known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. Khan has since become a noted Hindi film director as well...
- Season 1 and 2 (2004–2006)
Farah Khan Kunder is an Indian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. She is known for her choreographical work in numerous Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films, as well as directing the films Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na is a Bollywood masala film written and directed by Farah Khan. It was the first film of Khan production company Red Chillies Entertainment. It was released on 30 April 2004 and went on to become a box-office success...
and Om Shanti Om
Om Shanti Om (film)
Om Shanti Om is a 2007 Bollywood musical film directed and choreographed by Farah Khan. It stars Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the lead roles while Arjun Rampal, Shreyas Talpade, and Kirron Kher feature in supporting roles...
. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 Hindi films. In addition Khan has worked on international projects such as Marigold: An Adventure in India, Monsoon Wedding
Monsoon Wedding
* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
and the Chinese film Perhaps Love.
Farah Khan achieved international recognition with her work in Monsoon Wedding
Monsoon Wedding
* Originally featured in the Hindi film Loafer * Originally featured in the Hindi film Biwi No.1 -Awards:The movie won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival...
, Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
and Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (2004 film)
Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
. She was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
as Best Choreographer
Tony Award for Best Choreography
-1940s:* 1947: Agnes de Mille – Brigadoon / Michael Kidd – Finian's Rainbow* 1948: Jerome Robbins – High Button Shoes* 1949: Gower Champion – Lend An Ear-1950s:* 1950: Helen Tamiris – Touch and Go* 1951: Michael Kidd – Guys and Dolls...
, along with collaborator Anthony van Laast, for Bombay Dreams.
Farah Khan then went on to direct her first film Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na is a Bollywood masala film written and directed by Farah Khan. It was the first film of Khan production company Red Chillies Entertainment. It was released on 30 April 2004 and went on to become a box-office success...
which was produced by Shah Rukh Khan. The film was a huge success, and Khan became the second female director to be nominated for Filmfare Best Director Award
Filmfare Best Director Award
The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in the Hindi film Industry. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.-Superlatives:...
. As a director, her second movie Om Shanti Om was the highest grossing Hindi film of all time at its time of release.
Farah Khan has received numerous awards for her choreographical
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
work, predominantly from Filmfare
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
. She won the Filmfare Best Choreography Award
Filmfare Best Choreography Award
The Filmfare Best Choreography Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.Although the awards started in 1953, the best choreography category did not start until 1989.-Superlatives:Most Awards...
five times: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004. She remains in second place for the most awards won in the category of Best Choreography, first place being Saroj Khan
Saroj Khan
Nirmala Kishanchand Sadhu Singh Nagpal popularly known as Saroj Khan is one of the most prominent Indian dance choreographers in Hindi cinema...
. In 2004, she won National Film Award for Best Choreography
National Film Award for Best Choreography
The National Film Award for 'Best Choreography' winners:...
- Idhar Chala Main from Koi Mil Gaya
Javed AkhtarJaved AkhtarJaved Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
- Season 3 and 4 (2007–2009)
Javed Akhtar is an Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
poet, Lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
and Scriptwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
whom most of the work is done for the Hindi Cinema. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan
Salim Khan
Salim Khan is an Indian Scriptwriter and Actor. He wrote numerous screenplays for Bollywood films. He frequently collaborated with writer Javed Akhtar; the duo is credited as Salim-Javed.-Personal life:...
as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed
Salim-Javed
Salim-Javed were a scriptwriter duo who wrote a number of commercially and critically successful Hindi films in the 1970s and early 1980s. The duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, made the writer's role popular with their names appearing in the posters of the films, and in some films they...
. Akhtar continues to be prominent in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
and is a sought-after lyricist.
Javed Akhtar was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
by the Government of India in 1999 and received the Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 2007. Akhtar has also won the Filmfare Award fourteen times, seven times for Best Script, and seven times for Best Lyrics for "Ek Ladki Ko Dekha..." in 1942-A Love Story, "Ghar Se Nikalte Hi..." for Papa Kahte Hain, "Sandese Aate Hain...." for Border, "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jhonke..." for Refugee, "Radha Kaise Na Jale" for Lagaan, "Kal Ho Na Ho" for Kal Ho Na Ho, "Tere Liye..." for Veer-Zaara and "Jashn-e-Bahara" for Jodhaa Akbar.
Akhtar has won the National Award
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
five times. He has been awarded the Filmfare Best Lyricist Award
Filmfare Best Lyricist Award
The Filmfare Lyricist Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.The awards were first given in 1953, however the Award for the best lyricist was first given in 1958.-Superlatives:...
19 times. In 1996, he won Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for the film Saaz and in 1997, he won the National Award for Border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
. He again won the National Award in 1998 for Godmother
Godmother (film)
Godmother is a Hindi movie directed by Vinay Shukla released in 1999, and ostensibly inspired by the life of Santokben Jadeja.-Cast:* Shabana Azmi - Rambhi* Milind Gunaji - Veeram* Nirmal Pandey - Jakhra* Govind Namdeo - Kesubhai...
. In 2000, he again won the National Award for the song "Panchhi Nadiyan Pawan Ke Jonke..." from the film Refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
and in 2001, for "Radha Kaise Na Jale" from Lagaan
Lagaan
Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...
. He is also on the advisory board of the Asian Academy of Film & Television
Asian Academy of Film & Television
The Asian Academy of Film & Television is a film school located in India's Noida Film City in India's Capital region, NCR. It is affiliated with the International Film & Television Research Center and the Marwah Films & Video Studios....
. In 2001 Akhtar received the "National Integration Award" from the All India Anti-Terrorist Association and the Avadh Ratan from the U.P.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
Government. He also won the 2003 Hakim Khan Sur Sammaan Award from the Maharana Mewar Foundation, Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
.
Alisha ChinaiAlisha ChinaiAlisha Chinai in Gujarati family and an Indian pop singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema.-Career:...
- Season 3 (2007)
Alisha Chinai is an Indian pop
Indian pop
Indian pop music , often known as Indian-Pop, Hindi Pop, Indipop or Indi-pop, refers to pop music in India. Pop music really started in the South Asian region with the famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi's song ‘Ko-Ko-Korina’ in 1966...
singer known for her several albums as well as playback singing
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
in Hindi cinema.
Alisha's initial albums include Jadoo, Baby Doll, Aaah Alisha. Alisha was introduced to the Hindi film music by the veteran music director and composer Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early...
. They had many disco hits together in many films in the 1980s including "Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
", Dance Dance
Dance Dance (film)
Dance Dance is an Indian Bollywood movie released on 29 May 1987, directed and produced by Babbar Subhash. The film is a musical and stars Mithun Chakraborty, Smita Patil and Mandakini in lead roles. It also stars Amrish Puri, Shakti Kapoor and Om Shivpuri in supporting roles...
, Commando, Guru, Love Love Love etc. When she started her career with him, she was doing playback singing for many actresses, such as Smita Patil
Smita Patil
Smita Patil was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 75 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a...
, Mandakini, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career...
, Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
and Divya Bharati etc. In 1985, Alisha sang with Remo Fernandes
Remo Fernandes
Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes, more popularly known as Remo Fernandes is a pop/rock/Indian fusion artist and playback singer from the state of Goa, India. His musical work is a fusion of many different cultures and styles he's been exposed to as a child in Goa and in his later travels...
in the album Old Goan Gold
Old Goan Gold
Old Goan Gold is a music album by Remo Fernandes and released in 1985. It consists of songs in Konkani and Portuguese. Alisha Chinai has also performed in the album....
. She also recorded a song for Pankuj Parashar's film Jalwa (1987), composed by Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
. One of her biggest hits during the 80's was Kaate Nahin Katte (Mr. India) in 1987, which she recorded with Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
under the music direction of Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Another successful track in 1989 was Raat Bahr Jaam Se from the film Tridev
Tridev
Tridev is a 1989 Indian film directed by Rajiv Rai. The movie is an action-packed saga of three men — Naseeruddin Shah, Sunny Deol and Jackie Shroff — standing up against a crime lord called Bhujang , who has plans to spread menace in the country...
, which had music by Kalyanji-Anandji and Viju Shah
Viju Shah
Viju Shah is a music director of Hindi cinema. He is the son of music director Kalyanji Virji Shah of composer duo Kalyanji Anandji...
. In the 90s, she took on working in different films, collaborating with other music directors, such as Anu Malik
Anu Malik
Anu Malik , born Anwar Sardaar Malik, is a famous music director in the Hindi film industry. Son of veteran music director Sardar Malek, Anu Malik made his debut as a music composer in the year 1977. After a considerable period of struggle, the 90's welcomed Anu with hits like 'Phir Teri Kahani...
, Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
, Rajesh Roshan
Rajesh Roshan
Rajesh Roshan is a Hindi cinema music composer.-Personal life:Rajesh Roshan is the son of Hindi film composer Roshan and younger brother of film director and actor Rakesh Roshan...
and Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan was a music director duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. The duo derives its name from the first names of its two principals, Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod....
.
Simultaneously with playback singing, she has recorded many songs as a pop singer, with album releases. Chinai was noted for her 1996 hit single and album, titled Made in India
Made in India
Made in India may refer to:* Made in India , an album by Alisha Chinai*Made in India 2000* Made in India, a denotion of Brand India* "Made in India", a label found on a 2009 consignment of counterfeit drugs actually made in China...
, which was composed by Biddu
Biddu
Biddu or Biddu Appaiah is an Indian-British music producer, composer, song-writer and singer who produced and composed many hit records worldwide during a career spanning five decades...
. Made in India
Made in India
Made in India may refer to:* Made in India , an album by Alisha Chinai*Made in India 2000* Made in India, a denotion of Brand India* "Made in India", a label found on a 2009 consignment of counterfeit drugs actually made in China...
went on to become one of the highest selling pop albums of its times and Alisha became a household name. With the success of this album, Alisha announced her departure from playback singing and wanted to concentrate only on private pop albums. However, following the less success in the pop albums, she came back to the playback singing with a bang. In 2005, she had one of her highest career points came with the song Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli
Bunty Aur Babli
Bunty Aur Babli , released in 2005, is an Indian Bollywood film directed by Shaad Ali and starring Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan. It was the first film to feature both Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek Bachchan, and featured guest appearances by Aishwarya Rai and Tania...
. The song was a hit and Alisha won her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Alisha received the International Billboard Award around the time "Made in India" came out and also won the Freddie Mercury Award for Artistic Excellence. Internationally, Alisha received attention when her song "Seulement Vous" won first place at the International Song Festival "Asia 2004". It was also the first victory for India in the Song Contest.
Udit NarayanUdit Narayan-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...
- Season 3 (2007)
Udit Narayan is a playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
in commercial Telugu, Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
(Commonly known as Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
), Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Sindhi
Sindhi language
Sindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by 53,410,910 people in Pakistan, according to the national government's Statistics Division...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
, Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
, Angika
Angika language
Angika is an Indo-Iranian language of the Anga region of India, a 58,000 km² area approx. that falls within the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal....
and Nepali
Nepali language
Nepali or Nepalese is a language in the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.It is the official language and de facto lingua franca of Nepal and is also spoken in Bhutan, parts of India and parts of Myanmar...
language cinema. Narayan has sung more than 15,000 songs in more than 30 different languages, of which over 260 films have been in Hindi alone. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
award, one of India's highest civilian honours, which he received in 2009.
The actual success story of his career began in 1988 with the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak or QSQT is a 1988 Indian Bollywood film written by Nasir Hussain and directed by his son Mansoor Khan. The film starred Hussain's nephew, Aamir Khan, along with Juhi Chawla in their first major roles. Upon release, the film became a box office hit and shot its leading stars...
, earning him a Filmfare Award. The film also brought actor Aamir Khan
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
, actress Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla is an Indian actress, film producer and television presenter.After being crowned as the winner of the Miss India beauty contest in 1984, Chawla pursued an acting career...
and playback singer Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik is an Indian singer who is ranked among the best Hindi playback singers of all time. She is a seven-time winner of the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award as well as a two-time recipient of the prestigious National Film Awards...
to stardom. After the success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak or QSQT is a 1988 Indian Bollywood film written by Nasir Hussain and directed by his son Mansoor Khan. The film starred Hussain's nephew, Aamir Khan, along with Juhi Chawla in their first major roles. Upon release, the film became a box office hit and shot its leading stars...
, he became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry. This also marked a long and fruitful association with the composers of this film, Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
, with whom Udit Narayan recorded several hit songs. At the same time, he became a well-known celebrity in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and sang in many popular Nepalese movies.
He has worked with musicians like Rahul Dev Burman, A. R. Rahman, Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
, Jagjit Singh, Anu Malik, Jatin Lalit, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, Vishal Bhardwaj, Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan was a music director duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. The duo derives its name from the first names of its two principals, Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod....
, Rajesh Roshan, Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshammiya, Pritam Chakraborty, Vishal-Shekhar, and leading directors like Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
, Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali is an Indian film director. He is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India...
, Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...
and Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
. These include Lagaan
Lagaan
Lagaan is a 2001 Bollywood sports film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Aamir Khan, who was also the producer for the film, stars with Gracy Singh in the lead roles; British actors Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne play the supporting roles...
, Darr
Darr
Darr: A Violent Love Story is a 1993 Bollywood psychological thriller film directed by Yash Chopra. It is the story of an obsessed lover and the lengths he goes to get his girl who is already happily married to Sunil Malhotra . It is the second film in which Shahrukh Khan played the role of a...
, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is a Hindi romantic comedy film, released in India and the United Kingdom on 16 October 1998. The film was written and directed by the debuting Karan Johar and stars the popular on-screen pair of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in their fourth movie together...
, Dil To Pagal Hai
Dil To Pagal Hai
Dil To Pagal Hai is a Bollywood comedy/drama, released October 31, 1997, depicting the love lives of dancers in a musical dance troupe. The tag line is "Someone somewhere is made for you..." It was directed by Yash Chopra. It stars Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor, with an extended...
, Mohabbatein
Mohabbatein
Mohabbatein , is a 2000 Indian Bollywood film directed by Aditya Chopra. The movie stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan in pivotal roles, along with six young debutantes. Aishwarya Rai appeared in flashbacks as Khan's lover. The movie was filmed at Oxford, England and Longleat...
, Devdas
Devdas
Devdas is a Bengali Romance novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Essentially, it is a retelling of the Krishna, Radha, and Meera myths, the relationships between its three protagonists - Devdas, Parvati, and Chandramukhi - paralleling the Hindu deities'.-Plot summary:Devdas is a young man from...
, Kal Ho Naa Ho
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Kal Ho Naa Ho is a 2003 Hindi film set in New York City. It stars Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Jaya Bachchan. The film was directed by first-timer Nikhil Advani, it was produced by Yash Johar and co-written by Karan Johar, better known as the director of the hit films Kuch Kuch...
, Swades
Swades
Swades: We, the People is a 2004 Indian film written, produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shahrukh Khan and debutante Gayatri Joshi...
, and Veer Zaara.
Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of a large number of awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award. He won Filmfare Best Male Playback Award
Filmfare Best Male Playback Award
The Filmfare Best Male Playback Award is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song....
for 5 times, National Award
National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The following is a list of winners of the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. The singer with the most awards in this category is K. J. Yesudas with seven wins, whereas S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won six times for 4 different languages; Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu.-Superlatives:...
for 3 times, Star Screen Award
Star Screen Award Best Male Playback
The Star Screen Award Best Male Playback is chosen by a panel of distinguished judges. The winner is announced in January.Here is a list of the award winners, the film and the song for which they won:-...
for 2 times and one time each of Zee Cine Award
Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Male
The Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Male is chosen by the jury and the winner is announced at the ceremony.The winners are listed below:-...
and IIFA Award
IIFA Best Male Playback Award
The IIFA Best Male Playback Award is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the ceremony.The winners are listed below:-...
.
Sonali BendreSonali BendreSonali Bendre is an Indian actress and model. She has mostly starred in Bollywood films but has acted in many Telugu films as well as a number of Marathi, Tamil and Kannada films. She was also one of the four judges in the fourth season of Indian Idol and India's Got Talent...
- Season 4 (2008–2009)
Sonali Bendre is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n actress and model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
. She has starred in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films mostly but has acted in a few Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
films.
Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Star Dust Talent Search". She was invited to Mumbai and received training from a variety of top actors and performers of the Indian film industry. Though she initially struggled to be a successful actress, she was eventually given critical acclaim for her performances in films like Bhai (1997),Murari
Murari
Murari is a 2001 telugu film directed by Krishna Vamsi starring Mahesh Babu and Sonali Bendre. This is the first movie of stunt master Peter Hein he is action director for this film.-Plot summary:...
(Telugu film) Sarfarosh
Sarfarosh
Sarfarosh was a critically and commercially successful action film, released in 1999. It was directed by John Matthew Matthan and starred Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre and Naseeruddin Shah. John started working on Sarfarosh in 1992...
, Zakhm
Zakhm
Zakhm is a 1998 Hindi film directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Ajay Devgn, Pooja Bhatt, Sonali Bendre, Kunal Khemu and Nagarjuna Akkineni...
, Duplicate
Duplicate
Duplicate is an Indian Bollywood film released on May 8, 1998. The movie was directed by Mahesh Bhatt and stars Shahrukh Khan in a double role opposite Juhi Chawla and Sonali Bendre. It was produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and marks Shahrukh's first of five collaborations with the...
,Preethse
Preethse
"Preethse" is a 2000 Psychological thriller Kannada film starring Real Star Upendra, Shivrajkumar and Sonali Bendre. The film was directed by D Rajendra Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film is a remake of the 1993 Bollywood film Darr.-Box Office:...
(Kannada film), Kadhalar Dhinam
Kadhalar Dhinam
Kadhalar Dhinam is a 1999 Tamil romantic film directed by Kathir. This film is based on a relationship which begins through an internet chatroom and takes a turn after the protagonist has second thoughts about the relationship...
(Tamil film), Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United
Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United
Hum Saath-Saath Hain : We Stand United is a 1999 Indian film written and directed by Sooraj R. Barjatya. The film was distributed by the home production of Sooraj Barjatya, Rajshri Productions. The film stars Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam Kothari, Mohnish Behl...
(1999), Tera Mera Saath Rahey and Anaahat (2003) among many others. She is also known for being one of the few actresses who acted opposite all top four Khans (Aamir
Aamir Khan
Aamir Hussain Khan is an Indian film actor, director and producer who has established himself as one of the leading actors of Hindi cinema....
, Shahrukh
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
, Salman
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
and Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan is an Indian actor known for his work in Bollywood films. He is the son of the late former Nawab of Pataudi, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and actress Sharmila Tagore. He has two sisters: Saba Ali Khan and actress Soha Ali Khan....
). She has also starred opposite some of the other biggest names in Bollywood such as Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
, Suniel Shetty
Suniel Shetty
Sunil Shetty is an Indian film actor, producer, hotelier and liquor and fashion boutique owner. He is mainly active in Bollywood.-Career:Shetty made his acting debut in the 1992.His film Balwaan which was a moderate success. He gave 2 hit films in 1993 Pehchaan and Waqt Hamara Hai. His first...
, Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan
Ajay Devgan , born Vishal Veeru Devgan on 2 April 1969, is an Indian film actor, director, and producer.He made his film debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991 and received a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his performance in the film and for which he won a Filmfare Best Debut Award...
, Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
and Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
.
In addition to her well-received performances, she is also recognized as a graceful dancer. She is frequently listed as one of the top most beautiful Bollywood actress. In 1995, she won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award. In 2001 she also won the Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress
Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress
The Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress is chosen via a distinguished panel of judges from the film industry of India. The winners are announced in January....
for her performance in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai where she co-starred with Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor is an Indian actor and producer who mainly appears in Bollywood films. He won a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in Yash Chopra's film Mashaal ....
and Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
. She was the only cast member who was nominated and won the award. She was appreciated for her comic performances in films like Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega
Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega
Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega is a 2001 Bollywood comedy directed by E. Nivas. It is a very loose remake of the Coen brothers' 1996 film Fargo.-Cast:* Saif Ali Khan - Prakash* Fardeen Khan - Rahul Kapoor...
. In 2004, she won Star Screen Award, Best Actress-Marathi
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
, for the Marathi Film
Marathi cinema
Marathi cinema refers to films produced in the Marathi language in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the oldest and pioneer film industry in India...
Anaahat. She is recognised as one of the most versatile and talented actresses in the Indian film industry
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
.
Kailash Kher
- Season 4 (2008–2009)
Kailash Kher is an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n pop singer with very diverse music style often influenced by Indian folk music
Indian folk music
Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity. It has many forms including bhangra, lavani, dandiya and Rajasthani. The arrival of movies and pop music weakened folk music's popularity, but cheaply recordable music has made it easier to find and helped revive the traditions...
. He was inspired by legendary Pakistani Sufi singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His other influence has been Pt.Kumar Gandharva.
In 2002, his song "Allah ke Bande" from relatively obscure movie Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II
Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II
Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II , is a 2003 Indian movie starring Arshad Warsi. Shashanka Ghosh, the creative driver behind the launch of MTV and Channel V in India, marks his debut as a director with this film. Running in many parallel threads, the movie is in equal parts a comedy, satire, crime, and a...
, made him a household name.
His band Kailasa includes Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
musician-brothers Naresh & Paresh who were earlier associated with Bombay Black. His song Teri Deewani from the album of the same name by his band Kailasa
Kailasa (band)
Kailasa is an Indian fusion band, founded by Kailash Kher. The name of the band is taken from an accented pronunciation of Kailash's own name as well as Mount Kailash, the abode of Hindu God Shiva...
and especially the song "Ya Rabba" from the movie Salaam-e-Ishq has become a record-seller. He originally hails from Meerut, where he learned Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
.
His recent venture into the Kannada film industry has proved a huge success. Special mention has to be made to his song "Hale patre" from the movie Junglee has proved a huge hit among the audience. In 2007, he participated in a concert tour in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
entitled "The Incredibles", also starring Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and most highly-regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a wider repertoire. Bhosle's career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over a thousand Bollywood movies...
, Sonu Niigaam and Kunal Ganjawala
Kunal Ganjawala
Kunal Ganjawala is popularly known as Bollywood playback singer. But he also did a very well contribution to Kanada film industry as well. Kunal began his career by singing jingles. He came to limelight with the song 'Bheege Honth Tere' form film Murder in 2004. It was his first biggest hit...
.
About Kailash Kher, the ace Indian composer, A R Rahman says:
Sunidhi ChauhanSunidhi ChauhanSunidhi Chauhan is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has also recorded songs for Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati films and is credited with over 2000 songs....
- Season 5 (2010)
Sunidhi Chauhan debuts on television as a jury member on Indian Idol 5. A versatile playback singer, best known for her Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film songs, she has over 2000 songs to her credit. She began to sing at the age of four and was spotted in the singing contest, Meri Awaz Suno
Meri Awaz Suno
-Personnel:Junoon*Salman Ahmad - vocals, lead guitar*Ali Azmat - vocals, backing vocals*Brian O'Connell - bass guitar, backing vocalsAdditional musicians*Ustad Aashiq Ali - Tambourin, Tabla-External links:* *...
, which she went on to win.
Her breakthrough in Hindi films was Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma
Ram Gopal Varma is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer...
's film – Mast
Mast (film)
Mast is a 1999 Bollywood musical film by Indian director Ram Gopal Verma. This was the debut film for Aftab Shivdasani as a lead actor. Till then, he was recognized as a child actor.-Synopsis:...
and after that there was no looking back for her. The year 2008 was a highly successful year for the young singer; as she went on to give a huge number of super hit songs like Chhaliya Chhaliya (Tashan
Tashan
Tashan is a semi-urban subdistrict of Zhifu District, Yantai, in the Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. Tashan is noted for its mountain . Tashan Mountain has a temple dedicated to the boddhisatva Kuan Yin as well as a Taoist pagoda dedicated to Three Pure Ones....
), Rock Mahi, Lucky Boy (Bachna Ae Haseeno
Bachna Ae Haseeno
Bachna Ae Haseeno is a Bollywood film released on 15 August 2008. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Minissha Lamba and Deepika Padukone. The film was directed by Siddharth Anand whose previous films include Salaam Namaste and Ta Ra Rum Pum .-Plot:The film follows the journey of a young man...
, Desi Girl (Dostana
Dostana
Dostana is a 1980 Hindi movie, produced by Yash Johar and directed by Raj Khosla. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Zeenat Aman, Prem Chopra, Amrish Puri, Helen, Pran and Paintal. The film was the top grossing hit of 1980...
), Dance Pe Chance (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), and Race Saanson Ki (Race).
Chauhan is one of the few female singers who have sung for some of the leading actresses of this generation like Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
, Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
, Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....
, Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor , often informally referred to as Bebo, is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films. During her career, Kapoor has received six Filmfare Awards, among nine nominations, and has been noted for her performances in a range of film genres; these include her work from contemporary...
, Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
, Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 2000. She is often referred to by the nickname "Piggy Chops", which was given to her by co-stars on the set of the film...
and more… She has also sung for legendary actress Rekha. She also sang for the comeback films of two leading Bollywood actresses, Kajol
Kajol
Kajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
, in Fanaa
Fanaa
Fanaa can refer to:* Fanaa , a part of Sufi philosophy* Fanaa , a film directed by Kunal Kohli* "Fanaa" , a popular song from the movie Yuva...
and Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, she established herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses and most accomplished dancers. She appeared in numerous commercially successful films and was recognised for several of...
, in Aaja Nachle
Aaja Nachle
The film's soundtrack was released on 18 October 2007 composed by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Piyush Mishra. A few songs from the final sequence of the movie have not been included on the soundtrack including "Yeh Ishq"....
.
She has won several awards—three Filmfare Awards, two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards
IIFA Best Female Playback Award
The IIFA Best Female Playback Award is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the ceremony.The winners are listed below:-- See also :* IIFA Awards* Bollywood* Cinema of India...
, Zee Cine Award and Kelvinator GR8! FLO Women Award 2009.
Salim Merchant
- Season 5 (2010)
Salim Merchant is all set to venture into the reality showbiz as one of the judges of Indian Idol 5. Salim is a music director and singer who has been composing music along with his brother Sulaiman Merchant for over a decade and together they are popularly known as ‘Salim-Sulaiman
Salim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...
’. They have scored music for movies such as Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year
Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year is a Hindi film directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Yash Raj Films. Screenplay of the film is by Jaideep Sahni, who collaborated with Shimit Amin for Chak De! India. Ranbir Kapoor, Shazahn Padamsee and Gauhar Khan play primary roles in the movie...
, Pyaar Impossible
Pyaar Impossible
Track listing...
, Kurbaan
Kurbaan
Kurbaan is an Indian Bollywood movie directed by Deepak Bahry, starring Salman Khan and Ayesha Jhulka. The film, which was released on May 31, 1991, marked the debut of Delhi girl Ayesha Jhulka....
, Neal 'n' Nikki
Neal 'n' Nikki
Neal 'n' Nikki is a Bollywood film, released in 2005 starring Uday Chopra, Tanisha Mukherjee, Susheel Parashara, Richa Pallod. It was produced by Yash Chopra and his son Aditya, and directed by Canadian-based director Arjun Sablok. The film was critically panned and also was a failure at the box...
, Chak De India
Chak De India
Chak De! India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey in India. It is directed by Shimit Amin, produced by Yash Raj Films, written by Jaideep Sahni, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team. After a disastrous loss...
, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Fashion
Fashion (film)
Fashion is a 2008 Indian film co-produced, co-written, and directed by Madhur Bhandarkar. The film has a massive star cast which includes Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and newcomers Mugdha Godse and Arjan Bajwa. Based on the dark side of the world of fashion, the movie depicts it through the...
to name a few.Salim and his elder brother Sulaiman have prepared an album for the FIFA world cup 2010 and would be present on the stage during the opening ceremony in South Africa.
Salim-Sulaiman started by composing background scores for the movies. Their tryst with Bollywood music direction began when Karan Johar
Karan Johar
Karan Johar is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and Television host. He is the son of Hiroo Johar and Yash Johar. He is one of the most successful filmmakers in Bollywood. He is most known for directing and producing some of Bollywood's highest grossing films in India and the...
’s movie ‘Kaal
Kaal
Kaal is a Bollywood Horror film, released in India on 29 April 2005. The movie is directed by Soham Shah, who also wrote its dialogue and screenplay. Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan produced the movie...
’, which was an instant hit. Since then there was no looking back for the Merchant brothers who went on to work with Bollywood’s biggest producers and directors such as Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
, Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai
Subhash Ghai is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. His most notable films include Kalicharan ,Karz , Hero , Meri Jung , Karma ,Ram Lakhan ,Saudagar , Khalnayak , Pardes and Taal...
, Ram Gopal Verma, and Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award-winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. He is best known for his films such as Chandni Bar , Page 3 , Traffic Signal , and Fashion...
among others.
Salim, who has learned music from the Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, has brought a global edge to Bollywood’s music world, to go with the changing face of the film industry. While his music has a deep resonance of classical music, it strikes a chord with the contemporary too. Infusing different themes like Western, Indian Folk
Indian folk music
Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity. It has many forms including bhangra, lavani, dandiya and Rajasthani. The arrival of movies and pop music weakened folk music's popularity, but cheaply recordable music has made it easier to find and helped revive the traditions...
, and Hindustani and Sufi
Sufi music
Sufi music is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, common in India and Pakistan...
into his music, he has a wide range of audiences across the globe.