Top 10 Hindi Female Playback Singers
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One of the greatest playback singers in Bollywood history, Asha Bhosle has recorded over 10,000 songs for over 800 movies. Although every class (ghazals, pop, etc) of song was within her vocal range, her specialty was in sensual songs or Western-styled songs--she had an uncanny knack for making every actress for whom she sung, from Zeenat Aman to Urmila Matondkar, smolder on screen as never before.
Born on 8 September 1932, Asha, like her sister, the legendary Lata Mangeshkar, was trained by her father, Dinanath Mangeshkar, in classical music, and it was only a matter of time before she too turned to playback singing. She made her debut with the film Chunaria (1948), but it took her a long time to make it to the top. Between 1948 and 1957, she sang more songs than any other playback singer, but the majority of these were in small, indistinct films--and whatever big film she got a chance to sing in, it was usually for the heroine's best friend or in a duet with bigger singers like Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, or her own sister. And unfortunately having made an ill-advised marriage that alienated her from her family, she had no choice but to take up all available assignments to provide for her children.
However, in 1957, she got her big break with composer O.P. Nayyar in the films Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) and Naya Daur (1957). And 1958 saw the release of three of her films: Lajwanti (1958), Howrah Bridge (1958), and Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958); their hit songs took Asha right up to the top. Thereafter, she became Nayyar's premier singer until the early 1970s, and they created musical magic together, particularly in the films Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Mere Sanam (1965), Humsaya (1968), and Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974).
Initially Asha's singing style was initially reminiscent of Dutt's, but she soon overcame that and evolved her own distinctive style. Her voice possessed a lilting, versatile quality that could capture any song at any form or scale. By the end of the 1960s, she was second only to her sister, and the two of them were the queens of Indian playback singing right through to the 1990s. However, in spite of her incredible vocal range, she was getting typecast in singing sensual songs.
The 1970s saw her start a new relationship (which eventually became her second marriage) with composer Rahul Dev Burman - and so saw the birth of a great combination. A master of 1970s pop and disco music, Burman gave Asha a hip and happening sound altogether, and the two of them made their greatest hits with Haré Rama Haré Krishna (1971), Jawani Diwani (1972), Procession of Memories (1973), and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977). Unfortunately, she again got stereotyped, this time in singing mainly Western-styled songs.
However, in 1981, the composer Khayyam revealed another, more lyrical quality to Asha's voice. Their collaboration in the Urdu film Umrao Jaan (1981), where the songs were mostly poetry, reveal some of her finest songs. And Permission (1987), another such film, got her the National Award. Today, unlike her sister, she has remained active in playback singing--she still makes actresses sizzle in songs, most notably in the films Rangeela (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Taal (1999). She has also released several Indipop (Indian pop) music albums, and their success has reaffirmed Asha's.
Recently, she was nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World-Music Album. Even at 70, there is no stopping Asha Bhosle....- Music Artist
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Lata Mangeshkar was born in Indore on September 28, 1929, and became, quite simply, the most popular playback singer in Bollywood's history. She sung for over 50 years for actresses from Nargis to Preity G Zinta, as well as recorded albums of all kinds (ghazals, pop, etc). Until the 1991 edition, when her entry disappeared, the Guinness Book of World Records listed her as the most-recorded artist in the world with not less than 30,000 solo, duet,and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages between 948 and 1987. Today that number may have reached 40,000!
She was born the daughter of Dinanath Mangeshkar, the owner of a theater company and a reputed classical singer in his own right. He started giving Lata singing lessons from the age of five, and she also studied with renowned singers Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Khan. Even at a young age she displayed a God-given musical gift and could master vocal exercises the first time.
Ironically, for someone of her stature, she made her entry into Bollywood at the wrong time - around the 1940s, when bass singers with heavily nasal voices, such as Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum were in style. She was rejected from many projects because it was believed that her voice was too high-pitched and thin. The circumstances of her entry into the industry were no less inauspicious - her father died in 1942, the responsibility of earning income to support her family fell upon her, and between 1942 and 1948 she acted in as many as eight films in Hindi and Marathi to take care of economic hardships. She made her debut as a playback singer in the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942) but, ironically, the song was edited out!
However, in 1948, she got her big break with Ghulam Haider in the film Majboor (1948), and 1949 saw the release of four of her films: Mahal (1949), Dulari (1949), Barsaat (1949), and Andaz (1949); all four of them became runaway hits, with their songs reaching to heights of what was until then unseen popularity. Her unusually high-pitched singing rendered the trend of heavily nasal voices of the day totally obsolete and, within a year, she had changed the face of playback singing forever. The only two lower-pitched singers to survive her treble onslaught to a certain extent were Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum.
Her singing style was initially reminiscent of Noor Jehan, but she soon overcame that and evolved her own distinctive style. Her sister, Asha Bhosle, too, came up in the late 1950s and the two of them were the queens of Indian playback singing right through to the 1990s. Her voice had a special versatile quality, which meant that finally music composers could stretch their creative experiments to the fullest. Although all her songs were immediate hits under any composer, it was the composers C. Ramchandra and Madan Mohan who made her sound her sweetest and challenged her voice like no other music director.
The 1960s and 1970s saw her go from strength to strength, even as there were accusations that she was monopolizing the playback-singing industry. However, in the 1980s, she cut down her workload to concentrate on her shows abroad. Today, Lata sings infrequently despite a sudden resurgence in her popularity, but even today some of Hindi Cinema's biggest hits, including Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), and Veer-Zaara (2004) feature her legendary voice.
No matter which female playback singer breaks through in any generation, she cannot replace the timeless voice of Lata Mangeshkar. She was an icon beyond icons....- Music Artist
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Alisha Chinai was born on 18 March 1965 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. She is a music artist and actress, known for Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009), Bunty Aur Babli (2005) and Don (2006).- Music Artist
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Sunidhi is one of the most versatile singers of the country, with countless songs in her repertoire. For decades, she has ruled millions of hearts among the Bollywood Music Industry and still continues to do so. Starting out at a young age, she was always prepared to push the limits by taking up innovation in her career in every way possible. Sunidhi has represented our country in multiple prestigious international platforms, such as the Global Citizen Festival in New York, and has also judged, motivated, and guided upcoming talents in shows like The Voice and Indian Idol. One of the first Indian female artists to have a successful international collaboration with the popular singer Enrique Iglesias, to thinking outside the box and voicing the very famous animated character Elsa from the award-winning movie Frozen (In Hindi). Her countless awards and accolades are a testimony that she is not only one of the finest, most dynamic live performers in the country, but also one of the most loved. Grabbing each opportunity as a blank canvas, she makes sure she has created works of art that have left no stone unturned.- Music Artist
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Alka's musical career began at the age of six, when she started interpreting devotional songs for Calcutta Radio. She came to Mumbai at the age of 10, along with her mother to try her luck as a child singer. Eminent music directors Kalyanji Veerji Shah and Anandji Veerji Shah were impressed by her beautiful voice. However, they advised her to wait till her voice matured to become a full-fledged singer. Alka also received the same advice from renowned music composer Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and decided to wait for three more years.
Alka Yagnik began her Bollywood music career in 1979, with a few lines in Rajashri's "Payal Ki Jhankar." Even though her first full-fledged song was "Hum Tum Rahenge" for Rajesh Roshan in Hamari Bahu Alka (1982), her first appearance proved to be the mega hit "Mere Angne Mein." In an industry where big and already established names were ruling, it was not easy for anyone to even get noticed. But real talent never goes waste, and she finally got her big break nine years after entry through "Ek Do Theen, Char...," in Tezaab (1988). Today, the chart-topping songs of Alka Yagnik are a favorite of many.
Alka Yagnik's voice is the sound of many young-generation heroines of the present day. She has done playback-singing for many famous actresses such as Rakhee Gulzar, Hema Malini, Farida Jalal, Rekha, Kajol, and Preity G Zinta. Besides Hindi-language songs, she has also sung in Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Punjabi.- Music Artist
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Kavita Krishnamurthy was born on 25 January 1958 in New Delhi, India. She is a music artist and actress, known for Devdas (2002), Rockstar (2011) and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). She has been married to L. Subramaniam since 11 November 1999. They have one child.- Music Artist
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Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian playback singer. She has received five National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards including six for Best Female Playback Singer, nine Filmfare Awards South, three Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and many other awards. She has recorded songs for film music and albums in various Indian languages and has established herself as a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.
Ghoshal aspired to become a playback singer from an early age. At the age of four, she started learning music. At the age of six, she started her formal training in classical music. At the age of sixteen, she was noticed by film-maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali when she entered and won the television singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Following that, she made her Bollywood playback singing debut with Bhansali's romantic drama Devdas (2002) for which she received a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and a Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.
Apart from playback singing, Ghoshal has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows and she also appears in music videos. She performs in musical concerts around the world. She has been honored by the United States state of Ohio, where Gov. Ted Strickland declared 26 June 2010 as "Shreya Ghoshal Day". In April 2013, she was honoured in London by the selected members of House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She also featured five times in the Forbes list of the top 100 celebrities from India. In 2017, Ghoshal became the first Indian singer to have her wax figurine in Madame Tussauds Museum.
Her first ever recorded song was "Ganraj Rangi Nachato" which is a cover version of a Marathi song originally sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Her first studio album was Bendhechhi Beena, which was released on 1 January 1998, with 14 tracks. Some of her earlier albums are O Tota Pakhi Re, Ekti Katha (1999), and Mukhor Porag (2000). Ghoshal recorded Bengali studio album Rupasi Raate (2002). Ghoshal recorded devotional songs in albums like Banomali Re (2002), and later, Krishna Bina Ache Ke (2007).
In 2000, Bhansali and music director Ismail Darbar offered her the opportunity to be the voice of Paro, the lead female character of Devdas, who was portrayed by Aishwarya Rai. Ghoshal sang five songs in the film, namely, "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka", "Bairi Piya", "Chalak Chalak", "Morey Piya", and "Dola Re Dola", with established singers such as Kavita Krishnamurthy, Udit Narayan, Vinod Rathod, KK, and Jaspinder Narula. She was sixteen when she recorded the first song for the film, "Bairi Piya" with Udit Narayan. Her Higher Secondary Examinations were nearing that time and she would take her books and notebooks to the studio in order to study during downtime. "Bairi Piya" was an instant success and topped the charts. The film garnered her first Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Dola Re" (shared with Kavita Krishnamurthy) and a National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Bairi Piya". Her performance also won her the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.
In 2004, Ghoshal contributed to the soundtrack album of Thoda Tum Badlo Thoda Hum by performing four tracks, which were labelled with an "average" tag by Joginder Tuteja from Bollywood Hungama. However, he was "impressed" with Ghoshal's rendition from her songs in Khakee, where he affirmed that Ghoshal's voice suits Aishwarya Rai to the "core" and she "lends credibility to the entire song" in "Wada Raha". Besides, the two duets with Nigam; "Dil Dooba" and "Youn Hi Tum Mujhse", were equally favored by music critics. Further complimenting her vocals in the song "Hum Tumko Nigahon Mein" and "Soniye" from Garv, Tuteja asserted that Ghoshal's "vocals have started to suit the current breed of actresses better and better with each passing day". Apart from Dil Bechara Pyaar Ka Maara, Ghoshal worked with Nikhil-Vinay in other projects, by recording "Betab Dil Hai" from Phir Milenge, and "Woh Ho Tum" from Muskaan.
In 2006, Ghoshal sang "Pyaar Ki Ek Kahani", "Koi Tumsa Nahin" and "Chori Chori Chupke Chupke" for Rajesh Roshan-composed Krrish which were also favored by the critics. Reviewing the album, Bollywood Hungama wrote: "Ghoshal is extremely competent and justifies her continued presence in the big league". They also mentioned that Ghoshal has reached to a similar level of Alka Yagnik in terms of "class, quality and style".
In 2011, Ghoshal recorded hit duet song "Saibo" in film Shor in the City with Tochi Raina, a composition by Sachin-Jigar. Satyajit from Glamsham reported, "Sweetly toned and mesmerized with mellifluous flows of Shreya Ghoshal singing, the first outing "Saibo" is a smoothening surprise that extols the feel of romanticism to perfection". Later that year, Ghoshal sang the duet "Teri Meri" in film Bodyguard with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. A Himesh Reshamiya composition, the song received positive to mixed reviews. NDTV labelled the song as "moderately paced and average". Ghoshal later collaborated with Bappi Lahiri in the duet "Ooh La La" from film The Dirty Picture. Abid from Glamsham stated that Shreya Ghoshal manage to keep up the fun tempo with an improvised and highly entertaining and excellent renditions. Ghoshal received further two nominations that year at Filmfare Awards for songs "Saibo" and "Teri Meri.
In early 2013, Ghoshal sang two duet songs "Naino Mein Sapna" and "Taki O Taki" for film Himmatwala. The songs were originally composed by Bappi Lahri and re-created by Sajid-Wajid. Both songs received positive reviews from music critics. For "Naino Mein Sapna", critics of NDTV mentioned, "Ghoshal sounds tailormade for the track" and for "Taki Taki" they remarked, "Ghoshal proves yet again her mettle in the industry". For "Naino Mein Sapna", Shivi from Komoi stated, "Shreya Ghoshal replace Lata Mangeshkar and do a decent job". Ghoshal sang the female version of Sunn Raha Hai in Aashiqui 2 composed by Ankit Tiwari and written by Sandeep Nath. She garnered critical praise over Ankit Tiwari who sang the male version of the song. Apart from rendering vocals for A.R. Rahman composed "Banarasiya" in Raanjhanaa, Ghoshal lent her voice for duet "God, Allah aur Bhagwan" in Krrish 3 alongside Sonu Nigam. Though the former song was met with largely positive reviews, the latter was poorly received. Ghoshal next performed two tracks in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela namely "Dhoop" and "Nagada Sang Dhol" both composed by the director of film, Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She earned positive to mixed response for former and mostly positive reviews for the latter. Mohar Basu of Koimoi stated in regards to "Dhoop", "Shreya Ghoshal's voice croons hauntingly and this song evokes a range of deep emotions. Passionately sung and flatteringly themed, this song makes evident the reason why Ghoshal can be compared to music veterans of the industry." Ghoshal received two Filmfare nominations for songs "Sunn Raha Hai" and "Nagada Sang Dhol" that year.
In 2014, Ghoshal recorded three songs for film PK namely the solo "Nanga Punga Dost" and duets "Chaar Kadam" and "Love is a Waste of Time" with Shaan and Sonu Nigam respectively. Later in the same year, she sang the duet "Manwa Laage" with Arijit Singh for film Happy New Year composed by Vishal-Shekhar duo and written by Irshad Kamil. Surabhi Redkar of Koimoi stated, "Shreya Ghoshal's voice brings out the mush in you." After its release, "Manwa Laage" crossed one million views within 21 hours and two millions views in 48 hours on YouTube worldwide. Ghoshal got another nomination at Filmfare Awards for the song.
In 2017, Ghoshal also sang "Thodi Der" duet with co-singer and music director Farhan Saeed for the film Half Girlfriend. She received a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer nomination for the song. Komoi stated, "Ghoshal's voice as sweet as honey mesmerizes the listener in Thodi Der". Glamsham reported, "Ghoshal is simply fantastic and [song] can be put on repeat mode". In the same year, Ghoshal sang two songs in fifth episode of Mixtape, a web series launched by T-Series for which she received positive response. Ghoshal's four Kannada songs were included in The Times of India list of "10 Best Romantic Songs of 2017", which are "Usire Usire" from Hebbuli, "Ondu Malebillu" from Chakravarthy, "Ninna Snehadinda" from Mugulu Nage and "Chippinolagade" from Maasthi Gudi. Her Telgu song "Blockbuster" from Sarrainodu was voted as number one in 10 Best Party Songs of 2017 by the same.- Music Department
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Usha Uthup was born on 7 November 1947 in Bombay, State of Bombay, India. She is an actress, known for 7 Khoon Maaf (2011), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001) and Kahaani (2012).- Music Artist
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Nikhita Gandhi was born on 2 October 1991 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. She is a music artist and actress, known for Raabta (2017), Arjun Reddy (2017) and Tiger 3 (2023).- Music Artist
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Shilpa Rao was born on 11 April 1984 in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. She is a music artist and composer, known for War (2019), Pathaan (2023) and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016). She is married to Ritesh Krishnan.