It’s amazing how a singer can be at ease even in a language that isn’t known to him/her. Sure, there are lyrics to go by, but the pronunciation, the feel and the emotions that the song requires can only come through an understanding of the words, no matter the language. Talking about versatile singers who’ve gathered a massive fan following in Bollywood as well as the South Indian film industry, one name that comes to mind is SP Balasubramaniam. But in the last few years, there has been a demand for Bollywood singers to perform in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies, while a few were already into singing in several other languages from Punjabi to Oriya and Assamese, and that’s a feather in the cap, alright!
Sunidhi Chauhan
The Queen of Item Songs you can call her, but Sunidhi Chauhan has created a comfortable zone for herself in the industry. Rising to fame with “Ruki ruki si zindagi”in the Urmila Matondkar starrer Mast, she followed it up with “ Mehboob Mere” featuring Sushmita Sen, and Dhoom Machale, the biggest commercial hit of that year. She even has more subtle, quieter songs to her credit like “Kaisi Paheli” from Parineeta. Given her versatility, it’s not surprising that she’s got more than 25 films in Kannada and Tamil to her credit, apart from featuring in Punjabi and Marathi songs. Perhaps the biggest highlight is that she has also lent vocals in Pakistani films! Impressive
Alka Yagnik
If you’ve lived through the ninetees crooning the Ek Do Teen number a hundred times in a day, then you probably have Alka Yagnik’s voice stuck in your head. Starting off her career in 1980, she had huge hits like “Mere Angane Mein” from Laawaris and the film Hamari Bahu Alka. What’s commendable is that she holds the record for being the recipient of the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer seven times! In a career spanning three decades, she has sung in several languages including Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Manipuri, Nepali, Rajasthani, Bengali, Bhojpuri,Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, English Malayalam.
Abhijeet Bhattacharya
Best known by his first name, Abhijeet, was a household name in the 1990s after Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan. His Kishore-da style of singing in his unique style of course, won him critical acclaim. He’s got a slew of hits like “Ole Ole from Yeh Dillagi starring Saif Ali Khan, followed by films like Anjaam, Yes Boss, and more recently, Chalte Chalte. One could safely say his voice was perfectly suited for Shah Rukh Khan. His last collaboration with SRK was for Billu Barber, but he continues to produce one charrbusting hit after another.
Kunal Ganjawala
Ever since his television jingle “Doodh Doodh wonderful doodh” became a hit, he was a force to be reckoned with. Having sung in films like Saathiya, Khakee and Dhoom, Kunal rose to fame with his superb rendition of the song “Bheege Honth” in Murder. His first song in Kannada that was a huge hit among the masses was Önde Ondu Sari from the blockbuster Mungaru Male in 2006. Kunal is also known for his songs in Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, the most popular being “ Channa Ve Ghar Aaja Ve” from a Punjabi album.
Kavita Krishnamurthy
A legend in herself, Kavita has been the voice of many an actress starting as early as 1978. Interestingly, her debut song was in Kannada in the same year titled “Ondanandu Kaladalli” from the movie of the same name. Before she achieved her breakthrough in Bollywood in 1985 with “Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyun” from Pyar Jhukta Nahin, she worked for a few years with the hit music duo- Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata Mangeshkar. The 1990s put Kavita right on top of her contemporaries with hits like 1942: A Love Story, Agnisakshi, Khamoshi. She’s also widely known for her fusion music live performances along with husband L Subramaniam.
Udit Narayan
Ah, who can ever forget the romantic number “Pehla Nasha” from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander immortalized by Udit Narayan. Although he started his tryst with Bollywood in the early 80s, his biggest commercial success came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak along with Alka Yagnik in 1988 and Taal se Taal mila from the film Taal. He even won the Best Male Playback Singer award for a Tamil film Madarasapattinam! He’s also remembered for his Kannada hit song in 1999 “MTV Subbulakshmi ge..” from the film Upendra. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with scores of songs in Telugu and Malayalam too to his credit.
Sukhwinder Singh
With his iconic Chhaiya Chhaiya number from the movie Dil Se...Sukhwinder Singh had announced that he was here to stay, stay and rule. His more recent song that gave him international recognition was Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Apart from his regular chart busting dance numbers that he is known for, Sukhwinder Singh never failed to impress when it came to romantic ones too. With a few Tamil films to his credit, he is a recognised artiste in the industry down South too.
Shreya Ghoshal
This pretty young thing rose to limelight with her flawless rendition of the song Dola re Dola re from Devdas, and that was only her debut! She is also the recipient of several awards in the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries! Take that! Roped in by Sanjay Leela Bhansali after she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest on TV, Shreya has come a long long way from a reality show winner to a celebrity singer! Did you know that in the US State of Ohio, June 26 has been declared “Shreya Ghoshal Day”!
Sonu Nigam
When Sonu Nigam’s voice entered your head, you just knew it would stay there all day long, if not longer. His evergreen “Dil, yeh dil..”from Pardes will remain a top favorite among Sonu’s fans. With so many hits to his credit it’s hard to pull out a couple of them that are the best. Think of “Ab mujhe raat din’’ from Deewana (1999) or “Tenu Leke” from Salaam-e-Ishq, Sonu’s versatility shines through in every song. And to have a voice reminiscent of the late Mohammed Rafi is just the icing on the cake.
Kumar Sanu
The voice of Aashiqui in 1990, Kumar Sanu will forever remain as one of the most celebrated singers in Bollywood. His unforgettable hits in Saajan, Phool Aur Kaante, Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin are only a few that earned him a record five Film Fare awards for Best Playback Singer. Best known for his collaboration with the then hit music director duo Nadeem-Shravan, and his fellow singer Alka Yagnik. His association with Anu Malik brought him to the fore as a singer who can rock at a western-style song with his “Yeh Kaali Kaali aankhe” from Baazigar. He’s also known for his contribution to Bengali cinema.
Sunidhi Chauhan
The Queen of Item Songs you can call her, but Sunidhi Chauhan has created a comfortable zone for herself in the industry. Rising to fame with “Ruki ruki si zindagi”in the Urmila Matondkar starrer Mast, she followed it up with “ Mehboob Mere” featuring Sushmita Sen, and Dhoom Machale, the biggest commercial hit of that year. She even has more subtle, quieter songs to her credit like “Kaisi Paheli” from Parineeta. Given her versatility, it’s not surprising that she’s got more than 25 films in Kannada and Tamil to her credit, apart from featuring in Punjabi and Marathi songs. Perhaps the biggest highlight is that she has also lent vocals in Pakistani films! Impressive
Alka Yagnik
If you’ve lived through the ninetees crooning the Ek Do Teen number a hundred times in a day, then you probably have Alka Yagnik’s voice stuck in your head. Starting off her career in 1980, she had huge hits like “Mere Angane Mein” from Laawaris and the film Hamari Bahu Alka. What’s commendable is that she holds the record for being the recipient of the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer seven times! In a career spanning three decades, she has sung in several languages including Gujarati, Odia, Assamese, Manipuri, Nepali, Rajasthani, Bengali, Bhojpuri,Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, English Malayalam.
Abhijeet Bhattacharya
Best known by his first name, Abhijeet, was a household name in the 1990s after Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan. His Kishore-da style of singing in his unique style of course, won him critical acclaim. He’s got a slew of hits like “Ole Ole from Yeh Dillagi starring Saif Ali Khan, followed by films like Anjaam, Yes Boss, and more recently, Chalte Chalte. One could safely say his voice was perfectly suited for Shah Rukh Khan. His last collaboration with SRK was for Billu Barber, but he continues to produce one charrbusting hit after another.
Kunal Ganjawala
Ever since his television jingle “Doodh Doodh wonderful doodh” became a hit, he was a force to be reckoned with. Having sung in films like Saathiya, Khakee and Dhoom, Kunal rose to fame with his superb rendition of the song “Bheege Honth” in Murder. His first song in Kannada that was a huge hit among the masses was Önde Ondu Sari from the blockbuster Mungaru Male in 2006. Kunal is also known for his songs in Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, the most popular being “ Channa Ve Ghar Aaja Ve” from a Punjabi album.
Kavita Krishnamurthy
A legend in herself, Kavita has been the voice of many an actress starting as early as 1978. Interestingly, her debut song was in Kannada in the same year titled “Ondanandu Kaladalli” from the movie of the same name. Before she achieved her breakthrough in Bollywood in 1985 with “Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyun” from Pyar Jhukta Nahin, she worked for a few years with the hit music duo- Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata Mangeshkar. The 1990s put Kavita right on top of her contemporaries with hits like 1942: A Love Story, Agnisakshi, Khamoshi. She’s also widely known for her fusion music live performances along with husband L Subramaniam.
Udit Narayan
Ah, who can ever forget the romantic number “Pehla Nasha” from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander immortalized by Udit Narayan. Although he started his tryst with Bollywood in the early 80s, his biggest commercial success came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak along with Alka Yagnik in 1988 and Taal se Taal mila from the film Taal. He even won the Best Male Playback Singer award for a Tamil film Madarasapattinam! He’s also remembered for his Kannada hit song in 1999 “MTV Subbulakshmi ge..” from the film Upendra. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with scores of songs in Telugu and Malayalam too to his credit.
Sukhwinder Singh
With his iconic Chhaiya Chhaiya number from the movie Dil Se...Sukhwinder Singh had announced that he was here to stay, stay and rule. His more recent song that gave him international recognition was Jai Ho from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Apart from his regular chart busting dance numbers that he is known for, Sukhwinder Singh never failed to impress when it came to romantic ones too. With a few Tamil films to his credit, he is a recognised artiste in the industry down South too.
Shreya Ghoshal
This pretty young thing rose to limelight with her flawless rendition of the song Dola re Dola re from Devdas, and that was only her debut! She is also the recipient of several awards in the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries! Take that! Roped in by Sanjay Leela Bhansali after she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest on TV, Shreya has come a long long way from a reality show winner to a celebrity singer! Did you know that in the US State of Ohio, June 26 has been declared “Shreya Ghoshal Day”!
Sonu Nigam
When Sonu Nigam’s voice entered your head, you just knew it would stay there all day long, if not longer. His evergreen “Dil, yeh dil..”from Pardes will remain a top favorite among Sonu’s fans. With so many hits to his credit it’s hard to pull out a couple of them that are the best. Think of “Ab mujhe raat din’’ from Deewana (1999) or “Tenu Leke” from Salaam-e-Ishq, Sonu’s versatility shines through in every song. And to have a voice reminiscent of the late Mohammed Rafi is just the icing on the cake.
Kumar Sanu
The voice of Aashiqui in 1990, Kumar Sanu will forever remain as one of the most celebrated singers in Bollywood. His unforgettable hits in Saajan, Phool Aur Kaante, Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin are only a few that earned him a record five Film Fare awards for Best Playback Singer. Best known for his collaboration with the then hit music director duo Nadeem-Shravan, and his fellow singer Alka Yagnik. His association with Anu Malik brought him to the fore as a singer who can rock at a western-style song with his “Yeh Kaali Kaali aankhe” from Baazigar. He’s also known for his contribution to Bengali cinema.
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