Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
films. He shot to fame with the film ''
Dev.D
''Dev.D'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic black comedy film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel ''Devdas'', previously ada ...
'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the name "Band Master Rangeela And Rasila". He also lent his voice to this song with Amit Trivedi. He has been continuously writing lyrics for a variety of Bollywood movies since then and has also sung a few of them. Bhattacharya has also maintained a close association with
Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 2008 ...
since their first film ''
Aamir''. He has written the lyrics or sang for most of the film albums composed by the latter. His lyrics have been variously described as "frillfree"
and "smartly worded".
A National Award-winning lyricist, he has won the National Award for the song "Agar Zindagi" from the film ''
I Am
I Am or I'm may refer to:
Language and literature
* "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name
** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible
* "I Am" (po ...
''. He won his first
Filmfare
''Filmfare'' is an Indian English language, English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of Indian most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, r ...
award for the song "
Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin
"Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin" () is a song from the film '' Agneepath'', sung by Sonu Nigam, with music by Ajay–Atul and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and was picturized on Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra. This song describes many feelings in a s ...
" in 2012.
In his song-writing career he has won highest number of awards, precisely 9, for the song "
Channa Mereya
Channa Mereya () is an Indian Urdu song from the Bollywood film ''Ae Dil Hai Mushkil''. The song is penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam and sung by Arijit Singh. It was released on 29 September 2016 by Sony Music India.
The ly ...
" to date.
Notable works
Some of his written songs are "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin", "
Channa Mereya
Channa Mereya () is an Indian Urdu song from the Bollywood film ''Ae Dil Hai Mushkil''. The song is penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam and sung by Arijit Singh. It was released on 29 September 2016 by Sony Music India.
The ly ...
", "
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
''Ae Dil Hai Mushkil'' (), also known as ''ADHM'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film directed, produced and written by Karan Johar. The music is composed by Pritam with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Ra ...
", "Bulleya", "
Kabira", "
Balam Pichkari
Balam Pichkari is a Hindi song from the 2013 Bollywood film, ''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'', with music composed by Pritam, Pritam Chakraborty, lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya, and sung by Shalmali Kholgade & Vishal Dadlani. The music video of the ...
", "Badtameez Dil", "
Mast Magan
Mast Magan () is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, '' 2 States''. Composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, the song is sung by Arijit Singh and Chinmayi, with lyrics penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The music video of the track fe ...
", "
Raabta", "Zehnaseeb", "
Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin
"Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin" () is a song from the film '' Agneepath'', sung by Sonu Nigam, with music by Ajay–Atul and lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and was picturized on Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra. This song describes many feelings in a s ...
", "
Naina", "Khairiyat", "Manja", "
Janam Janam" , "Zinda Hoon", "
Gerua
Gerua () is a Hindi song from the 2015 Indian film '' Dilwale''. The song was written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam Chakraborty, and sung by Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra. The song's music video stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. ...
", "
Zaalima
"Zaalima" () is an Indian Hindi song from the Bollywood film '' Raees''. The song is written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by JAM8 and sung by Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur. The music video of the song is picturised upon actors Shah Ruk ...
", "Sapna Jahan", "Sweetheart", "Namo Namo" "
Ghar More Pardesiya", "First Class", "Kalank Title Track", "
Param Sundari
"Param Sundari" () is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language song composed by A. R. Rahman for the film '' Mimi''. Based on the Marathi film '' Mala Aai Vhhaychy!'' (2011) by Samruddhi Porey, the film was directed by Laxman Utekar and starred Kriti San ...
" etc.
Early life and struggles
Bhattacharya was born into a
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
family. He completed his schooling from Spring Dale College, Indira Nagar,
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
in 1995 and completed his Graduation from
Lucknow University
The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...
in 1999 before venturing out to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
for becoming a singer.
In a prolific interview given to the "
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
" in 2013, Bhattacharya said that he migrated to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
from
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
harbouring dreams of becoming a singer fourteen years ago (1999). He stood in the long queues in front of music composers' office and gave them demo "Audio Cassettes" to listen to him. But it didn't bear any fruit.
He went up to music composer & director
Pritam Chakraborty
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye (fi ...
. It was Pritam who gave him work and allowed him to assist.
During his struggling days, he started writing
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
for Advertisement jingles to lower his frustration of not getting work. He learned the art of song-writing during those struggling days.
In the year 2004, when his friend
Amartya Rahut introduced him to music composer
Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 2008 ...
, Trivedi and Rahut, who often composed music for television channels, took Bhattacharya as a dummy singer to give presentations of his music. Trivedi also urged him to write rough lyrics. While writing lyrics, Bhattacharya discovered that he had an innate talent of giving words to tunes. Over the years, Trivedi and Bhattacharya became good friends.
His major breakthrough came when Trivedi was working upon the music of
Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
's
Dev.D
''Dev.D'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic black comedy film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel ''Devdas'', previously ada ...
, Trivedi insisted Bhattacharya to write rough lyrics. Bhattacharya wrote the lyrics for the songs of Dev.D, and most of its major songs became a hit, thus nearly ending 8 years of his struggle for recognition.
Filmography
As lyricist
As playback singer
Film producer
*
The Film
The Film is a 2005 Indian thriller film directed by Junaid Memon also produced along with Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Mahima Chaudhry, Khalid Siddiqui, Ananya Khare, Chahat Khanna, Ravi Gossain, Vaibhav Jhalani and Vivek Madan in lea ...
(2005)
Awards
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Amitabh
Hindi-language lyricists
Indian male playback singers
Singers from Lucknow
Bollywood playback singers
Bengali musicians
Living people
Indian lyricists
21st-century Indian singers
1977 births
Best Lyrics National Film Award winners
21st-century Indian male singers