Anup Jalota, (born 29 July 1953) is an Indian singer, musician and actor, best known for his contributions to the
Bhajan
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
genre of Indian Music. He is popularly known as the "Bhajan Samraat" (Emperor of Bhajans).
[CRY America Inc.(RDU Chapter)Anup Jalota Sings for CRY](_blank)
Rdu.cryamerica.org (26 July 1953). Retrieved 5 June 2012.
Padma Shri was conferred upon him by
Government of India in 2012. He was a contestant on the reality show ''
Bigg Boss 12''.
Early life and background
Anup Jalota was born in Nainital, Uttrakhand a renowned exponent of
bhajan
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
and hails from the Sham Chowrasi Gharana of Punjab. He was educated in
Lucknow's
Bhatkhande Music Institute. His father,
Purshottam Das Jalota, was also a prominent Bhajan singer. He also spent few years in
Savarkundla,
Gujarat in his early days. He has two younger brothers, Anil Jalota and Ajay Jalota and two sisters, Anjali Dhir and Anita Mehra. Ajay currently lives in
California.
Career
Jalota started his musical career as a chorus singer in
All India Radio. He is usually backed by a
santoor player,
dholak
The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in ''qawwali'', '' kirtan'', '' lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...
player,
sarod player,
sarangi player, violinist,
sitar player,
tabla player and guitarist. Some of his popular bhajans include Aisi Lagi Lagan, Main Nahi Makhan Khayo, Rang De Chunariya, Jag Me Sundar Hai Do Naam, and Chadariya Jhini Re Jhini. He was also the presenter of the program ''Dharam Aur Hum'', telecast in
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
from 2002 to 2005.
He met
Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in
Mumbai and agreed to release several CDs of his compositions. In 2008 he recorded the title song "Golden Memorable Yaadein" for the CD "Noorani Chehra", produced by Shaukat (Sam) Kassam to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...
.
On 16 September 2018, Jalota entered ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
'' house in its twelfth season, as a contestant, along with
Jasleen Matharu
''Bigg Boss 12'', also known as ''Bigg Boss: Vichitra Jodis'' is the twelfth season of the Indian reality TV series ''Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series), Bigg Boss'' which is based on the Dutch series ''Big Brother (franchise), Big Brother'', and pr ...
.
Personal life
Jalota's first marriage was to
Sonali Sheth, a
Gujarati girl who was then a music student and later a singer. They married without his family's approval. The couple became popular in the North Indian live performance circuit as "Anup and Sonali Jalota," which disbanded after their divorce.
His second marriage was an arranged one, to Bina Bhatia, which too ended in divorce. Anup's third marriage was to Medha Gujral, niece of former
Indian Prime Minister I. K. Gujral
Inder Kumar Gujral (4 December 1919 – 30 November 2012) was an Indian diplomat, politician and freedom activist who served as the 12th prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998.
Born in Punjab, he was influenced by nationalist ...
and director
Shekhar Kapur's first wife whom he had divorced in 1994. Anup and Medha have a son named Aryaman (born in 1996), who studied at
Princeton University. Medha died on 25 November 2014 in
New York City of renal failure following a second heart and first kidney transplant.
It came to light in 2018 that he had been in a relationship with
Bigg Boss 12 contestant Jasleen Matharu, who is thirty-seven years younger than him. They had been together at least three and a half years prior. However, after getting evicted from the house, Anup said their relationship was only of a teacher and student.
Discography
The popular Bhajans and ghazals for which he is credited the most are given below
* ''Aisi Lagi Lagan''
* ''Chaand Angdaiyaan Le Raha Hai''
* ''Tumhare Shahar Ka Mausam''
* ''Jag Mein Sundar Hai Do Naam''
* ''Kabhi Kabhi Bhagwan Ko Bhi''
* ''Tere Man Mein Raam''
* ''Main Nazar Se Pee Raha Hoon''
* ''Hum Se Achi to Kahin Aaine ki Khismat Hogi''
* ''Rukh Se Parda Hata De''
* ''La Pila De Saqiya''
* ''Shree Hanuman Chalisa''
* ''Noorani Chehra'' (Ismaili Devotional songs)
* ''Mere Kabr Par Pate Huye''
* ''Tum Kya Samjho Tum Kya Jano''
* ''Kategi Ye Zindagi Ab Rote Rote''
* ''Laga Chunari Mein Daag''
* ''Rang De Chunariya''
* ''Prabhuji Tum Chandan Hum Pani''
* ''Suraj ki Garmi Se''
* ''Bhajan prabhat''
* ''Devonix
'' with Kunal Saha
*''Hot and Spicy'' with
Sundar Popo
*''Bhagwan Mere Bhagwan''
with ''
Satyam Anandjee''
Tracks
Filmography
Television
Films
References
External links
MysticamusicHindi Bhajansof Anoop Jalota (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalota, Anup
1953 births
Living people
University of Lucknow alumni
Bhajan singers
Indian male ghazal singers
People from Nainital
Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts
20th-century Indian male singers
20th-century Indian singers
Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants
Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award