Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer.
He sings predominantly in
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 ...
and
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
, but has also performed in various other
Indian languages.
He is the recipient of a
National Award
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...
and six
Filmfare Awards. He is often cited as one of the best singers in the Indian music industry, and has established a huge fan base throughout
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...
, predominantly in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. He is also known as the "King of Playback Singing".
Singh began his career when he participated in the contemporary reality show, ''
Fame Gurukul
Fame Gurukul was an Indian reality show on Sony Entertainment Television which premiered on 27 June 2005. The program was produced by the same production house of '' Indian Idol''. The concept of the show was to select a pair of India's best si ...
'' in 2005, but didn't receive widespread recognition before the release of "
Tum Hi Ho
"Tum Hi Ho" () is an Indian Hindi-language romantic song from the 2013 Indian movie ''Aashiqui 2'', sung by Arijit Singh. It was composed and written by Mithoon. Picturised on Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, it was released by Bhushan Ku ...
" and "
Chahun Main Ya Naa" in 2013.
He was declared the most-streamed Indian artist of 2020 and 2021 by
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
. He was the most followed Asian soloist on
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
Early life
Arijit Singh was born on 25 April 1987
in
Jiaganj
Jiaganj Azimganj is a city and a municipality in Murshidabad district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
Location
Jiaganj and Azimganj- the two towns located on opposite sides of the Baghirathi River, Jiaganj (Ziaganj) on the eas ...
,
Murshidabad
Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district.
Durin ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
to Kakkar Singh, a
Punjabi Sikh father
and Aditi Singh, 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 ...
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
mother.
His paternal family came from
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
during the
Partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
.
He began his music training at a very young age at home. His maternal aunt trained in
Indian classical music, and his maternal grandmother used to sing. His maternal uncle played the
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
, and his mother also sang and played the tabla. He studied at
Raja Bijay Singh High School and later at the
Sripat Singh College, a
University of Kalyani
The University of Kalyani, established in 1960, is a Government of West Bengal administered, UGC affiliated, NAAC accredited, collegiate Public Research university in Kalyani, West Bengal, India. It offers courses at the Undergraduate, Pos ...
affiliate.
According to him he "was a decent student, but cared more about music" and his parents decided to train him professionally. He was taught
Indian classical music by Rajendra Prasad Hazari and trained in tabla by Dhirendra Prasad Hazari. Birendra Prasad Hazari taught him
Rabindra Sangeet
''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in ...
(songs written and composed by
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
) and
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
.
At the age of three, he started training under the Hazari brothers, and at the age of nine, he got a scholarship from the government for training in
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
in Indian classical music.
Growing up, he listened to
Mozart,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
and
Bengali classical music. He idolized musicians like
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala gharana.[Ustad Rashid Khan
Ustad Rashid Khan (born 1 July 1968) is an Indian classical musician in the Hindustani music tradition. He belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, and is the great-grandson of gharana founder Inayat Hussain Khan. He is married to Soma Khan. ...]
,
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
and Anand Chatterjee, and enjoyed listening to
Kishore Kumar,
Hemant Kumar
Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
, and
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhe ...
.
Early career
Singh's musical career began when his guru Rajendra Prasad Hazari, who felt that "
Indian classical music was a dying tradition", insisted him to leave his hometown and participate in the reality show ''Fame Gurukul'' (2005) at the age of 18.
He was eliminated by audience polling, finishing in sixth place.
During the show, filmmaker
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (; born 24 February 1963) is an Indian filmmaker, director, screenwriter, and music composer who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfar ...
recognized his talent and had him sing "Yun Shabnami" a song scheduled to be used in his upcoming film ''
Saawariya
''Saawariya'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romance film produced and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1848 short story ''White Nights''. The film marked the debut of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor. Rani M ...
''. During production, the script changed and the song was no longer required. It was never released.
After the ''Fame Gurukul'', Kumar Taurani, the head of
Tips, signed him for an album which was never released.
He participated in another reality show ''10 Ke 10 Le Gaye Dil'' and won.
He chose to move to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
in 2006 to
freelance, staying in a rented room in the
Lokhandwala area of the city.
He invested the prize money of ₹''10 Lakh'' from ''10 ke 10 Le Gaye Dil'' to build his recording studio.
He became a
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and began composing music and singing pieces for advertisements, news channels and radio stations.
Singh spent a part of his early musical career as a music programmer and music producer for music directors such as
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy,
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
,
Mithoon
Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer.
Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...
,
Monty Sharma
Monty Sharma (born 17 April 1970) is a music composer from India scoring music for Bollywood. He is popular for being the background music composer for ''Black'' (2005), '' Ram-Leela'' (2013) and music director for ''Saawariya'' (2007). He is cou ...
and
Pritam
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. ...
. While working with other composers he supervised the
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
, and the chorus sections, but it was while working with
Pritam
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. ...
, that he began to produce and program music by himself.
Career
2010–13: Early releases and ''Aashiqui 2''
In 2010, Singh started working with
Pritam
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. ...
on three films—''
Golmaal 3
''Golmaal 3'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and the third film in the '' Golmaal series''. The film contains an ensemble cast starring Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Mithun Chakraborty, Kareena Kapoor ...
'', ''
Crook
Crook is another name for criminal.
Crook or Crooks may also refer to:
Places
* Crook, County Durham, England, a town
* Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish
* Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England
* Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...
'' and ''
Action Replayy''.
He started with singing scratches in the
Telugu Film Industry with the 2010 film
Kedi with the song "Neeve Na Neeve Na" composed by
Sandeep Chowta
Sandeep Chowta is an Indian music director who primarily works in Bollywood and Telugu cinema. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs.
In 2003, he produced an anti substance abuse documentary, titl ...
. In 2011, Singh made his
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 ...
musical debut with the
Mithoon
Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer.
Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...
composition, "Phir Mohabbat" from ''
Murder 2'', which though he recorded it in 2009 was released in 2011.
The same year, when he was programming for the song "
Raabta" from ''
Agent Vinod'' (2012), Pritam asked him to sing as well.
The part was retained in all four versions of the song, and he was made to sing the entire composition in one of the versions.
Apart from ''
Agent Vinod'', Singh dubbed for Pritam in three, other films released during the year: ''
Players'', ''
Cocktail'' and, ''
Barfi!
''Barfi!'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as the eponymous lead, alongside ...
''.
He also sang for
Chirantan Bhatt
Chirrantan Bhatt is an Indian musician, composer and singer. He is active in the Indian film industry, Bollywood, and has also composed music for Telugu films. He is best nown for his melody compositions.
He is a member of the Gujarati Bhatt ...
in ''
1920: Evil Returns'' for the song "
Uska Hi Banana
''1920: The Evil Returns'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language horror film written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Bhushan Patel. The film is a quasi-sequel to a 2008 film ''1920'', second of the 1920 (film series), and stars Aftab Shivdasani, T ...
". ''Glamsham'' in its review of the song "Uska Hi Banana" wrote that Singh had sung the song intensely, emotionally and passionately and at a very high
pitch.
He sang on
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
's composition "
Duaa" in the film ''
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
''. It won him the
Mirchi Music Award for Upcoming Male Playback Singer award. He was nominated in the same category for "Phir Le Aya Dil" from ''Barfi!''.
Singh's breakthrough came in ''
Aashiqui 2
''Aashiqui 2'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical drama film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the Vishesh Films and T-Series Films, with Mahesh Bhatt serving as ...
'' where he was a lead and key vocalist and came to prominence with the release of the song "
Tum Hi Ho
"Tum Hi Ho" () is an Indian Hindi-language romantic song from the 2013 Indian movie ''Aashiqui 2'', sung by Arijit Singh. It was composed and written by Mithoon. Picturised on Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, it was released by Bhushan Ku ...
" from the movie. The song won him several awards and nominations including
Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award is given by Indian film magazine ''Filmfare'' as a 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. ...
.
In the same year his 3 songs from Telugu movie
Swamy ra ra were also gained popularity.
Singh continued to work with Pritam, singing "
Dilliwaali Girlfriend", "
Kabira" and "
Ilahi" for ''
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (), also abbreviated as ''YJHD'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ayan Mukerji, written by Mukerji and Hussain Dalal, and produced by Karan Johar. It stars Ranbir ...
''. Other than singing the encore version of "Kabira", he was the music producer of the track along with "
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 ...
" from the same film. Singh sang the song for ''
Phata Poster Nikhla Hero
''Phata Poster Nikhla Hero'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film features Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles, and was released on 20 September 2013 to a mixed to positive ...
'' titled "
Main Rang Sharbaton Ka", also a composition by Pritam, as well as his song "Dhoka Dhadi" for ''
R... Rajkumar''.
He sang for
Shah Rukh Khan in the song "Kashmir Main Tu Kanyakumari" from ''
Chennai Express'' which was composed by Vishal–Shekhar. Apart from rendering the duet version of "
Har Kisi Ko" from ''
Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
'' along with
Neeti Mohan
Neeti Mohan (born 18 November 1979) is an Indian singer. She sings mainly in Hindi and few Tamil films, but has also done songs in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, and English. Born in Delhi, she was one of the winners of the Channel ...
, the year marked his collaboration with
Sharib–
Toshi on the song "
Kabhi Jo Baadal Barse" from ''
Jackpot'', and with Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the
semi-classical number, "
Laal Ishq" from ''
Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram-Leela''. Later, Singh picked "Kabhi Jo Baadal Barse" as one of his favorite songs, he chose "Tose Naina" from ''
Mickey Virus'' as "closest to his heart".
2014
In 2014, Singh got the chance to work with two of his favourite music directors,
Sajid–Wajid
Sajid–Wajid was an Indian Bollywood Hindi film music director duo consisting of brothers Sajid Khan and Wajid Khan, the sons of Sharafat Ali Khan, a tabla player.
Wajid Khan, the younger of the two brothers, died on June 1, 2020. Since th ...
and
A. R. Rahman.
He performed two tracks on ''
Main Tera Hero
''Main Tera Hero'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic action comedy film, directed by David Dhawan and produced by Shobha Kapoor
Shobha Kapoor (born 1 February 1949) is an Indian television, film and web series producer. She is ...
'' and the song "
Raat Bhar" from ''
Heropanti
''Heropanti'' () is an 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon in their Hindi film debuts alongside Prakash Raj in a supporting rol ...
'' for Sajid-Wajid, and dubbed the Hindi version of the song "
Medhuvaagathaan" from ''
Kochadaiiyaan
''Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language 3D animated action film written by K. S. Ravikumar and directed by Soundarya Rajinikanth. It is India's first photorealistic motion capture film, featuring characters whose de ...
'' titled "Dil Chaspiya" for A. R. Rahman. He rendered three re-mixed songs
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 200 ...
's "Hungama Ho Gaya", a song for ''
Yaariyan'',
Sharib-
Toshi's "
Samjhawan" for ''
Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania'', and "
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 ...
" for ''
2 States'', as well as "Jiya" for ''
Gunday
''Gunday'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action drama film written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra. The film features Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. Set in ...
'', and
Arko Pravo Mukherjee's "Aaj Phir" for ''
Hate Story 2''. Singh worked with
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
, recording two songs from ''
Haider'' and with
Sachin–Jigar
Sachin–Jigar is an Indian music composer duo consisting of Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya. They compose for Hindi and Gujarati language films. They have scored a number of successful soundtracks in recent times. Before working independently ...
on "Jaise Mera Tu" in ''
Happy Ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated.
In storylines where the protago ...
''. The year marked his collaboration with many other music directors including
Tony Kakkar
Tony Kakkar (born 9 April 1984) is an Indian singer known for his cringe pop songs. Kakkar made his debut in Bollywood in 2012, as a music director with the film '' Mr. Bhatti on Chutti'', for which he composed the song "Good Boys Bad Boys". He ...
and
Palak Muchhal
Palak Muchhal (born 30 March 1992) is an Indian singer and lyricist from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. She and her younger brother Palash Muchhal perform stage shows across India and abroad to raise funds for the poor children who need financial as ...
. During the year, he provided vocals for Mithoon on "Humdard" for ''
Ek Villain'' and "Hai Dil Ye Mera" for ''Hate Story 2''. He worked with Vishal–Shekhar on "
Manwa Laage
"Manwa Laage" () is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, ''Happy New Year''. Composed by Vishal–Shekhar, the song is sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Arijit Singh, with lyrics penned by Irshad Kamil. The music video of the track ...
" for ''
Happy New Year'', and with
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy on "Sajde" for ''
Kill Dil
''Kill Dil'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic action comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Ali Zafar and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles with Gov ...
''. He sang two songs on Sharib-Toshi's ''
Zid'', and on three tracks for Pritam Chakraborty's ''
Holiday'' which was arranged by Singh himself.
Jeet Gannguli
Jeet Gannguli (, born Chandrajeet Ganguly, on 24 May 1977), is an Indian score composer of Bengali and Hindi movies.
Early life and education
Born in a Bengali Brahmin family, Gannguli was initiated into the world of music at the age of thr ...
's song ''
Muskurane
Muskurane () is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, '' CityLights''. Composed by Jeet Gannguli, the song is sung by Arijit Singh, with lyrics penned by Rashmi Singh. The music video of the track features actors Rajkummar Ra ...
'' garnered him the most nominations for the year, while he received two Filmfare nominations for "
Suno Na Sangemarmar" and the
Sufi song "Mast Magan". Singh picked "Gulon Mein Rang Bhare"—originally sung by
Mehdi Hassan and re-written for ''Haider'' by Vishal Bhardwaj—as his favorite track of the year.
2015
Singh made his Tamil debut in 2015 with the song "Neeye Vaazhkai Enbena" from the film ''
Pugazh
''Pugazh'' () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Manimaran and co-produced by Varun Manian. The film stars Jai and Surbhi, while Karunas, RJ Balaji, G. Marimuthu, and Piraisoodan play supporting roles ...
''. He also provided vocals for the Dance song "
Sooraj Dooba Hain" from ''
Roy
Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin.
In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...
'', which was composed by
Amaal Mallik
Amaal Mallik (born 16 June 1990) is an Indian music director, composer, singer, music producer, arranger, background scorer, performer and lyricist. He is the elder son of Daboo Malik and Jyothi Malik, and grandson of Sardar Malik. He debute ...
, and written by
Kumaar. It was dubbed the "Party Anthem of the Year". During the year he sang a duet "Agar Tum Saath Ho" with
Alka Yagnik, from the movie ''
Tamasha
Tamasha ( mr, तमाशा) is a traditional form of Marathi theatre, often with singing and dancing, widely performed by local or travelling theatre groups within the state of Maharashtra, India."Tamasha", in James R. Brandon and Martin Banham ...
'' which is composed by A. R. Rahman and written by
Irshad Kamil
Irshad Kamil (born 5 September 1971) is an Indian poet and lyricist. His songs appear in Bollywood films including ''Jab We Met'', '' Chameli'', '' Love Aaj Kal'', '' Rockstar'', ''Aashiqui 2, Raanjhanaa, Highway, Tamasha,'' and ''Jab Harry Me ...
. He worked again with Amaal Mallik on the song "Khwaishein" from ''
Calendar Girls
''Calendar Girls'' is a 2003 British comedy film directed by Nigel Cole. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, it features a screenplay by Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi, based on a true story of a group of middle-aged Yorkshire women who produ ...
''. Apart from dubbing the Hindi version of the song "
Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal
"''Pookkalae Sattru Oyivedungal''" (Tamil script: , ) is a romantic Tamil song from the 2015 Tamil film, '' I''. Composed by A. R. Rahman, the song is sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Haricharan, with lyrics penned by Madhan Karky. The music video ...
" from Rahman's ''
I'', along with
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards ...
, Singh teamed up with Gannguli and Bobby–Imran for ''
Khamoshiyan
''Khamoshiyan'' (stylised as ''KHAMOSHIYAN'': Silences Have Secrets) () is a 2015 Indian romantic thriller horror film, written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by debutant, Karan Darra. Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt produced the film in associat ...
'', where he performed the film's title song. He sang "
Baatein Ye Kabhi Na" for Gannguli and "Tu Har Lamha" for Bobby-Imran.
He collaborated with Gannguli on two other projects; "Teri Khushboo" for ''
Mr. X'' and the title track for ''
Hamari Adhuri Kahani''. Besides working with Chirantan Bhatt on "Teri Meri Kahaani" and Sachin–Jigar on "Chunar", he worked with some new composers like Bann Chakraborty, Khamosh Shah, Jatinder Shah, and
Manj Musik
Manjeet Singh Ral ( Punjabi: ਮਨਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਰਾਲ, born 24 January 1975), better known by his stage-name Manj Musik, is a British Indian composer, singer and Filmi scorer. He was one of the music composer for the bhangra mu ...
. Moreover, Singh recorded a reprise version of
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Governme ...
's 1999 song "Deewana Tera" for ''
Ek Paheli Leela
''Ek Paheli Leela'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller drama film, written and directed by Bobby Khan and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. It stars Sunny Leone in the titular lead role with Jay Bhanushali, Rajnee ...
''. The year marked the first collaboration between Singh and
Himesh Reshammiya, on the song "Baaton Ko Teri" from ''
All Is Well''. He voiced Bhardwaj in "Shaam Ke Saaye" and "Kya Pataa" for ''
Talvar'' and ''
Drishyam
''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and N ...
'' respectively, and he performed ''
Phantom
Phantom may refer to:
* Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things
** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living
Aircraft
* Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...
''s "Saware" and "Sooiyan" from ''
Guddu Rangeela''. As well as recording soundtracks, Singh released his second promotional single during the year. Titled, "Chal Waha Jaate Hain", the song is composed by Mallik and features
Tiger Shroff
Jai Hemant "Tiger" Shroff (born 2 March 1990) is an Indian actor and martial artist known for his work in the Indian cinema. He is best known for his Baaghi action franchise, ''Heropanti'' (2014) and ''War'' (''2019''). He has featured in For ...
and
Kriti Sanon
Kriti Sanon (born 27 July 1990) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Telugu-language films. After pursuing a degree in engineering from the Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, she briefly worked as a fashion model. Sanon began ...
. Singh also made his
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
debut with the song "Yaar Illahi – Qawwali" from the film ''
Katyar Kaljat Ghusali''.
In 2015,
Chinmayi Sripada recorded a romantic duet titled "Sooiyan", written by Irshad Kamil and Amit Trivedi, with Singh for the Bollywood film ''
Guddu Rangeela''. Arijit was the lead vocalist on the soundtrack of the 2015 film ''
Dilwale'' singing "Janam Janam". He sang the duet song "
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. ...
" composed by Pritam and written by
Amitabh Bhattacharya
Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...
with Antara Mitra featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the music video, which received a good response. He sang the dance song "Tukur Tukur" on the movie ''Dilwale'' also composed by Pritam and written by Bhattacharya which was also well received.
Arijit completed shooting for his directorial debut in 2015. Titled ''Bhalobasar Rojnamcha'', it is 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 ...
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
compiled with seven
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s. Co-written by Singh, a work-in-progress version of the film has been sent to some film festivals abroad.
2016
In early 2016, Singh sang "Yeh Fitoor Mera" written by
Swanand Kirkire
Swanand Kirkire ( Marathi: स्वानंद किरकिरे) (born 29 April 1972) is an Indian lyricist, playback singer, writer, assistant director, actor and dialogue writer, both in television with Marathi and Hindi films.
Kirkire ...
composed by
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 200 ...
. ''Firstpost'' in its review spoke positively of the song calling it a trademark song from the ''
Fitoor
''Fitoor'' (''Madness, Obsession, Passion'') is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Abhishek Kapoor, produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, and written by Kapoor and Supratik Sen based on Charles Dickens' 1861 novel ''Grea ...
'' album. Firstpost also commended Singh's singing. Singh made his
Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
debut with the song "Satrangi Re" from the film ''
Wrong Side Raju''.
Some of his noteworthy Hindi songs of 2016 included "
Soch Na Sake" which is a duet with
Tulsi Kumar
Tulsi Kumar Dua popularly known as Tulsi Kumar is an Indian playback singer, radio jockey, musician, and actress in the Bollywood industry. She was born to businessman Gulshan Kumar who was the owner of T Series and Great Singer and his wife ...
from the movie ''Airlift'', composed by Amaal Mallik written by Kumaar, "
Sanam Re" the title track of the movie ''
Sanam Re,'' composed and written by
Mithoon
Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer.
Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...
, "
Bolna" from the movie ''
Kapoor and Sons'',
and "Itni Si Baat Hain", a duet with
Antara Mitra
Antara Mitra (born 10 July 1987) is an Indian playback singer. Mitra came to limelight when she became a contestant in the popular singing reality show '' Indian Idol 2'' in 2006. Mitra become more well-known and got recognition after the relea ...
, composed by Pritam Chakraborty and written by Manoj Yadav.
Singh was the key vocalist on the ''
Raaz Reboot'' soundtrack and sang "Lo Maan Liya" composed by
Jeet Ganguly
Jeet Gannguli (, born Chandrajeet Ganguly, on 24 May 1977), is an Indian score composer of Bengali and Hindi movies.
Early life and education
Born in a Bengali Brahmin family, Gannguli was initiated into the world of music at the age of thr ...
written by
Kausar Munir
Kausar Munir is an Indian lyricist and screen writer in Bollywood.
Biography
Munir was born and brought up in Bandra, Mumbai. She graduated in English Literature from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai.
Munir married actor Nirmal Pandey in 1997 bu ...
from it. He also sang the haunting melody "Raaz Aakhein Teri" and "Yaad Hain Na" from the same film.
He sang the duet "
Dharkhaast" from the film, ''
Shivaay
''Shivaay'' is a 2016 action thriller film directed and produced by Ajay Devgn under his banner Ajay Devgn FFilms. The story and screenplay are written by Sandeep Shrivastava and the film stars Ajay Devgn in the lead titular role along with de ...
'' with
Sunidhi Chauhan, the music is composed by Mithoon the lyrics are penned by
Sayeed Quadri
Sayeed Quadri is an Indian lyricist and poet who works in Bollywood. He was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He won the Best Lyricist award at the 6th IIFA Awards for ''Murder'', and Standout Performance by Lyricist at the Stardust Awards 2005 for ...
. ''
Daily News and Analysis
''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of new ...
'' in their review of song "Dharkhaast" commended Singh and Sunidhi's singing.
As the key vocalist on the film ''
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 star ...
'' Singh sang the popular the title track "
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 star ...
" composed by Pritam Chakraborty and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. He also sang "
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 ...
", which garnered over 110 million views.
He rendered another chartbuster hit "
Nashe Si Chadh Gayi
"Nashe Si Chadh Gayi" () is an Indian dance song sung by Arijit Singh with the French vocals provided by Caralisa Monteiro. The music is composed by Vishal–Shekhar and the lyrics are penned by Jaideep Sahni and the french lyrics penned by C ...
" from ''
Befikre''. The promotional video for the song garnered over 330 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
.
He also sang "
Naina" from ''
Dangal'' at the end of 2016.
In its review,
Zee News
Zee News is an Indian Hindi-language news channel owned by Subhash Chandra's Essel Group. It launched on 27 August 1999 and is the flagship channel of the Zee Media Corporation.
The channel has been involved in several controversies and ha ...
wrote Arijit Singh's "Naina song from Dangal will touch your heart",
and the Indian actor
Varun Dhawan
Varun Dhawan (; born 24 April 1987) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. One of India's highest-paid actors, he has been featured in '' Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2014. He has starred in 11 consecutive box-office successes ...
praised the song.
2017
In 2017, he sang for Shah Rukh Khan and performed a romantic duet with
Harshdeep Kaur
Harshdeep Kaur (born 16 December 1986) is an Indian playback singer known for her Bollywood Hindi, Punjabi,English and Sufi songs. She is popularly known as "Sufi Ki Sultana" because of her soulful Sufi renditions. After winning titles in two ...
called "
Zaalima", composed by Pritam's
JAM8
JAM8 is a founded by Indian music composer/director Pritam. The platform provides facilities up and coming musicians. Pritam and his team supervise the young talent and some artists become part of Pritam's musical projects.
History
On 9 April 2 ...
and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya from the movie ''
Raees''. Khan shared multiple teasers of the song before its full release. He provided vocals for
Salim–Sulaiman
Salim–Sulaiman is an Indian score composer duo consisting of siblings Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant. The duo compose music predominantly for Hindi films.
Life and early career
Salim–Sulaiman's ancestral town is Mundra, Kutch, Gujara ...
's compositions "Kuch Parbat Hilayein" and "Babul Mora" written by Amitabh Bhattacharya from the inspirational movie ''
Poorna''. He rendered "Alvida" from the film ''
Rangoon'', which the ''Deccan Chronicle'' praised in its review of the movie.
He also sang the song "Roke Na Ruke Naina", composed by Amaal Mallik written by Kumaar from the film ''
Badrinath Ki Dulhania
''Badrinath Ki Dulhania'' () is a 2017 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Dharma Productions. A spiritual successor to ''Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania'' (2014), the film stars Varun Dhawan and Alia ...
'', and the
chorus song "Namami Brahmaputra" (English: I Bow to the Brahmaputra) composed by
Papon and dedicated to the river
Brahmaputra
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. I ...
which flows in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and has high cultural, economic and social importance for the northeast Indian and Assamese people. He "Haareya", a song from the Hindi movie ''
Meri Pyaari Bindu''. and the song "Murshida" from the ''
Begum Jaan'' written by
Rahat Indori
Rahat Indori, born as Rahat Qureshi, (1 January 1950 – 11 August 2020) was an Indian Bollywood lyricist and Urdu poet. He was also a former professor of Urdu language and a painter. Prior to this he was a pedagogist of Urdu literature at DAV ...
and composed by
Anu Malik
Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...
.
Singh sang "
Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga
"Phir Bhi Tumko Chaahunga" () is an Indian Hindi-language song from the Indian film ''Half Girlfriend (film), Half Girlfriend''. Picturised on Shraddha Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor, the song has been sung by Arijit Singh and Shashaa Tirupati. The m ...
", composed by Mithoon, with lyrics by
Manoj Muntashir
Manoj Shukla (born 27 February 1976), better known by his stage name Manoj Shukla ‛Muntashir’, is an Indian lyricist, poet and screenwriter. He wrote several successful Hindi songs for films. These have included "Teri Mitti", "Galliyan", " T ...
from the soundtrack of ''
Half Girlfriend
Half Girlfriend is an Indian English coming of age, young adult romance novel by Indian author Chetan Bhagat. The novel, set in rural Bihar, New Delhi, Patna, and New York, is the story of a Bihari boy in quest of winning over the girl he ...
''.
Zee Music Company
Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Bollywood music in a shor ...
released it before their planned date due to public demand. He also sang "Pal Bhar" which is a reprise and extended version of song from ''
Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga''. "Pal Bhar" is written by Muntashir and composed by Mithoon.
He was the lead vocalist on the film ''
Raabta'' singing "Ik Vaari Aa", composed by Pritam, lyrics are penned by
Amitabh Bhattacharya
Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...
. The song is from the soundtrack of Indian film ''
Raabta''. Singh lent his vocals and played acoustic guitar with Roland Fernandes for the song "Lambiyaan si Judaiyaan" composed by JAM8 and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, also on the film's soundtrack. He sang "Tera Hoke Rahoon" song composed by (Kaushik, Akash, Guddu) of JAM8, with lyrics by Bipin Das in the movie ''Behen Hogi Teri.''
He sang "O Saathi", with the music composed and lyrics written by Mithoon from the Hindi film
Shab
Moed ( he, מועד, "Festivals") is the second Order of the Mishnah, the first written recording of the Oral Torah of the Jewish people (also the Tosefta and Talmud). Of the six orders of the Mishna, Moed is the third shortest. The order of M ...
, and the dance song, "
Main Tera Boyfriend
Main Tera Boyfriend () is a dance song recorded by Meet Bros, Arijit Singh, and Neha Kakkar. Lyrics by Jitendra Raghuvanshi, composed by Sohrabuddin. The music video of the song stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. The song is from the ...
", with
Neha Kakkar
Neha Kakkar Singh (; née Kakkar; born 6 June 1988), is an Indian playback singer. She is the younger sister of playback singer Sonu Kakkar. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the second ...
. It is written by
Kumar
A coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya">Yaudheyas.html" ;"title="BCE, of the Yaudheyas">BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya
Kumar (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: wikt:कुमा ...
and composed by Sourav Roy.
Singh was the lead singer of the ''
Jagga Jasoos Soundtrack'' singing the dance song "Ullu ka Pattha" composed by Pritam and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya,
a fun song titled "Galti Se Mistake", written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, and Pritam's composition "Jhumri Talaiyya" written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
He also sang "
Phir Wahi" from ''Jagga Jasoos'' composed by Pritam and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
He sang for Shah Rukh Khan and performed the dance song "Beech Beech Main" from the film ''
Jab Harry Met Sejal
''Jab Harry Met Sejal'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali. It stars Anushka Sharma and Shah Rukh Khan in their third collaboration after ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (2008) and ''Jab Tak Hai ...
'' with additional vocals provided by
Shefali Alvares and
Shalmali Kholgade
Shalmali Kholgade is an Indian playback singer, who predominantly sings for Hindi language films. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in other Indian languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil. Through her singing career, she ha ...
, as well as "Hawayein", composed by Pritam Chakraborty and written by Irshad Kamil. Indian media wrote that Singh's vocals in the song were "mesmerizing".
Singh sang "Bairagi" for the film ''
Bareilly Ki Barfi
''Bareilly Ki Barfi'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari based on Nicolas Barreau's novel, ''The Ingredients of Love''. It stars Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao in lead ...
''. He also sang "
Jaana Ve" and "
Aaj Zid" for ''
Aksar 2
''Aksar 2'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language erotic thriller film directed by Anant Mahadevan. The film is sequel to the 2006 film ''Aksar''. The film stars Zareen Khan, Gautam Rode, Abhinav Shukla and Mohit Madaan in lead roles. The moti ...
''. The music was composed by Mithoon and written by Sayeed Quadri. He also sang "Main Hoon Saath Tere" from ''Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana'', and sang and also made an appearance in the music video of the song "Pal", featured in the film ''
Monsoon Shootout
''Monsoon Shootout'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film written and directed by Amit Kumar and produced by Guneet Monga, Trevor Ingma, Martijn de Grunt, and co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, and Vivek Rangachari, starri ...
''. Singh's voice texture in the song garnered favorable reviews from the Indian media.
2018
In 2018, Singh sang "Aaj Se Teri" for the film ''
Pad Man'', composed by Amit Trivedi and written by Kausar Munir. He sang "Binte Dil" for the film ''
Padmaavat
''Padmaavat'' is a 2018 Indian period romantic action drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the epic poem of the same name by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, it stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen known for ...
'' written by
A. M. Turaz
A M Turaz (Aas Mohammed Turaz) is an Indian poet, lyricist, and script writer. He has worked in television, music albums and films. He has written the lyrics for a number of Bollywood films including ''Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana'' of 2007, ''The U ...
and composed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He also sang another chartbuster titled "Subah Subah" for the film ''
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
''Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed and written by Luv Ranjan whose banner Luv Films co-produced it along with T-Series. The film was jointly distributed by T-Series, Amazon Prime Video and AA ...
'' with
Prakriti Kakar, composed by Amaal Mallik and written by Kumaar as well as "Tera Yaar Hoon Main". He also sang for the films ''
Dil Juunglee
''Dil Juunglee'' () is an Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Aleya Sen. It stars Taapsee Pannu, Saqib Saleem, Abhilash Thapliyal, Nidhi Singh, Ayesha Kaduskar, Srishti Shrivastava and Santosh Barmola. It was released on 9 Mar ...
'', ''
3 Storeys
''3 Storeys'' is a 2018 Hindi-language thriller drama film directed by Arjun Mukerjee starring Renuka Shahane, Sharman Joshi, Pulkit Samrat, Masumeh Makhija, Richa Chadda, Sonal Jha, Aisha Ahmed, Ankit Rathi and produced by Priya Sreedharan, Ri ...
'', ''
Hichki'', ''
Raazi
''Raazi'' (''Agree'') is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banners of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions ...
'', ''
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran'', ''
Veere Di Wedding
''Veere Di Wedding'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language female buddy comedy film directed by Shashanka Ghosh and produced by Rhea Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi. Loosely based on the 2015 film '' The Wedding Ringer'', the film stars ...
'', ''
102 Not Out'', ''
Baazaar
''Baazaar'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language financial thriller drama film directed by Gauravv K. Chawla and written by Parveez Sheikh and Aseem Arora. The film starring Saif Ali Khan, debutant Rohan Vinod Mehra, Radhika Apte and Chitrang ...
'', ''
Kedarnath
Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of t ...
'' and ''
Karwaan''.
2019
In 2019 Singh sang "Ruan Ruan" from film ''
Sonchiriya
''Sonchiriya'' (; ; ISO: '' Sōnaciṛiyā '') is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action film co-written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey and starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana. The ...
'' composed by
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
and penned by
Varun Grover, followed by "Mere Pyare Prime Minister" from ''
Mere Pyare Prime Minister'' on composition of
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and lyrics of
Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
.
In March his song "Ve Maahi" with
Asees Kaur from film ''
Kesari'' composed by
Tanishk Bagchi
Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
was released. The song garnered 200 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
by July 2019.
Then came "First Class" with
Neeti Mohan
Neeti Mohan (born 18 November 1979) is an Indian singer. She sings mainly in Hindi and few Tamil films, but has also done songs in Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, and English. Born in Delhi, she was one of the winners of the Channel ...
and title song "Kalank" from film ''
Kalank'' composed by
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. ...
and penned by
Amitabh Bhattacharya
Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...
.
He rendered "Khairiyat" from the film ''
Chhichhore
''Chhichhore'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari, written by Tiwari in association with Piyush Gupta and Nikhil Mehrotra, and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under Nadiadwala Grandson Ent ...
'' composed by
Pritam
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. ...
and written by
Amitabh Bhattacharya
Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...
. It was released in September 2019.
His song “Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage hum” from blockbuster film
Kabir Singh
''Kabir Singh'' is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under T-Series Films and Murad Khetani and Ashwin Varde under Cine1 Studi ...
in 2019
In October his song "Ghungroo" with
Shilpa Rao
Shilpa Rao (born Apeksha Rao; 11 April 1984) is an Indian singer born and raised in Jamshedpur. She completed her Post Graduation in Applied Statistics from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, before working as a jingle singer for three years. During ...
was released from the movie, ''
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
''. Lyrics are written by
Kumaar and music is given by
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
In Late December 2019, he sang "Dariyaganj" with
Dhvani Bhanushali
Dhvani Bhanushali (born 22 March 1998) is an Indian pop singer. Born in Mumbai, she gained popularity with her single '' Vaaste'' in 2019 which has crossed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, making her the youngest Indian pop star to have the f ...
in the film ''
Jai Mummy Di'', composed by
Amartya Bobo Rahut; written by Siddhant Kaushal.
2020
In January 2020, 10 of his songs were released. Three songs released from the film ''
Love Aaj Kal'' : "Shayad", "Haan Tum Ho" and "Haan Main Galat", which are composed by
Pritam
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. ...
; Title Track of ''
Chhapaak
''Chhapaak'' () is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language biographical drama film based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film stars Deepika Padukone in leading role of a character inspired by Agarwal alon ...
'' along with "Khulne Do" and "Sab Jhulas Gaya" composed by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy written by
Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
; "Dua Karo" from the film ''
Street Dancer 3D'' is sang along with
Bohemia; "Chal Ghar Chalen" is a song from the movie ''
Malang'' composed by
Mithoon
Mithun Sharma (born 11 January 1985), also known as Mithoon, is an Indian Hindi film music director, lyricist-composer and singer.
Mithoon composed the Hindi song "Tum Hi Ho" from the 2013 Bollywood romantic film ''Aashiqui 2''. Mithoon recei ...
; He has sung the songs "Azaadi Ke Liye" and "Mere Watan" from the Amazon Originals ''The Forgotten Army''.
He has also sung a song in a Bengali film, ''
Love Aaj Kal Porshu''.
On 18 July 2020, Singh announced his upcoming venture in making non-film music under the banner "Oriyon Music".
He made an appearance in a music video from
Sunny M.R.'s new single "Lifafe" on 31 July 2020.
In August 2020, Singh's song "Dil Ko Maine Di Kasam" was released, composed by
Amaal Malik
Amaal Mallik (born 16 June 1990) is an Indian music director, composer, singer, music producer, arranger, background scorer, performer and lyricist. He is the elder son of Daboo Malik and Jyothi Malik, and grandson of Sardar Malik. He debuted ...
featuring actors Asim Riaz and
Himanshi Khurana.
Singh released his first single "Rihaa" under his banner Oriyon Music on 4 October 2020; along with the Bengali version "Mukto Kore Dao" on 10 October 2020; with the Hindi lyrics written by Shloke Lal and the Bengali lyrics written by Singh himself.
Singh also sang the songs "Aabaad Barbaad" and "Hardum Humdum" from ''
Ludo''. The film is directed by
Anurag Basu
Anurag Basu (born 8 May 1974) is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He began his directing career in television, moving to feature films in 2002. Basu achieved initial success with his films tackling the themes of passion and ...
and composed by
Pritam
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. ...
.
2021
In early January, Singh sang "O Saaiyan" from the film
''The Power'', along with Raj Pandit.
On 12 March 2020, Singh revealed that he will be composing music for the film ''
Pagglait
''Pagglait'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language black comedy drama film written and directed by Umesh Bist. The film was produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Guneet Monga and Achin Jain under the banners Balaji Motion Pictures and Sikhya Ente ...
'' under his banner Oriyon Music'','' making it his first time venture as a music composer in Bollywood''.'' The soundtrack album was released on 15 March 2021 on various music streaming services. He also sang for other films like ''
83,
Tadap,
Sooryavanshi
''Sooryavanshi'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films. The fourth installment of Shetty's ' ...
,
Bhuj: The Pride of India,'' etc.
2022
In January, Singh sang 2 songs "Soch Liya" and "
Aashiqui Aa Gayi" from the movie ''
Radhe Shyam
''Radhe Shyam'' is a 2022 Indian period romantic drama film written and directed by Radha Krishna Kumar. Produced by UV Creations and T-Series, the film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi languages and stars Prabhas and Pooja Hegde ...
.''
Arijit Singh and
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards ...
have sung for the movie
''Bachchan Pandey'' composed by
Amaal Malik
Amaal Mallik (born 16 June 1990) is an Indian music director, composer, singer, music producer, arranger, background scorer, performer and lyricist. He is the elder son of Daboo Malik and Jyothi Malik, and grandson of Sardar Malik. He debuted ...
and lyrics written by
Kumaar. Singh also sang "Kesariya" from the movie
''Brahmāstra''.
Vocals and musical style
Arijit is often compared to singer
Atif Aslam
Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique.
Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...
for similar voice texture and tone. Regarding this, Aslam said "If God's kind to someone you should also respect them. Arijit has been blessed and people should respect him. I am no one to control anyone. We need to understand there's no such thing as number one." Music director
Amaal Malik
Amaal Mallik (born 16 June 1990) is an Indian music director, composer, singer, music producer, arranger, background scorer, performer and lyricist. He is the elder son of Daboo Malik and Jyothi Malik, and grandson of Sardar Malik. He debuted ...
said: "...can’t compare anyone to Atif Aslam, he is a senior and has been around for years".
"Arijit is Arijit, Atif is Atif, they have their own styles and strengths"
In an interview with ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', Singh mentioned that he has a "natural voice" and said he did nothing special to maintain it.
He has described his voice as "nasal" and believes that it matches with all the actors.
Shekhar Ravjiani
Shekhar Ravjiani is an Indian singer, music director, record producer and actor. He is one half of the Bollywood composing/producing duo Vishal–Shekhar, since 1999.
Personal life
Ravjiani was born in a Kutchi family. He lives in South Mumbai ...
of the music director duo Vishal–Shekhar wrote that Singh's "vocal texture is brilliant. The way he emotes and the soul he puts into each song is exemplary." ''
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
'' describes his voice as "raw and grainy", whereas the paper's Moeena Halim identifies his voice as soulful and
baritone, while the ''
International Business Times'' considers his voice "soothing".
Koimoi, in a review, commended his voice.
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provide ...
, in a review of ''
Aashiqui 2
''Aashiqui 2'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical drama film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mukesh Bhatt, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar under the Vishesh Films and T-Series Films, with Mahesh Bhatt serving as ...
'', described Singh as a singer with a "rich texture and depth in his voice". However, they suggested he should "sing smoothly", without heavy breaths in between.
NewsX acclaimed Singh's voice.
Singh has said that he would most like to explore the
classical music style.
He has also said that he loves singing
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
and likes all genres except for
heavy metal music—since it is too loud for him.
Singh is most commonly known for his romantic songs and was associated with the tag "romantic singer". Regarding that, Singh said the tag of romantic singer is unintentional, as he has not planned his career. He is happy with the songs that come his way and tries to do his best. Singh does not believe that doing just one type of song is "hampering" his growth. However, through his career, he has explored different musical styles, including; a club party song "Raat Bhar", an electronic "Blame The Night", a
Punjabi Folk Punjabi folk music (Shahmukhi alphabet, Shahmukhi: پنجابی لوک موسیقی pa, ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲੋਕ ਸੰਗੀਤ or Punjabi Folk) is the traditional music on the traditional musical instruments of the Punjab region of the Indian ...
"Samjhawan", a
Sufi or
Qawwali
Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...
song "Mast Magan" and a ghazal titled "Gulon Mein Rang Bhare". Regarding the variety, ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' stated; "he can sing nice fun songs as well". According to
Krsna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one o ...
"A vocalist needs to have all genres of music at his fingertips and Arijit has that."
While reviewing the soundtrack of ''Main Tera Hero'', Bollywood Hungama felt he "shines" in the form, which is a "totally different setup" from what he has done before.
Reviewing the song "
Uska Hi Banana
''1920: The Evil Returns'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language horror film written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Bhushan Patel. The film is a quasi-sequel to a 2008 film ''1920'', second of the 1920 (film series), and stars Aftab Shivdasani, T ...
", Komoi described Singh's voice as "marvelous" and ''Glamsham'' wrote he sang it intensely, emotionally and passionately.
Reviewing the emotional song "Chunar" dedicated to a mother from the movie ''Any Body Can Dance 2'' Komoi wrote Singh's voice "truly converse the pain and the Indian musical arrangements work their magic along with the emotionally rich lyrics. The song finds an instant connect with the listener."
Singh's "mispronunciation" of the phonetic 'ta' syllable was criticized by ''India West'' while reviewing the song "Chunar". Similarly, Bollywood Hungama considered his pronunciation "flawed" in the title track of ''Khamoshiyan''.
However the producer of the film ''Khamoshiyan'',
Mahesh Bhatt said, "It is a sensational song. One of the best songs that I have heard in my lifetime and its poetry is simply brilliant."
While reviewing the rest of his tracks in the film, ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'', felt that Singh's rendition of the song sounds as "he's on autopilot", though Rajiv Vijayakar from Bollywood Hungama felt his rendition was "emotional".
Reviewing the song "Soch Na Sake" with music composed by Amaal Mallik from the movie ''
Airlift'' Bollywood Hungama acclaimed Singh's rendition of the song.
Singh insists on the presence of
lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment.
Royalties
A lyricist's incom ...
s during recording sessions for a better understanding of the relevance of the words and feelings behind a song. He has said his favorite lyricists are Irshad Kamil, Sayeed Quadri, and Amitabh Bhattacharya. While talking with
Subhash Ghai at a question and answers session at Whistling Woods International Campus on arts and technique of singing at the 5th Veda Cultural Hub, Arijit said "Singing is like talking. It is an art of expression. There are other factors too but they all follow on once you understand your lyrics and rhythm well. There are no rules. You just have to practice well." Sharing his childhood memories he said, "I mostly practiced modern Bengali and Indian classical music. My
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...
Rajendra Prasad Hazari inspired me to practice more of modern singing as according to him Indian classical was dying."
Public image and influences
Arijit has shared his fondness for singer
Kishore Kumar,
while citing
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan (born 11 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer, known for his work in Hindi films. He was a part of the Silk Route band. Chauhan has received two Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and three Zee Cine Award For Bes ...
and
Atif Aslam
Atif Aslam is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his vocal belting technique.
Aslam predominantly sings in Urdu, but has also sung in Hindi, ...
as inspirations with whom he is often compared. Though he has been inspired by many artists, Singh named
KK as his favorite singer along with
Ayushmann Khurrana.
He named Pritam Chakraborty, Vishal–Shekhar, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Amit Trivedi, Mithoon and A. R. Rahman as his favorite music directors.
Singh has idolized
Ghulam Ali,
Jagjit Singh
Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian cl ...
and Mehdi Hassan.
In an interview with ''Filmbeat'' in April 2013, he declared that he is the biggest fan of singer
Krishnakumar Kunnath
Krishnakumar Kunnath (23 August 1968 – 31 May 2022), popularly known as KK, was an Indian playback singer. Regarded as one of the best and most versatile singers in India, he recorded songs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam ...
(KK). His desire to sing for
Aamir Khan
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...
came to reality in 2016 with the song "
Naina" from ''Dangal''. In an interview with ''The Indian Express'', Singh stated that he loves the work of
Shalmali Kholgade
Shalmali Kholgade is an Indian playback singer, who predominantly sings for Hindi language films. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in other Indian languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil. Through her singing career, she ha ...
,
Shefali Alvares, and
Irfan
In Islam, ‘Irfan (Arabic/Persian/Urdu: ; tr, İrfan), literally ‘knowledge, awareness, wisdom’, is gnosis. Islamic mysticism can be considered as a vast range that engulfs theoretical and practical and conventional mysticism, but the c ...
. He also mentioned that his "current favorite" singer is Chinmayi.
In 2016 he appeared on the popular chat and comedy show ''
The Kapil Sharma Show
''The Kapil Sharma Show'', also known as TKSS, is an Indian Hindi-language stand-up comedy and talk show broadcast by Sony Entertainment Television. Hosted by Kapil Sharma, the first season of the show had its premiere on 23 April 2016. The ...
'' aired on Sony TV India. The show's host
Kapil Sharma
Kapil Sharma (born Kapil Punj; 2 April 1981) is an Indian stand-up comedian, television host from Punjab, India, Primarily known for hosting ''The Kapil Sharma Show''. He won the stand-up comedy reality show, The Great Indian Laughter Challen ...
explained the difficulties he had bringing Singh on the show due to his shy nature.
Singh has often been portrayed by the Indian media as a "small-town boy who made it big".
He had also been
trolled on social media to which he replied "I use my social media sparingly for things that are close to my heart. I don't read the comments. My team filters out the comments for me, I don't involve myself a lot into paying attention to criticism on social media. I speak what I want to speak and my team lets me know the needful."
Arijit enjoys listening to retro songs by singers
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...
,
Mohammed Rafi and the classical and
ghazal songs along with the music of
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
. He expressed his desire to work with artist
Norah Jones
Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
someday as he loves her music. He says he is uncomfortable with all the attention that fame has brought.
Singing style, impact and recognition
In an interview music director and composer, Pritam said: "Arijit is a good singer, a smart musician, and an intelligent musician as well."
Vishal Dadlani
Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, Front Man and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands called Pentagram.
As a singer he has sung various ...
of the music director duo
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
said Singh is a phenomenal singer. In another interview, he said "Arijit has the ability and the openness needed to make every recording a genuine collaboration. He's also a really nice guy, with no ego. That helps"
Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali in an Interview with ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' said, "Arijit Singh is very special".
Shreya Ghoshal remarked that he "is versatile and has a soulful voice".
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films.
Personal life and early career
Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...
said "I knew him before he became Arijit Singh. He is an educated musician, he understands his
Sargam, and he has got depth.
Suresh Wadkar praised him as one of the "great singers of this generation".
Personal life
In 2014, Singh married Koel Roy, a childhood friend and a neighbour of his.
They have two children.
Singh currently resides in
Andheri
Andheri ( n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a locality in the western part of the city of Mumbai in India. Udayanagari, the name of a hill near the Mahakali caves, inspired the name Andheri. On the former islet of Versova, also known as Vasave, there was ano ...
,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
.
Singh says apart from being a singer, he is a badminton player, a writer, a movie freak and a documentary maker.
He also likes cricket and cites
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...
,
Lance Klusener,
Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly (; natively spelled as Gangopadhyay; born 8 July 1972), affectionately known as Dada (meaning ''"elder brother"'' in Bengali), is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator and former national cricket team captain w ...
, and
Jonty Rhodes
Jonathan Neil "Jonty" Rhodes (born 27 July 1969) is a South African professional cricket commentator and former Test and One Day International cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest fielders of all time and was the first South African ...
as his favorite sportsmen. He is an ardent football fan, and a
Manchester United fan. He has also expressed a wish to sing the anthem for the
2022 World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first ...
in Qatar. In badminton, he likes
Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal (; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 ...
Singh's mother, Aditi Singh, was admitted and underwent treatment for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
and recently tested negative but died due to a cerebral stroke on 20 May 2021.
Humanitarian work
Singh said in an interview that he would love to serve people through his NGO named "Let There Be Light" which works for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) community. His NGO aims to include activities like blood bank camp (with proof and records and photographs of all the blood being delivered properly), distribution of clothes, books, stationery, etc. to Below Poverty Line children on a huge scale and seasonal human ground activities.
Discography
Some of his popular songs include "
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 ...
", "
Tum Hi Ho
"Tum Hi Ho" () is an Indian Hindi-language romantic song from the 2013 Indian movie ''Aashiqui 2'', sung by Arijit Singh. It was composed and written by Mithoon. Picturised on Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor, it was released by Bhushan Ku ...
", "
Phir Bhi Tumko Chahunga", "
Uska Hi Banana
''1920: The Evil Returns'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language horror film written by Vikram Bhatt and directed by Bhushan Patel. The film is a quasi-sequel to a 2008 film ''1920'', second of the 1920 (film series), and stars Aftab Shivdasani, T ...
", "
Aayat", "
Raabta", "Ik Vaari Aa", "Main Tara Boyfriend",
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 star ...
", "
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. ...
", "Janam Janam", "Khamoshiyan", "Hamari Adhuri Kahani", "
Samjhawan", "
Sooraj Dooba Hain", "Khairiyat ", "
Zaalima", "
Laal Ishq" , "
Muskurane
Muskurane () is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, '' CityLights''. Composed by Jeet Gannguli, the song is sung by Arijit Singh, with lyrics penned by Rashmi Singh. The music video of the track features actors Rajkummar Ra ...
" , "Pachtaoge" , "Rait Zara Si" , "Shayad" , "Tumse Bhi Zyada", "
Aashiqui Aa Gayi" , "Dhokha", "Phir Na Aisi Raat Aayegi" and "Kesariya".
Awards and nominations
At the start of his singing career, he received nominations for the
Upcoming Male Vocalist of the Year award at the 2013
Mirchi Music Awards
''Mirchi Music Awards'' are presented annually by ''Radio Mirchi'' to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film music industry of India. The awards, given in seventeen different categories, were in ...
for renditions of "Phir Le Aya Dil" and "
Duaa", winning the award for the latter.
Singh was awarded the Wizcraft Honour for the Best Live Performer,
and was one of the top 10 artists from across the world to be featured at The SSE Arena, Wembley in the SSE Live Awards 2016.
Singh has received four Mirchi Music Awards, six
Filmfare Awards, a
Stardust Award, three
IIFA Award, two
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way".
They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
and two
Screen Awards
The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...
. He received Filmfare awards for five consecutive years from 2016 to 2020. He received nine awards from ten nominations for the song "Tum Hi Ho" from 2013 film ''Aashiqui 2''. He also won the
(IIFA) award in the category of "The Best Male Singer" for the song "Tum Hi Ho" in 2014.
In September 2014, The National Indian Students Union UK honored Singh with the Youth Icon – Music Award. He was named the most popular artist of 2014 by
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment
Hungama Digital Media is an Indian digital entertainment company, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company was first launched in 1999 by Ashish Kacholia, Hiren Ved, Lashit Sanghvi, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, and Neeraj Roy as an online promotion ...
after winning an online poll conducted by music streaming website hungama.com. ''Forbes India'' magazine's 100 Celebrity List placed him at rank 15 in 2016.
At the seventh Mirchi Music Awards in 2015, he was honored with the award for Best Male Vocalist for his rendition of the song "Samjhawan". He was nominated for the
60th Filmfare Awards
The 60th Filmfare Awards were held to honor the best films of 2014 from the Hindi-language film industry on 31 January 2015 at the Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai. The ceremony was hosted by Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt and Kapil Sharma.
''Queen'' led th ...
, held in 2015 under Best Male Playback Singer category for two songs "Mast Magan" and "Suno Na Sangemarmar". He was voted online as the Best Male Singer by the readers of the ''IBN Live'' for the song "Muskurane".
He won Best Male Playback Singer award at the
61st Filmfare Awards
The 61st Filmfare Awards were held to honor the best films of 2015 on 15 January 2016 at NSCI Dome in Mumbai. The ceremony was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Kapil Sharma.
''Bajirao Mastani'' led the ceremony with 14 nominations, followed by '' ...
, held in 2016 for the rendition of the song "Sooraj Dooba Hain".
The
GiMA
G'market was a supermarket chain in Romania that was previously named Gima. Owned by GimRom Holding (part of FIBA Holding, from Turkey), it mainly operated stores in Bucharest and Iaşi. As of October 2011, G'market stores in Bucharest were boug ...
, honoured him with awards for his rendition of the song "Soch Na Sake", He was subsequently honored for his rendition of the most popular film and radio song "Gerua", and the most streamed song "Sanam Re".
The Times of India Film Awards 2016, nominated him for his rendition of three songs "
Aayat", "
Chunar
Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...
" and "
Hamari Adhuri Kahani".
In late 2016, Arijit received his first Stardust Award for Best Playback Singer (Male) for the song "Channa Mereya". In 2017, he was nominated at Mirchi Music Awards under Male Vocalist of The Year category for four songs "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil", "Channa Mereya", "Bolna" and "Nashe Si Chadh Gayi". He won the award for the song "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil".
He received a couple of nominations under Male Playback Singer category for "Channa Mereya" and "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" from ''
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 star ...
'' film in various award ceremonies in late 2016 and 2017.
He won the
Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer
The Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award is given by Indian film magazine ''Filmfare'' as a 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 the song "Tum Hi Ho" in 2014.
He also won the
(IIFA) award in the category of Best Male Singer for the song "Tum Hi Ho" in 2014.
At the 7th Mirchi Music Awards 2015, he was awarded the Best Male Vocalist for his rendition of the song "Samjhawan".
Arijit had won IBN Live Movie Award for the song "
Muskurane
Muskurane () is a romantic Hindi song from the 2014 Bollywood film, '' CityLights''. Composed by Jeet Gannguli, the song is sung by Arijit Singh, with lyrics penned by Rashmi Singh. The music video of the track features actors Rajkummar Ra ...
" in the Best Playback Singer category.
He won Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "
Sooraj Dooba Hain" in 2016.
The
GiMA
G'market was a supermarket chain in Romania that was previously named Gima. Owned by GimRom Holding (part of FIBA Holding, from Turkey), it mainly operated stores in Bucharest and Iaşi. As of October 2011, G'market stores in Bucharest were boug ...
awarded him for his rendition of the song "
Soch Na Sake", he was awarded for the song "
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. ...
", and the most-streamed song "
Sanam Re".
He was awarded the Best Male Singer 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 ...
at the
Stardust Awards
The Stardust Awards was an award ceremony for Hindi movies, which was sponsored by '' Stardust'' magazine. Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. The first ceremony was held in 2004 for films released in 2003. The ...
2016.
In 2017, at the
62nd Filmfare Awards, he won Best Male Playback Singer Award for the title song "
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 star ...
",
and also won the Male Vocalist of The Year award at 2017 Mirchi Music Awards, for his rendition of the song.
He was awarded the Best Male Playback Singer award for the song at the
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way".
They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...
in 2017.
At the
23rd Star Screen Awards, Singh was awarded the title of Best Male Playback Singer for his rendition of the song "
Zaalima" and songs of ''
Jagga Jasoos
''Jagga Jasoos'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language musical adventure comedy film written and directed by Anurag Basu, and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur, Basu and Ranbir Kapoor. It stars Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, and tells the story of a teena ...
''.
At the
63rd Filmfare Awards
The 63rd Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by the Filmfare Magazine, honored the best Hindi language Indian films of 2017. The ceremony was held on 20 January 2018 and hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Ayushmann Khurrana and Parineeti C ...
of 2018, he was awarded the Best Male Playback Singer for "Roke Na Ruke Naina" from ''
Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya'' and was nominated for "Zaalima" from ''
Raees''. With this win, he won the Filmfare award for four consecutive years.
At the
66th National Film Awards of 2019, he was awarded with the
Best Male Playback Singer for "Binte Dil" from ''
Padmaavat
''Padmaavat'' is a 2018 Indian period romantic action drama film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Based on the epic poem of the same name by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, it stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen known for ...
''.
Singh was awarded the Best Male Playback Singer for his rendition of the song "Ae Watan" from the film
Raazi
''Raazi'' (''Agree'') is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language spy action thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar and produced by Vineet Jain, Karan Johar, Hiroo Yash Johar and Apoorva Mehta under the banners of Junglee Pictures and Dharma Productions ...
at the
International Indian Film Academy
The International Indian Film Academy Awards, popularly known as IIFA, is an annual awards ceremony for Bollywood. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, the winners of the awards are decided by fans, who vote online for th ...
awards. Arijit Singh is awarded Filmfare award for best male playback singer for the song "Kalank" from the movie ''
Kalank'', with this he won the award for a record five consecutive times and six times overall.
See also
*
List of awards and nominations received by Arijit Singh
*
List of Indian playback singers
This is a list of playback hindi singers from India.
Female playback singers
Male playback singers
See also
* Lists of Indian people
* Lists of musicians
* Bollywood content lists
This is a list of content of Hindi cinema.
{{dynamic ...
*
List of songs recorded by Arijit Singh
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Arijit
21st-century Indian singers
1987 births
Bengali Hindus
Bengali playback singers
Bollywood playback singers
Fame Gurukul contestants
Indian male playback singers
Indian rock singers
Living people
People from Murshidabad district
Pop rock singers
Indian folk-pop singers
Punjabi people
Singers from West Bengal
University of Kalyani alumni
Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners
Filmfare Awards winners
Screen Awards winners
International Indian Film Academy Awards winners
Zee Cine Awards winners
Converts to Hinduism from Sikhism