Hitesh Sonik
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born 14 August 1983) is an Indian
playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of 5 and made her career debut at the age of 13, with the film '' Shastra'' (1996). During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled ''Meri Awaz Suno'' and rose to prominence after recording "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" from ''
Mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mast ...
'' (1999). It won her Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer. She is known for her versatility as a vocalist. Her second breakthrough was released in 2000, with the song "Mehboob Mere" from '' Fiza'', for which she received another Filmfare nomination. Chauhan received her third Filmfare nomination with the song "Dhoom Machale" from '' Dhoom'' (2004) followed by two more nominations during the next year for "Kaisi Paheli" and "Deedar De" from '' Parineeta'' and ''
Dus ''Dus'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Anubhav Sinha, based on the lives of seven fictional SIT (Indian Special Investigation) Team officers. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Kha ...
'' (2005). In 2006, she was bestowed with her first Filmfare award for her rendition of the song "Beedi" from '' Omkara'' and further two nominations for "Soniye" from '' Aksar'' and "Aashiqui Main" from ''
36 China Town ''36 China Town'' is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller comedy film directed by Abbas- Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It is an official adaption of the 1992 American film '' Once Upon a Crime'' (which in turn is a remake of the ...
''. The following year, Chauhan recorded the title song of '' Aaja Nachle'' (2007) and " Sajnaaji Vaari", both critically and commercially well received. Chauhan received her twelfth Filmfare nomination with "Chor Bazaari" of '' Love Aaj Kal'' (2009) preceded by "Dance Pe Chance" from ''
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by him and his father Yash Chopra under their banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars ...
'' (2008). In 2010, she received her second Filmfare award with the item song " Sheila Ki Jawani" (2010) and was nominated for international styled carnival song "Udi" from '' Guzaarish'' (2010). The year marked her International singing debut, where she was featured in an alternate version of the song "
Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...
" by
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
. Apart from playback singing, Chauhan has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows and she also appears in music videos. Besides her career in music, she has also been involved in various charities and social causes. She has appeared four times in ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' Celebrity 100 of India (2012–2015).


Early life

Sunidhi Chauhan was born on 14 August 1983, in New Delhi, India. Her father, Dushyant Kumar Chauhan, who is from
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, is a theatre personality at the
Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra (SBKK) is an Indian cultural institution which runs a school for music, dance and performing arts in New Delhi. It was founded by Sumitra Charat Ram in 1952, and imparts training in Indian classical dance styles ...
. Her mother, a homemaker, influenced Chauhan to pursue a career in music. She also has a younger sister. At the age of four, Chauhan started performing at competitions and local gatherings, subsequently convinced by her father's friends to take singing seriously. During that time, she was doing live shows and trained herself with "regular riyaaz by listening to cassettes and CDs of popular numbers". She did her studies from Greenway Modern School and used to stay with her family members in Dilshad Garden, Delhi. She discontinued her studies right after schooling to pursue a career in the music industry. She said: "I quit because I did not feel like studying. I made the decision to pursue my dream as a singer and I don't regret it one bit". When actress Tabassum spotted her, she made her sing live in her show ''Tabassum Hit Parade'' and asked her family to shift to
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. She then introduced Chauhan to Kalyanji Virji Shah and
Anandji Virji Shah Anandji Virji Shah (born 2 March 1933) is an Indian music director. Together with his brother he formed the Kalyanji-Anandji duo, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, for ''Kora Kagaz''. In 1992, Anandji Shah received t ...
. Upon meeting, Kalyanji changed her name from Nidhi to Sunidhi as he felt that it is a lucky name. When she was 11, her dad quit his job and brought her to Mumbai. Initially, the family had financial difficulties in adjusting life to the city. After that she worked in Kalyanji's academy for few years and became the lead singer in his "Little Wonders" troupe. She was then offered with many shows, though her father insisted on singing for films.


Career


1995–2000: Career beginnings, ''Mast'' and ''Fiza''

In 1995, Chauhan performed at the
40th Filmfare Awards The 40th Filmfare Awards were held on 25 February 1995. ''1942: A Love Story'' and ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'', which is one of the most successful films of Bollywood, led the ceremony with 13 nominations each, followed by ''Mohra'' with 9 nom ...
with the group "Little Wonders", when late music director Aadesh Shrivastava heard her and recorded her voice for the film, '' Shastra''. She made her career debut at the age of eleven, with the song "Ladki Deewani Dekho" from the film, alongside
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: *Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 1984 ...
. During the year, she won the first singing reality show on
DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television channel ...
titled ''Meri Awaz Suno'', where she was honoured with the "Lata Mangeshkar Trophy" for the best female singer of India. Besides, she recorded her first solo album, ''Aira Gaira Nathu Khaira'' which was ultimately promoted as a children's album. Chauhan then realised her "limitations" and got formal training in classical singing from Gautam Mukherjee. For the next two years, she worked as a background vocalist. Chauhan met singer Sonu Nigam, who recommended her to Sandeep Chowta. During the time, Chowta was working as the music director for
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
's film ''
Mast Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mast ...
'' (1999). Within two weeks time, Chauhan was signed to lend her voice for the film's song where she recorded the title track along with "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" and "Suna Tha". For the song "Ruki Ruki Si", she won the RD Burman award, at the Annual
Filmfare awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
, and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer, at the same ceremony. By the end of the year, she worked with Anand–Milind for '' Jaanwar'' and with Shrivastava for two films: '' Dahek'' and ''
Bade Dilwala ''Bade Dilwala'' () is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language romance film produced and directed by Shakeel Noorani. The film is a remake of the 1994 Hollywood movie '' It Could Happen to You''. It stars Sunil Shetty and Priya Gill in pivotal roles. It is ...
''. Chauhan's second breakthrough was released in 2000, where she collaborated with composer-singer Anu Malik, for the song "Mehboob Mere" from '' Fiza'' which was picturised on Sushmita Sen. She considered the track that came to her the "most naturally", as recording of the song was completed in 15 minutes. Chauhan received another Filmfare nomination for Best Female Playback Singer for "Mehboob Mere". She was also heard in
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst t ...
-composed folksy flavoured "Bumbro" from ''
Mission Kashmir ''Mission Kashmir'' is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Hrithik Roshan, Jackie Shroff, Preity Zinta, and Sonali Kulkarni. It deals with terrorism and the tr ...
'', which was promoted from being a "background song into the foreground" because of "its beauty". The director of the film,
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, lyricist and actor. His well-known films as director are ''Parinda'' (1988), '' 1942: A Love Story'' (1994). He is also known for producing ' ...
, wanted an innocent voice for the song when he roped Chauhan to sing for Preity Zinta. According to Chopra, "Chauhan could sound very girlish. So she sang the song with that slightly broken voice."


2001–05: ''Ajnabee'', ''Chameli'' and ''Dhoom''

In 2001, Chauhan was featured in four tracks from the album of '' Ajnabee''. Mandeep Bhara of PlanetBollywood described her rendition of Adnan Sami-duet "Mehbooba Mehbooba" as effortless, when talking about her
Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...
-duet "Meri Zindagi Mein Ajnabee" he said "Sunidhi Chauhan adds pure electricity to the song with her sizzling rendition leaving Kumar Sanu struggling to make an impact". Both the songs were highly successful and highlighted Chauhan's versatility. "Meri Zindagi Mein Ajnabee" was her first romantic song. She credited Malik for playing a major role in her "evolution", as he "fought" with the producers to give her the songs, because of that she was "accepted in typical heroines romantic numbers". She then lent her voice for "Ek Baar Pyar" for Anand Raj Anand and "Yeh Kaisa Ehsaas Hai" for Milind Sagar; both from '' Ehsaas: The Feeling'' (2001) and a duet with Nigam. Besides, she was heard in Malik's '' Yaadein''; "Alaap", "Jab Dil Miley" and "Yaadein Yaad Aati Hain" were critically acclaimed. Chauhan collaborated with Malik for four films during the year 2002. Apart from the title track, she performed three other songs; "Maine To Khai Kasam", "More Sawariya" and "Ya Habibi" for the film '' Awara Paagal Deewana''. During the year, she teamed up with
Ismail Darbar Ismail Darbar is an Indian film score composer, instrumentalist, violinist and music director. Career Ismail Darbar is from Surat, Gujarat. He worked for several years as a session violinist for leading music directors Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kal ...
for the first time and released the song "Ai Ajnabi" from ''
Deewangee ''Deewangee'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language psychological thriller film directed by Anees Bazmee and produced by Nitin Manmohan. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna and Urmila Matondkar. The music was composed by Ismail Darbar, with ...
'' which she described as her most difficult song. Apart from featuring in the soundtrack album of
Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film '' Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' in 1998 and made ...
's film '' Humraaz'', Chauhan worked with
M.M. Kreem Koduri Marakathamani Keeravani (born 4 July 1961; credited as M. M. Keeravani) is an Indian film composer, playback singer, and lyricist, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema along with other languages including Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, and Ma ...
for ''
Sur – The Melody of Life ''Sur – The Melody of Life'' is a 2002 Hindi musical film starring Lucky Ali and Gauri Karnik in the main leads. Its co-stars are Simone Singh, Achint Kaur, Ehsaan Khan, Divya Dutta, Nitin, and Harsh Vashisht. This movie is loosely based on ...
'', where she performed "Aa Bhi Ja" and "Dil Mein Jaagi Dhadkan Aise"; which she considered "hummable" and different from her "usual style". According to critic Priyanka Bhattacharya, "Chauhan's matured rendition surprises in the second half of "Aa Bhi Ja" and mentioned that other track is also "equally good". Chauhan made her second screen appearance in 2003 with
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
-directed '' Bhoot'', where she was featured in the promotional music video of "Bhoot Hoon Main", composed by Salim–Sulaiman. According to Malik, he roped in Chauhan to playback for
Kareena Kapoor Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
in two song of ''
Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon ''Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon'' (English: ''I am crazy about Prem''), is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy drama film by Sooraj Barjatya and produced by Rajshri Productions. The film is a remake of the 1976 film ''Chitchor'' and features ...
'', since "Chauhan came in for the passion, as she understands imin such songs". She later worked with him for the song "Dekh Le" from ''
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. ''Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.'' () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani (in his directorial debut) and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It was the first installment of '' Munna Bhai series''. Releas ...
''. In 2004, she collaborated with
Sandesh Shandilya Sandesh Shandilya is an Indian film composer, musician, and singer, working in Bollywood, most known for his work in films like ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham'' (2001), '' Chameli'', ''Road'', ''Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai and Socha Na Tha''. Hi ...
for '' Chameli''. Chameli was a significant album in Chauhan's career as She sung all tracks for the album,out of which Chauhan received most recognition with the songs "Bhaage Re Mann" and "Sajna Ve Sajna". Her higher octave "carefree delivery" of the former was appreciated by the critics while she chose the latter as her "personal favorite" song in her career. Chauhan received her third Filmfare nomination for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Dhoom Machaale" from '' Dhoom'' (2004), which was a critical and commercial success. Besides, Chauhan performed four tracks for ''
Garv ''Garv: Pride & Honour'' ( hi, गर्व) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Puneet Issar. The film stars Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Arbaaz Khan and Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol was the initial choice for Salman Khan's ...
'', composed by Sajid–Wajid. However, music critics labelled her "stereotyped" and noted that "all her songs sound alike". Also, "Saiyan" from ''Garv'' is "no different" from
A.R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
-composed "Saiyyan" of '' Nayak'' (2001). One of the dance numbers released during the year was "Aisa Jadoo" from ''
Khakee ''Khakee'' (English translation: The Uniform) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and written by Santoshi and Sridhar Raghavan. The story revolves around an Indian police team on a mi ...
'' composed by
Ram Sampath Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for Mumbai-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' ( ...
, followed by "Ishq Kabhi Kario Na" and "Saaki" from '' Musafir''. Reportedly, Sampath asked Chauhan to stand two feet away from the mike while recording the song "Aisa Jadoo", as the "equipment couldn't handle her pumped-up voice throw." In her review of ''Musafir'', Verma wrote: "Chauhan's husky vocals do complete justice to "Ishq Kabhi Kario Na" by adding just the right amount of sauciness and oomph." 2005, marked the first collaboration of Chauhan with composer
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
where she recorded "Aao Nee Kudiyon" for ''
7½ Phere '' Phere: More Than a Wedding'' is a 2005 Bollywood black comedy film directed by Ishaan Trivedi and produced by Nimit Modawal. It stars Juhi Chawla and Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. The film was released in India on 29 July 2005, to mixed resp ...
'' and the seductive track "Kaisi Paheli Zindagani" for '' Parineeta''. Sahaya Ranjit from ''
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 onl ...
'' called her voice a "westernised edge" and "sensuous texture" with a jazz influence in her rendition. Apart from recording the Rajasthani folk influenced "Phir Raat Kati" in '' Paheli'', alongside
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...
, she was heard in a slow pace club number "Jadoo" from ''
Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav ''Padmashree Laloo Prasad Yadav'' is a Bollywood comedy film directed by Mahesh Manjrekar. starring Sunil Shetty , Mahesh Manjrekar Johnny Lever, Sharat Saxena and Gulshan Grover in supporting roles. The title, which comprises the names of ...
''. During the year, she performed with
Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...
in Vishal-Shekhar's composition, "Right Here Right Now" from ''
Bluffmaster! ''Bluffmaster!'' is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Ramesh Sippy. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Riteish Deshmukh, Priyanka Chopra, Sanjay Mishra, Boman Irani and Nana Patekar. It is a ...
''. She worked with Vishal-Shekhar in few other compositions including ''
Dus ''Dus'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Anubhav Sinha, based on the lives of seven fictional SIT (Indian Special Investigation) Team officers. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Kha ...
'' (2005) and ''
Shabd ''Shabda'' ( sa, शब्द, ), is the Sanskrit word for "speech sound". In Sanskrit grammar, the term refers to an utterance in the sense of linguistic performance. History In classical Indian philosophy of language, the grammarian Katyayan ...
'' (2005). She was heard in "Chahaton Ka Silsila"—duet with Kumar Sanu, "Khoya Khoya"—duet with Sonu Nigam and "Sholon Si"—duet with Vishal Dadlani, from ''Shabd''. Chauhan received two more Filmfare award nominations for her rendition of the song "Deedar De" from ''Dus'' and "Kaisi Paheli Zindagani" of ''Parineeta''. Apparently, Sonu Nigam picked her as the most outstanding voice of 2005, for her rendition of those songs.


2006–09: ''Omkara'', ''Aaja Nachle'' and ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi''

Chauhan was bestowed with her first filmfare award for her rendition of the song "Beedi Jalaile" from '' Omkara'' (2006). The song being a critical and commercial success, Bipasha Basu—who was featured in the song—said: "Sunidhi is a goddess. Her singing is so powerful. She added another dimension to my dancing". She received further two nominations during the year for "Soniye" from '' Aksar'' and "Aashiqui Main" ''
36 China Town ''36 China Town'' is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller comedy film directed by Abbas- Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It is an official adaption of the 1992 American film '' Once Upon a Crime'' (which in turn is a remake of the ...
''. Apart from the latter, she worked with
Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film & music producer and actor in Hindi cinema. He started his career as music director in the film '' Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya'' in 1998 and made ...
in ten other films. Songs like "Keh Do Naa" and "Meethi Meethi Baataan" from '' Aap Ki Khatir'', along with "Ishq Kiya Kiya" and "Let's Rock" from ''
Anthony Kaun Hai? ''Anthony Kaun Hai?'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language mystery film, mystery thriller film directed by Raj Kaushal and produced by Nikhil Panchamiya. It stars Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Minissha Lamba and Raghuvir Yadav. Plot The film is set ...
'' were moderately received by the critics. Chauhan made her third screen appearance with the promotional song "Dheemey Dheemey" from ''
Bas Ek Pal ''Bas Ek Pal'' () is a 2006 Bollywood romantic crime thriller film directed by Onir. It stars Juhi Chawla, Sanjay Suri, and Urmila Matondkar with Jimmy Sheirgill, Rehaan Engineer, and Yashpal Sharma in supporting roles. The film's storyline is ...
'', along with KK. She performed with him for two other tracks, "Ashq Bhi" and "Hai Ishq Ye Kya Ek Khata" for the film, where all the songs were critically favoured. Komal Nahta wrote: "Sunidhi Chauhan and KK have sung brilliantly throughout the album. They have modified their style to convey the feel and emotion of every song". Chauhan's collaboration with Pritam during the year was appreciated by the music critics. Her rendition of "Tere Bin", "Aa Kushi Se Khud Kushi Karle" and Opera-style singing of "Afreen" was well received. Besides, their work in "Crazy Kiya Re" of '' Dhoom 2'' was widely acclaimed, however '' Gangsters "Lamha Lamha" was labelled as a "romantic irritant" song by Rediff.com. During the year, she performed her only duet with Shreya Ghoshal—though they have contributed in multi-singer songs together—with the Salim–Sulaiman's composition, "Imaan Ka Asar" from ''
Dor DOR, Dor, or DoR may refer to: Computer games and characters * '' Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'', a turn-based tactics video game for the Nintendo DS * Dor, a magician in the fictional Xanth universe; see Magicians of Xanth * ''WWE Day of Reckoning ...
''. Apart from rendering two soft tracks, "Mere Haath Mein" and "Dekho Na" for Jatin–Lalit composed ''
Fanaa Fanaa ( ar, فناء ') in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self).Harmless, William. ''Mystics''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008 Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Persian m ...
'', Chauhan voiced for the remixed track of "Yeh Mera Dil" which was originally sung by
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
. According to Rediff.com; "The usually confident Sunidhi Chauhan appears to be conscious of inevitable comparisons to Asha Bhosle's version of the same". The song was met with mixed reactions; some people considered her voice more huskier than it requires, while other complimented her vocals. However, she personally felt that the song would sound much better if she had "sung the song on a higher note". Moreover, she also performed the English language song "Reach Out" at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games at Doha. In 2007, Chauhan lent her voice for Madhuri Dixit in her comeback film '' Aaja Nachle'', where she rendered "Soniye Mil Ja" along with
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...
and "Koi Patthar Se Naa Maare" alongside Nigam and Ghoshal, apart from the title track. In spite of rendering the title track for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy composed '' Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'', Chauhan lent her voice for
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
in '' Laaga Chunari Mein Daag'', where she performed "Hum To Aise Hain" along with Ghoshal which also had Swanand Kirkire and Pranab Biswas lending supporting vocals. In a review from Rediff.com, Raja Sen wrote; "The two-sister song works, from moustache-and-cow similes to paan spits to a fantastic 3–2–1–2–7–2 count, the female vocalists doing the upbeat words justice". However, he found "Kachchi Kaliyaan" from the same film less appealing with its "bad remix background" though praised Chauhan, Ghoshal, KK and Nigam for giving the song the "required vim". Besides, she recorded the soft romantic melody song "Hey Shona" for Vishal-Shekhar for whom she performed "Pyaar Ki Yeh Kahani" and "Sajnaaji Vaari Vaari" from ''
Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. ''Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.'' is a 2007 Indian comedy drama film. It is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment banner and marked the debut of Reema Kagti as a director. The movie has six different parts in it. ...
'', which resulted in another Filmfare nomination along with "Aaja Nachle". Chauhan received her eleventh Filmfare nomination for Best Playback Singer Award with Salim–Sulaiman's composition, "Dance Pe Chance" from ''
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by him and his father Yash Chopra under their banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars ...
'' (2008). Apart from rendering the club dance song "Lucky Boy" from Vishal-Shekhar's '' Bachna Ae Haseeno'', Chauhan provided vocals for "Dekho Nashe Mein", "Mujh Pe Jadoo", "Race Saason Ki" and its "high-on-English lyrics" version titled "Race Is on My Mind" for Pritam-composed '' Race'', which were equally well received for its energy on vocals and composition. Another release of the year, "Desi Girl" from '' Dostana'' was a commercial success. She later worked with Vishal Bhardwaj for ''
U Me Aur Hum ''U Me Aur Hum'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film co-written, directed, and produced by Ajay Devgn. The film tells the story of Ajay (Devgn), who meets barmaid Piya (Kajol) on a cruise with his friends (Sumeet Raghavan, ...
'', where she recorded both "Phatte" and "Saiyaan" along with Adnan Sami. Besides, Chauhan dubbed for Kareena Kapoor with her "husky vocals" in the song "Chhaliya" and "Dil Dance Maare", included in the soundtrack album of '' Tashan''. 2009 marks Chauhan's second collaboration with
Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
by singing "Batla De Koyi" from ''
Chal Chalein ''Chal Chalein'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi, Hindi-language film directed by Ujjwal Singh and produced by Mahesh Padalkar, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Rati Agnihotri, Mukesh Khanna and Kanwaljeet Singh in a story about the academic pressures on chi ...
'' and "Hichki Hichki" from '' Paa''. In a review of the latter by
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
, they considered it a "situational number that does not impress too much". During the year, Chauhan received critical acclaim with the Vishal Bhardwaj-composed "Raat Ke Dhai Baje" from ''
Kaminey ''Kaminey'' ( en, Scoundrels, italic=yes) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under UTV Motion Pictures, featuring Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Amole Gupte ...
'' for having a "seamless" transition of alternating voices by Chauhan and co-singer Rekha Bhardwaj. Along with "Gazab" from ''
Aa Dekhen Zara ''Aa Dekhen Zara'' ( en, Come, Let's See) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language science fiction thriller film written by Sheershak Anand , starring Neil Nitin Mukesh, who plays a photo journalist, and Bipasha Basu, as a disc jockey. The film is the ...
'', Chauhan worked with Pritam in ''
Dil Bole Hadippa! ''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' (''Heart Says Hurray!'') is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language sports film directed by Anurag Singh and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. It stars Rani Mukerji and Shahid Kapoor in the story about a you ...
'' and performed the club song "Hotty Naughty" for ''
De Dana Dan ''De Dana Dan'' ( Hit left and right) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Priyadarshan. The story is a partial adaptation of Hollywood film '' Screwed'' and some scenes were taken from Priyadarshan's own Malayalam film ''Ve ...
''. Despite the positive response received for songs like "Chor Bazaari" from '' Love Aaj Kal'', Chauhan was criticised for her pronunciation in the title track of '' Kambakkht Ishq'', composed by Anu Malik. Chauhan received another Filmfare nomination for the former. During the year, she also worked with Sajid–Wajid for films ''
Main Aurr Mrs Khanna ''Main Aurr Mrs Khanna'' () is a 2009 Indian romance film starring Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sohail Khan in lead roles with Nauheed Cyrusi, Yash Tonk and Bappi Lahiri in supporting roles while Preity Zinta and Deepika Padukone make brief ...
'' and '' Wanted'' where she performed both "Happening" and "Mrs. Khanna" for the former and both "Ishq Vishq" and "Tose Pyar Karte Hain" for the latter.


2010–13: ''Euphoria'', ''Guzaarish'' and ''Tees Maar Khan''

2010 marked Chauhan's international singing debut, where she featured in an alternate version of the song "
Heartbeat A heartbeat is one cardiac cycle of the heart. Heartbeat, heart beat, heartbeats, and heart beats may refer to: Computing *Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system *Heartbeat, clus ...
" titled as "Heartbeat (India Mix)" alongside Spanish recording artist
Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
, included on a Special Indian Edition of ''
Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...
''. During the year, she performed a
holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...
number, "Chhan Ke Mohalla" from ''
Action Replayy ''Action Replayy'' is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language science-fiction romantic comedy film directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and starring Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Aditya Roy Kapur, Neha Dhupia, Rannvijay Singh, Om Puri, Kirron Kher a ...
'' and a fast-paced Punjabi flavoured dance number "Ainvayi Ainvayi" from ''
Band Baaja Baaraat ''Band Baaja Baaraat'' (; also known as ''Wedding Planners'') is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Maneesh Sharma in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Habib Faisal, and produced by Aditya Chopra for Yash Ra ...
''. The year marked her only collaboration with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, where she recorded the international styled carnival song "Udi" from '' Guzaarish''. Complimenting her "fiery" vocals in the song, Sukanya Verma wrote: "Sunidhi Chauhan aims to burn the floor with her fiery, spunky performance in Udi". She was also part of the soundtrack album '' Housefull'', where she performed "Aapka Kya Hoga (Dhanno)" and "I Don't Know What To Do" in her usual "sensuous voice". Apart from recording the title track and "Sanu Guzra Zamana" for Reshammiya's ''
Kajraare ''Kajraare'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Pooja Bhatt, starring Himesh Reshammiya and Sara Loren in the lead roles. Reshammiya plays a singer who falls in love with a bar dancer and the film is centred on how they find true ...
'', Chauhan was heard in Pritam's cabaret number "Parda" from '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' which has influences of "Piya Tu" and "Duniya Mein" while brought in an improvised "true retro feel". During the year, Chauhan collaborated with Vishal-Shekhar for three projects; ''
Break Ke Baad ''Break Ke Baad'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Danish Aslam and starring Imran Khan and Deepika Padukone. Shahana Goswami and Yudhishtr Urs play siblings while Sharmila Tagore, Navin Nischol (in his last rol ...
'', '' I Hate Luv Storys'' and '' Tees Maar Khan''. Both the songs, "Bin Tere" from ''I Hate Luv Storys'' and " Sheila Ki Jawani" from ''Tees Maar Khan'' were commercial success and were included in ''
The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the '' Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliated newspaper in a partnership with the ''Interna ...
s "Top 10 Bollywood songs of 2010". Described as the "hottest item song of the year", the song along with its crew faced a controversy over the "raunchy" lyrics, though Chauhan felt that the "song has been written in sync with the storyline of the film and does not intend to hurt the female sentiments". She won her second Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer for "Sheila Ki Jawani" and was nominated in the same category for "Udi". During the year, she appeared as a judge alongside Anu Malik and
Salim Merchant Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to: People *Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin *Salim (poet) (1800–1866) *Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996) *Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans * Selim people, an e ...
in the 5th season of the Indian television music competition, ''
Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format. Versions : Currently airing – 1 : Upcoming for airing – 0 : Recently concluded – 3 : No longer airing – ...
''. Along with ten other artists, she performed a 30-minute segment titled the ''Universal Music of Love'' comprised Sufi, folk, Indipop and world music performances during the
2010 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in New Delhi, India. It began at 7:00 pm (IST) on 14 October 2010 and ended at 9:20 pm (IST). The ceremony in ...
. In 2011, Chauhan collaborated with Pritam for four films, out of which she was praised for her rendition of the slow-paced track "Te Amo" from '' Dum Maaro Dum''. Her performance in
Sangeet-Siddharth Sangeet-Siddharth is a music composer duo of brothers Siddharth Haldipur and Sangeet Haldipur. The duo rose to prominence with their top-of-the-line composition ‘Aa Zara Kareeb Se’ from the movie Murder 2, for which they won the Big Star Youn ...
composed sensuous club song "Aa Zara" from ''
Murder 2 ''Murder 2'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language psychological thriller film and the second installment in the ''Murder film series''. A quasi-sequel to the 2004 film, ''Murder'', it stars Emraan Hashmi, Jacqueline Fernandez and Prashant Narayana ...
'' was widely acclaimed both critically and commercially. The year marked her first collaboration with her husband Hitesh Sonik with the song "Tu" from ''
My Friend Pinto ''My Friend Pinto'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language musical comedy film written and directed by Raaghav Dar, in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Prateik Babbar as Michael Pinto, a well intentioned simpleton and follows his misadve ...
''. Besides, she recorded the Sufi inflected love ballad "Ishq Sufiyana" and the disco nightclub song "Honeymoon Ki Raat", for Vishal-Shekhar's ''
The Dirty Picture ''The Dirty Picture'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language biographical musical drama film inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, an Indian actress noted for her erotic roles. The filmmakers have clarified that the story is not officially or literall ...
''. Complimenting her vocal range and flexibility, Verma wrote: "To Sunidhi's credit, she imbues her brand of spice and spunk to
Rajat Arora Rajat Arora (born 23 July 1975) is an independent screenwriter who has worked in the Indian film and television industry for over two decades. His speciality lies in punch-packed dialogues and he has delivered a spate of hit movies like ''Once ...
's ..lines without making it in-your-face". In 2012, Chauhan appeared as a judge for the second time with the 6th season of ''Indian Idol''. She teamed up with Amit Trivedi for the
lavani Lavani () is a genre of music popular in Maharashtra, India. Lavani is a combination of traditional song and dance, which particularly performed to the beats of ''Dholki'', a percussion instrument. Lavani is noted for its powerful rhythm. Lavan ...
track "Sava Dollar" from ''
Aiyyaa ''Aiyyaa'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language parody film starring Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead roles. It was written and directed by Sachin Kundalkar and jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures. Th ...
'', where her "boisterous and bouncy voice" was praised along with her Marathi accent. The duo also worked with another Marathi styled song "Navrai Majhi" for
Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Female ...
's comeback film,
English Vinglish ''English Vinglish'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Gauri Shinde. The film stars Sridevi as Shashi Godbole, a small entrepreneur who makes snacks. Shashi enrolls in an English-speaking course to sto ...
, followed by the energetic "Chokra Jawaan" from ''
Ishaqzaade ''Ishaqzaade'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film written and directed by Habib Faisal, and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The film stars debutant Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra in the lead roles, wit ...
''. She worked with Ajay–Atul by recording "Gun Gun Guna" from '' Agneepath'' along with
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: *Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 1984 ...
. Two of the other well received songs were recorded with Pritam; "Kyon" from '' Barfi!'' and "Yaariyan" from ''
Cocktail A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
'', performed with Papon for the former and
Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Awards ...
for the latter. Besides, Chauhan performed some item songs during the year, including songs like "Halkat Jawani", "Kafirana", "The Disco Song" and "Laila". While reviewing the soundtrack album of '' Heroine'',
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
wrote: "Chauhan, the queen of item songs, is flawless n the song "Halkat Jawani" The way she croons Aaja in the beginning is simply mind-blowing". Besides she provided her voice to the character of Sita in the animated film ''
Sons of Ram ''Sons of Ram'' is a 2012 Indian animated film created by ACK Animation Studios, and co-produced by Maya Digital Studios and Cartoon Network India. Based on Hindu mythology, it depicts the sons of Rama, Luv and Kush. It is Amar Chitra Katha's ...
''. Chauhan collaborated with the Pakistani band Junoon and sung songs like "Galiyan Galiyan Husan Diyaan" for ''
Mohabbataan Sachiyaan ''Mohabbataan Sachiyaan'' is a 2007 Pakistani Punjabi language musical romance film directed by Shehzad Rafiq and produced by Shafqat Chaudhary. The film was distributed by Geo Films in cinemas nationwide on October 14, 2007. Plot outline The ...
'' (2007), "Aap Dil Ke Anjuman Mein" and "Dil Dharke Main Tum Se" for '' Anjuman'' (2013), which brought her fame and recognition in the country. She was part of the song "
Apna Bombay Talkies "Apna Bombay Talkies" (English: Our Bombay Talkies) is a Hindi song from the 2013 Bollywood anthology film, ''Bombay Talkies''. Composed by Amit Trivedi, the song is sung by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Sonu Nig ...
" from '' Bombay Talkies'' which celebrated the 100th year of Indian cinema. In the song, the singers recorded for actors whom they generally do the playback singing, and Chauhan dubbed for Priyanka Chopra. She performed a high pitched rendition of the energetic "Tu Hi Khwahish" for ''
Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! ''Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!'' (; ) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language gangster film directed by Milan Luthria and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor. A sequel to 2010's ''Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'', the film stars Akshay Kuma ...
'' which was the counterpart of "Parda" from the prequel. She again worked with Pritam for performing the reprise version of "Janam Janam" of '' Phata Poster Nikhla Hero'' and "Mat Maari" for '' R... Rajkumar'' where Rajiv Vijayakar of Bollywood Hungama appraised Chauhan for "dominating" the song. During the year, Chauhan voiced for Sonakshi Sinha—who expressed her interest to dub for Chauhan in a reality show—for the first time for the disco song "Thank God It's Friday" from '' Himmatwala'' composed by
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 ...
. She recorded another track "Dhoka Dhoka" for the same film, composed by Sajid–Wajid, performed along with Mamta Sharma. The song was tagged as, when "Munni and Sheila" joins together, since the former was performed by Sharma and latter by Chauhan during the year 2010 and shared the Filmfare trophy for their respective songs. Chauhan teamed up with Anu Malik for performing retro club songs "Aala Re Aala", "Ek Din Ke Liye" and "Babli Badmaash" for '' Shootout at Wadala'' which NDTV mentioned that she is an "expert" in crooning such songs. Another track composed by Pritam and performed along with Arijit Singh was met with mixed response with the music critics, where Mohar Basu from
Koimoi Koimoi is a Bollywood entertainment website providing Bollywood news, box-office reports and film reviews. In January 2021, its Alexa ranking in India was 2530. Origin On 23 November 2009, Contest2win.com and Komal Nahta's Faith Entertainment j ...
thought Chauhan's "unsurpassable energy" fails in the song along with other factors. The year marks her ever collaboration with Atif Aslam where the duo recorded the mellow track "Be Intehaan" for ''
Race 2 ''Race 2 '' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language crime-thriller action film directed by Abbas–Mustan and written by Kiran Kotrial and Shiraz Ahmed. The film was produced by Ramesh S. Taurani under the Tips Industries banner, with UTV Motion Pictur ...
''. Chauhan made her debut in the domain of
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 Li ...
for the album ''Tagore & We – 2'', where she recorded four tracks for the album.


2014–17: ''Dil Dhadakne Do'' and ''Rangoon''

Chauhan's first release of 2014 was the Vishal-Shekhar composed "Punjabi Wedding Song" from '' Hasee Toh Phasee'', which was a duet with Benny Dayal. The "foot-tapping number" became popular at weddings that were scheduled soon after the film. She was next heard in Rahman's traditional tuned "Tu Kuja" from ''
Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
''. According to ''The Times of India'', "Though a devotional number, Chauhan's voice mixed with the music creates a very Western effect" to the song. Apart from rendering Hitesh Sonik-composed "Ghoom Gayi" included in the album ''
Hawaa Hawaai '' Hawaa Hawaai '' is a 2014 Indian sports drama film directed by Amole Gupte. The film features Partho Gupte and Saqib Saleem. The film is produced by Fox Star Studios. Saleem portrays a roller skating coach in the film. Gupte also composed and ...
'', She made an on-screen appearance in its music promotional video. Moreover, Chauhan performed the "Mardaani Anthem" from '' Mardaani'' which was about women empowerment. During the year, she recorded the track "Adhure" from ''
Mary Kom Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom (born 01 March 1983) is an Indian amateur boxer, politician, and former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. She is the only woman to win the World Amateur Boxing Championship six times, the only female boxer to ha ...
'' sung in her "gentle", "soft" voice. Apart from rendering "Qawali and rock fused" title track of '' Daawat-e-Ishq'' along with Javed Ali, she collaborated with Vishal-Shekhar again for ''
Happy New Year The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...
'''s "Dance Like a Chammiya". She then made her second appearance in a music video, titled "Baal Khade" from '' Khoobsurat'', along with composer
Sneha Khanwalkar Sneha Khanwalkar is an Indian music director who works in Hindi films. She is best known for her score for the film, ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'', and also for ''Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1, Part 2''. She had been nominated in Best Music Director ...
and Sonam Kapoor. She also lent her voice for the recreated version of Rajasthani folk song "Engine Ki Seeti" from the film. Apart from Bollywood films, Chauhan lent her voice to the title track of the romantic thriller TV series '' Ek Hasina Thi''. Chauhan's first release of 2015 was Sajid–Wajid's Punjabi peppy track "Phatte Tak Nachna" from ''
Dolly Ki Doli ''Dolly Ki Doli'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film, directed by debutant Abhishek Dogra and produced by actor Arbaaz Khan under his production house Arbaaz Khan Productions. The film stars Sonam Kapoor in the title role an ...
'', which was recorded in one and a half-hour. She also performed a Jazz style number, "Girls Like To Swing" for Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy in ''
Dil Dhadakne Do ''Dil Dhadakne Do'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner. The film features an ensemble cast of Anil Kapoor, Shefali Sh ...
'', which Chauhan considered as a type of song that she has not "attempted before". ''The Indian Express'' appraised how Chauhan "crooned her lungs out" and "fitting the vocals in difficult structures" by not missing "even a quarter of a beat". Moreover, Chauhan recorded the title track of ''
Piku ''Piku'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Shoojit Sircar and produced by N. P. Singh, Ronnie Lahiri and Sneha Rajani. It stars Deepika Padukone as the titular protagonist, Amitabh Bachchan and Irrfan Khan, with Mous ...
'' where Surabhi Redkar from Koimoi felt that her "gifted bright voice" failed to "upbeat feel" of the song. Apart from rendering the song "Janib" from ''
Dilliwali Zaalim Girlfriend ''Dilliwaali Zaalim Girlfriend'' () is Hindi romantic comedy film directed by Japinder Kaur and produced by Tarnpreet Singh and Manjeet Kaur under JAP Films. The film features Divyendu Sharma, Jackie Shroff, Prachi Mishra and Ira Dubey in ...
'' along with
Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Awards ...
in the duet version, she recorded
Krsna Solo Krsna Solo (born Amitav Sarkar) is a music composer, singer-songwriter and a music producer from India, who debuted with the popular Hindi film "Tanu Weds Manu" in 2011. Among his awards are a Filmfare R.D. Burman Award, Stardust Award for Best ...
-composed "Move On" from '' Tanu Weds Manu Returns'' which ''India West'' labelled Chauhan as "brilliant", though Redkar from Koimoi was "surprised" how Chauhan had no problems singing a song that "seems like a blatant copy of her other song", "Bol Beliya" from ''
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 ...
''. Chauhan represented India at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival in New York City, where she performed on the stage alongside Coldplay,
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
,
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
and others. In 2016, Chauhan worked with Trivedi in two films; ''
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 ...
'' and '' Dear Zindagi''. "Ranga Re" performed alongside Trivedi and "Tere Liye", a duet with Jubin Nautiyal from the former were applauded for its arrangements and vocals. Complimenting her "restrained vocals" in the album, Swetha Ramakrishnan reviewing from ''
Firstpost ''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18. The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
'' wrote: "Tere Liye is a loud cry to music directors to use Chauhan in such songs, because she sounds absolutely fantastic when she holds back a tad bit". She continued to gain critical praise as she sang with "easy switches from desolation to angst around the title refrain" for the song "Just Go To Hell Dil" from ''Dear Zindagi''. She performed the songs "Aisa Kyun Maa" from '' Neerja'' which was well received due to its theme; portrayal of love between a mother and daughter. Apart from recording the track "Lamhon Ke Rasgulle" for Clinton Cerejo-composed '' Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh'', she sung "Titliyan" from '' Rocky Handsome'' in 1950s cabaret style. Among all her releases, she picked
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 ...
-composed "Darkhaast" from '' Shivaay'' and Vishal–Shekhar's "Je t'aime" from ''
Befikre ''Befikre'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner of Yash Raj Films. It features Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles. The fi ...
'' as her personal favourite tracks of the year. In the year, she made her acting debut with Arif Ali-directed urban thriller short film, ''Playing Priya'' in which she played the role of an urban housewife. Film critics were generally disappointed with the film but particularly praised Chauhan's performance; Namrata Thakker of Rediff.com noted, " heis quite impressive, as she doesn't have too many dialogues, and yet manages to convey her feelings through her expressions". In January 2017, Vishal Bhardwaj released two songs of Chauhan; "Bloody Hell" and "Tippa", recorded for the soundtrack album of ''
Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
''. Her rendition for both the tracks met with positive response from critics; Redkar from Koimoi noted, "Chauhan brings life into this song with her vocals as she croons it with the required ''nakhra''". Ashwin Vinayan of ''
Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...
'' picked "Tippa"—performed with
Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...
and Rekha Bhardwaj—as "one of the classiest multi-star efforts in recent Bollywood music memory". In spite of rendering the song, she also made a special appearance in "Bloody Hell". She was next heard in a Rochak Kohli composition; "Zinda" from '' Naam Shabana''. She contributed to the album of ''
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 ...
'' by performing "Radha" with Shahid Mallya and "Butterfly" alongside
Aman Trikha Aman Trikha (born 12 December 1986), also known as Aaman Trikha is an Indian playback singer from Mumbai. He has sung songs in Hindi, English, and other languages, and sang " Achhe din aane waale hain", the Loksabha Election 2014 Anthem of the B ...
, Nooran Sisters and Dev Negi. Both songs met with mixed reception from critics; Vipin Nair of ''
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 ...
'' appreciated Chauhan's rendition of "Radha" while criticising "Butterfly" as a "noisy mishmash". She was next heard in a duet with Sukhwinder Singh; "Bakheda" from '' Toilet: Ek Prem Katha''. Debarati Sen from ''The Times of India'' admired the track and praised her for bringing "the playful and folksy romance alive" with her rendition. Sen was equally pleased with her "slow and soulful" rendition of Sachin–Jigar composed "Pinjra Tod Ke" from ''
Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
''. Also, she recorded the anthem of
2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships The 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships was held at the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Eu ...
, a song mix of Hindi, English and
Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...
lyrics blended with a
rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
performed by her.


Artistry


Voice

Chauhan possesses a high octave vocal range, and has the ability to reach lower octaves and dropping notes with transition. ''
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 betw ...
'' described her as a
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
, though criticising her "high-pitched non-
falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...
voice because of the "squeakiness it acquires while belting out those notes".
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 cont ...
who described Chauhan's vocals as "different" from her contemporary, mentioned that her voice will not suit musical style of lori. Lyricist
Prasoon Joshi Prasoon Joshi (born 16 September 1971) is an Indian poet, writer, lyricist, screenwriter, and communication specialist and marketer. He is the CEO of McCann World group India and Chairman APAC (Asia Pacific), a subsidiary of the global marketi ...
described Chauhan as an effervescent and soulful singer who can lend her voice to any situation. Director
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
calling her an extraordinary talent, said "I think it’s the various facets of her personality, that is so full of life and energy, which come through in a musical way in her diverse songs". Chauhan has the ability to change her tonal quality with a lot of ease and charisma. According to Rajani Kanikar, she has a "powerful" and "husky" voice which she attributes to her father. Music composer Amit Trivedi considers Chauhan to be the most versatile female singer after
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
who is good with all the genres. She feels that her vocals structure suits on Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif,
Kajol Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six F ...
, Parineeti Chopra and
Urmila Matondkar Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
the most. According to '' The Daily Star'', "be it a soft classical-like piece or an operatic pitch, Chauhan is spectacular with her vocals". Though she has performs in high-pitched vocals songs, she is known for her "deeper pitched voice", on which Ajay Gehlawat wrote: "Chauhan's deeper timbre replaces Asha Bhosle's higher pitched vocals" in the song "Yeh Mera Dil", ensuring such "fuller female timbres become more commonplace' to a decidedly more forceful and sensual sounds". Ganesh Anantharaman in his book ''Bollywood Melodies: A History of the Hindi Film Song'' wrote that Chauhan has a "good, expressive" voice but she crafted a particular image for herself as the singer of fast, racy songs. ''The Times of India'' considered her voice as the "liveliest voice in Bollywood". According to MensXP.com, "her voice is orgasmic and extremely fierce. While singing a certain stanza, she gets into the mood so deeply, her voice breaks into a passionate squeal as she strikes a high note". In an interview, classical musician
Rahul Sharma Rahul Sharma may refer to: *Rahul Sharma (actor), Indian actor *Rahul Sharma (Gujarat police), Indian police officer *Rahul Sharma (Hong Kong cricketer) (born 1960), Hong Kong cricketer *Rahul Sharma (cricketer, born 1986), Indian cricketer *Rahul S ...
said, "Chauhan's voice has an element of sensuality which salso very versatile and I admire the quality of her voice and the kind of emotions she can bring out".


Musical style

Chauhan's music contains elements of pop, hip hop and R&B. Music composer Sandeep Chowta while talking about the singer said "She is a brilliant singer with a wide range and an individual style. She does not copy anyone. She knows what she’s doing and is in total control. She’s not just a singer, she’s also a musician". Chauhan has said that her audience feels more comfortable in hearing her singing item songs and she made her "name because of that genre". The perception of singing only item songs was "broken" when Chauhan performed the romantic song, "Meri Zindagi Mein" for Anu Malik which was then followed by songs from ''Chameli'' and ''Fanaa''. However, Chauhan declared that she "dislikes" tagging songs as item numbers and "they are treated specially, they have extra attention and they are picturised in a special way. So, I like being associated to any special song". Describing her singing style, Chauhan said; "I have no particular style; instead I only go with the music and the lyrics, and feel free to express my emotions through singing". Though her singing style has a strong western influences, she has recorded some semi-classical songs in her career, including songs from ''
Rang Rasiya ''Rang Rasiya'' (English title: Colours of passion) is an Indian erotic drama film based on the life of the 19th-century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. Made as a bilingual, the film is titled ''Rang Rasiya'' in its Hindi version and ''Colours of ...
''. She has not performed any classical songs or a
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
and has expressed her interest on releasing a ghazal album. Though known for her high pitch renditions, she personally prefers soft and soothing songs. Believing that singing all kinds of songs makes her grow as a musician she revealed that her "weakness remains for soft melodies". "Even on live shows, I first sing my fast numbers to get the audience into the groove. But once they are happy with their favorite numbers, I switch on to slow scores". Chauhan's live rendition of songs is praised by the viewers for her power and energy. A newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, '' The National'' wrote: "From flitting between fast and slow songs, to playing with the tempos and notes of the songs she sang, she didn't stick to the original format of any number".


Influence

Chauhan was introduced to music by her father and credits her "powerful" voice to him. She acknowledges that western music had a huge impact in her singing and confessed that she likes to perform "songs that have a western flavour in them". Believing that her voice has a "global appeal", she feels that her exposure to international music has only "sharpened" her skills while she does not forcefully tries to imply a western feel to the song. She considers
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 cont ...
as her biggest inspiration, calling her "a temple of music". She grew up listening to music by Mangeshkar and
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
and is equally influenced by singers like
Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...
,
Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam (née Ghanekar, born 7 March 1969) is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil language films. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and Filmfare Awa ...
,
K.S.Chithra Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various I ...
,
Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...
,
Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was a leading Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur ''gharana'', or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She was a performer of the classical genre '' ...
,
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
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 Bhen ...
. Sonu Nigam who helped her get her first break in the industry was named as one of the biggest influences in shaping her career along with her parents and she described him as a "catalyst to fuel my career". She was mainly compared with her contemporary singer Shreya Ghoshal for which Chauhan stated, "I am contented to have my own area in the current music world. Likewise, Shreya Ghoshal has her own. I personally respect Shreya for her talents and nice songs, whom people consider as a threat to me". Moreover, Chauhan's versatility is compared with Bhosle, where she described Bhosle as a "singing institution", whereas, Chauhan is like a "student to her". Chauhan has also been influenced by many artists outside the country like
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
,
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
,
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
,
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
and
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
. According to Chauhan, she started listening English songs after she turned 11, and she grew up listening to " Always Be My Baby" by Carey. Chauhan who admires the work of
Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...
was keen to be part of the Indian version of '' The Voice'', since she served as a coach on the American version of the show.


Public image

Known for experimenting with her style and image, Chauhan's music and fashion sense are noted by the media. In 2010, while she appeared a judge in the ''
Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format. Versions : Currently airing – 1 : Upcoming for airing – 0 : Recently concluded – 3 : No longer airing – ...
(Season 5)'', her look was discussed in the media;
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
considered her wardrobe sense a "real shame" considering that she is "young", "slim" and "pretty". However, '' Mid-Day'' praised her style in the show for "dressing in normal clothes" while compared to other judges, though they mentioned that "her hairstyle changes too often for our liking". Prior to ''Indian Idol'', Chauhan's face was not so familiar with the public and according to her, people imagined her to be a "30 to 40 years old woman in a sari", while she is "dressed casually in denims and a tee". Reportedly, during a concert in Kolkata, the local people did not recognise her when she entered the venue, until the host introduced her to them. After Chauhan got married in 2012, she had put on weight of about 20 kg. During the time, she was getting breathless on stage and wanted to get fit, as she had to perform at concerts and regular shows. Besides, she likes "glamorous" outfits which she feels uncomfortable wearing with too much weight. She then followed a strict diet and regularly went to gym or for jogging. She knocked off 12 kg by jogging and working out. Post a hairdo in 2014, she worked on her wardrobe and chose a trendy image to "open up" to the fashion. She appeared on '' The Voice'' after the weight loss, though clarified that "losing weight was not intentional. Neither was it for ''The Voice India''. It's just that one day I decided that I need to go to gym and eat a healthy diet". In 2012, Chauhan appeared in the ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' Celebrity 100, a list based on income and popularity of India's celebrities. She was listed at the seventy-second spot in 2012, fifty-eighth spot in 2013, fifty-sixth spot in 2014, sixtieth spot in 2015. In 2013, Chauhan appeared in the list of "World's Sexiest Asian Woman" by ''
FHM India ''FHM India'' is the Indian edition of the British monthly men's lifestyle magazine called ''FHM''. It is now published in India by TCG Media Limited and is the 32nd international edition of ''FHM''. The first issue was launched in the October 2 ...
'' at the twenty-eighth position, and was named the "Hottest Female Bollywood Lead Singer" by MensXP.com. Chauhan was selected in the list of "Top 5 Celeb100 Singers and Musicians" compiled by ''
Forbes India ''Forbes India'' is the Indian edition of ''Forbes'' which is managed by Reliance Industries-owned media conglomerate, Network 18. History and profile Since its founding in 2008, ''Forbes India'' has achieved a circulation of 50,000 copies and ma ...
''. She was also voted as Bollywood's most favourite Female Playback Singer in the "Vuclip Icons of the Year 2012" mobile survey. Apart from public appearances, Chauhan began to use social media to respond directly to her fans. She opened a Twitter account in 2010, and use a Facebook Fan page both manage by herself. She was included at the twenty-second position of the "50 Most Influential Indians on Social Media", a list created by taking account of number of followers on Facebook and Twitter.


Impact and recognition

Chauhan's work has received praise from several artists.
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 cont ...
called her the "Numero Uno" singer of the generation, and said: "Sunidhi can sing all kinds of songs. And her voice and style have all the elements that Gen- Now hankers after."
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
,
Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...
,
Kavita Krishnamurthy Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojp ...
, and Usha Uthup picked Chauhan as one of the best female singers from the generation.
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 Bhen ...
, Amjad Ali Khan, Bombay Jayashri,
Kavita Seth Kavita Seth (born 14 September 1970) is an Indian singer, who is most known as a playback singer in Hindi cinema, as well as a performer of Ghazals and Sufi music, and leads a Sufi musical group, ''Karwaan Group''.Rahat Fateh Ali Khan praised the musical abilities of Chauhan. Ghoshal, who is considered as the toughest competition to Chauhan, complimented her professionalism and said; "When we are in the studios, we chat and talk. I respect her as an artist and she does too." Alisha Chinai remarked; "Chauhan works hard on her voice and has good technique." Naming Chauhan as her most favourite singer,
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 has re ...
found her musical skills "utterly" inspirational. Shaan (singer) confessing to being a massive fan of Sunidhi and said "She is just amazing" and loves to see Sunidhi singing live. Papon called her a "versatile vocalist" and complimented how she "brings life into any kind of song". British Indian rapper Hard Kaur affirmed that Chauhan as a person is as "good as her voice". Composer
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
perceived that Chauhan is an artist who would "excel in any time and age". Mika Singh stated that "Chauhan serves as a role model for the youngsters". Singer Shibani Kashyap remarked that Chauhan is a fabulous singer who "can sing all types of songs with the same ease". Singer
Himani Kapoor Himani Kapoor is an Indian singer and finalist of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005. She also hosted a show with Karan Oberoi on Zee TV called "Antakshari". She also competed in Star Plus's Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. She gained wider recognition ...
considers Chauhan her Idol "because of the range she sings in". Singer Monali Thakur admitting to be a huge fan of Chauhan has said that "she has always really admired the singer". Director and Composer Vishal Bhardwaj considers Chauhan as his favourite singer that he wants to make more music for.
Prakriti Kakar Prakriti Kakar is an Indian singer. Born in New Delhi, her career began upon singing the title song of 2012 Bollywood film ''Tutiya Dil''. Subsequently, she performed few tracks for films released in 2013, providing mostly backing vocals. She th ...
,
Aditi Singh Sharma Aditi Singh Sharma is an Indian playback singer. She made her playback singing debut in Bollywood with Anurag Kashyap's '' Dev.D''. Sharma is known for her work in movies like '' Dev.D, No One Killed Jessica, Dhoom 3, 2 States, Agent Vinod,' ...
mentioned Chauhan as an inspiration for herself. Aastha Gill considers Chauhan her ultimate Idol and "loves the texture of her voice". Neha Bhasin credited Chauhan for bringing the "much-needed" change in the music industry.
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 ...
also credited Chauhan for paving the path for original, unique, and different voices and said, "You are the pioneer and many of us wouldn't be on music records if it weren't for you to change the scene''".'' '' Sonu Nigam'' has said that the industry calls Chauhan his female version. Chauhan's work has been praised by
Shefali Alvares Shefali Alvares (born 10 December 1983) is an Indian people, Indian playback singer. She has sung many popular songs such as Subah Hone Na De (Tu Mera Hero), Party On My Mind in Bollywood movies. Early life Shefali was born in a musical family ...
, Ankit Tiwari,
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 s ...
, Richa Sharma, Amit Mishra,
Jonita Gandhi Jonita Gandhi is a Canadian playback singer of Indian descent. She has recorded songs predominantly in Hindi and Tamil languages with few in Punjabi, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Some of her most acclaim ...
,
Vaishali Mhade Vaishali Made (born 21 August 1984) is an Indian singer and winner of Zee TV's reality series, '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009''.Sukhwinder Singh Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an internationally acclaimed Indian playback singer who primarily sings Bollywood songs. He is famous internationally for singing " Jai Ho" from the film ''Slumdog Millionaire'' which won an Academy Awa ...
,
Kaushiki Chakraborty Kaushiki Chakraborty (born 24 October 1980) is an Indian classical vocalist and a composer She attended Sangeet Research Academy, and was one of the exponents of Patiala gharana. Her repertoire covers pure classical, ''Khyals, Dadras, Thumr ...
,
Pawni Pandey Pawni Pandey is an Indian singer who was a contestant on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs and advanced to fifth place with public votes. She made her debut in the singing reality show Indian Idol. Post the reality show, she has sung a diverse number ...
, Shashaa Tirupati,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
, Amit Trivedi, and
Raghav Sachar Raghav Sachar (born 24 July 1981, in India) is an Indian singer, composer and film scorer. Early life and career Sachar was born to father, R. K. Sachar, and mother, Usha Sachar in Calcutta . He is the youngest of three children. He started ...
. Chauhan also received praise from many actors including Bipasha Basu and Amrita Rao. Chauhan was named as one of the singers Priyanka Chopra looks up to. Actor-Director Farhan Akhtar named Chauhan as his favourite singer and said that he "loves her voice and admires how she adapts herself to different kinds of songs.
Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
confessed that, he "truly sincerity honestly" thinks Chauhan is the "greatest singer in the world".


Philanthropy

Besides her career in music, Chauhan has also contributed to various charities. She is associated with social causes like working for the underprivileged children, where she performed charity shows, donating money and buying clothes. In 2005, along with sixteen other artists, she recorded a single titled "Zindagi Pukaarti Hai" to raise money for the victims of the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. Performed at Screen Awards on 18 January 2005, the song was released as a cassette and a CD where the proceeds from sales were given to the victims. She was also involved with fundraising events for charities involved in the disaster clean-up operation. In 2006, she performed a concert held in
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
to mark
International Widows Day International Widows Day is a United Nations ratified list of minor secular observances#June, day of action to address the "poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their Dependant, dependents in many countries". The day takes place ...
and start a charity to educate the children of poor widows in India. Besides, she performed in a musical show along with singers such as
Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...
and KK which helped to raise through sponsorships and donations in order to open a home for senior citizens from all castes and communities. She also hosted the global campaign, "World of Betters" in Mumbai which was launched by
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
. She has also assisted in raising funds for the "Save Our Tigers" campaign, initiated by
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
. In October 2014, Chauhan was featured in a musical concert to raise awareness and funds for eye donations. During the following month, she also performed in
Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...
's social initiative YouWeCan, which aims to fight cancer by spreading awareness about the disease. Chauhan also lent her voice for a music video of
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
's "
Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...
". The video was created as part of a global campaign by
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In September 2015, Chauhan represented India at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival, an annual music festival created to mark the establishment of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
(SDGs), a "to-do list" of 17 tasks to end extreme global poverty by 2030. It was followed by a fundraiser concert featuring Chauhan which was dedicated in raising funds to promote breast and ovarian cancer research and awareness. In October 2017, Chauhan participated in a campaign to promote breast cancer awareness.


Personal life

In 2002, at the age of 18, Chauhan married director and choreographer Bobby Khan (brother of choreographer and director Ahmed Khan) after working on the music video, ''Pehla Nasha''. It was reported that the couple married in a secretly arranged ceremony, attended only by very close friends. However, the marriage caused a rift between Sunidhi and her parents, who considered the union "unsuitable" and consequently disowned her. Despite that, she and Khan separated a year later, bringing about a reconciliation with her parents. She lived with actor Annu Kapoor and his wife Arunita during the separation, filed for divorce the same year, citing that she had realised that they "wanted different things from life". Later, Chauhan began a romantic relationship with the music composer Hitesh Sonik whom she was friends with, since the days she won ''Meri Awaz Suno''. After dating for more than two years, they married on 24 April 2012, at a low profile wedding ceremony in
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
and had a grand reception in Mumbai, attended by many prominent Bollywood celebrities. On 1 January 2018, Chauhan gave birth to a boy whom she named Tegh.


Awards and achievements

Throughout her career, Chauhan has several honours and awards, including three
Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
: two for " Best Female Playback" and one RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. She has also performed quite often in college festivals, including Rendezvous IIT Delhi fest 2022


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography


See also

* List of Indian playback singers


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chauhan, Sunidhi 1983 births Filmi singers 21st-century Indian singers Bollywood playback singers Indian women playback singers Indian women pop singers 21st-century Indian women singers Indian television presenters Indian voice actresses Indian women television presenters Kannada playback singers Living people Nepali-language singers from India Singers from Delhi Tamil playback singers Telugu playback singers Women musicians from Delhi Indian folk-pop singers Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners