Mehnaz Hoosein (born 30 January 1973) is an

Indian pop Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollywo ...

singer and songwriter from

Mumbai, India Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, popularly known for her hit song 'Banoongi Main Miss India'. She is a graduate from

St. Xavier's College, Mumbai St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education institution run by the Bombay Province of the Society of Jesus in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by the Jesuits on January 2, 1869. The college is affil ...

. At the age of 13, Mehnaz started her vocal training in Hindustani classical music under the tutelage of Pandit Bhavdeep Jaipurwale. She began training as a dancer with

Shiamak Davar Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India.

from 1988 and performed with the Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts till 1995. Mehnaz achieved success with her song Miss India which won her the 1996

Channel V Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...

Music Award for Best Female Pop Vocalist. At the time, Mehnaz was managed by

Diana Hayden Diana Hayden (born 1 May 1973) is an Indian actress, television host, model and the winner of Miss World 1997 pageant. She is the third Indian woman to win the title of Miss World. She also won three subtitles during the pageant and is the on ...

who was crowned

Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...

the same year. It was in the nineties that

Indi-pop Indian pop music, also known as Indi-pop, refers to pop music produced in India that is independent from filmi soundtracks for Indian cinema, such as the music of Bollywood, which tends to be more popular. Indian pop is closely linked to Bollywo ...

began to emerge as an alternative to film music in India when a large number of pop singers emerged on the music scene.

Early life and career

In 1996, Mehnaz won the Screen Videocon Award for Best Pop Singer for her debut album Miss India in the Non-Film Music category. Her song ''Main Hoon'' (composed by

Merlin D'Souza Merlin D'Souza (Merlyn) is an Indian composer and pianist from Mumbai. She is a musician whose work includes composing for film, albums, theatre and advertising. She is based at Bandra, a Mumbai suburb. Formerly the Asian jazz ambassador for Hen ...

) from the album Miss India was featured on the soundtrack of

Deepa Mehta Deepa Mehta, (; born 1 January 1950) is an Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996 film), ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth (1998 film), Earth'' (1998), and ''Water (2005 film), Water'' (2005 ...

's movie ''

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

''. In 1997 she was featured in a multi-artist video called ''Wajah Muskurane Ki'' (A Reason to Smile) to celebrate 50 years of Indian independence and the video aired on Indian television channels. Mehnaz recorded a duet titled ''Senada Cinta'' with

BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008 *** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...

Malaysia's recording artist Iwan in 1998. In 1998, she sang the number ''Paisa paisa paisa'' for the soundtrack of the indie film ''

Bombay Boys ''Bombay Boys'' is a 1998 Indian cult comedy film written and directed by the Indian director Kaizad Gustad. It follows the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai (or Bombay). The boys are of Indian origin, but were all raised in the ...

''."Bombay Boys by Ashutosh Phatak". Beardscratchers.com. Retrieved 18 March 2013
/ref> In 1999, Mehnaz recorded a duet called ''You Are The Reason'' with

Graham Russell Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and per ...

and

Russell Hitchcock Russell Charles Hitchcock (born 15 June 1949) is an Australian musician and lead vocalist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. Early life Born in Melbourne, Hitchcock attended South Brunswick State School, and later studied at Princes Hill High ...

of the band

Air Supply Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five hit ...

for the soundtrack of

Dev Benegal Dev Benegal is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter, most known for his debut film ''English, August'' (1994), which won the Best Feature Film in English at the 42nd National Film Awards. Early life and education Dev was born in New Delhi to ...

's award-winning film ''

Split Wide Open ''Split Wide Open'' is a 1999 Indian film directed by Dev Benegal. It is his second feature film after ''English, August'' (1994). The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, and also looks at the su ...

''."Yours Truly" AirSupply, "You Are The Reason" (Featuring Mehnaz) (Album Version). Amazon Music. (2001). Retrieved 15 March 2013
/ref> She released her second solo album titled ''Mausam'' with BMG Crescendo in 1999. In the year 2000, Mehnaz recorded the song ''Dreamcatcher'' for the soundtrack of the indie film ''Snip!'', directed by Sunhil Sippy.iTunes Preview (2000). Snip (OST), Various Artists. Universal Music India Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 18 March 2013
/ref> She was also featured on the duet You Are The Reason on ''Yours Truly'', the fifteenth album by

released in 2001. Mehnaz was a judge on

's, Coke V Popstars 2 in 2003. In 2006, Mehnaz' released her third solo album ''Sajnaa'' with Universal Music India."Mehnaz, Most downloaded album, Sajnaa". Universal Music India Ltd., Nokia Music. (January 2006). Retrieved 12 March 2013

Mehnaz and Manooghi Hi

In 2007, Mehnaz travelled to the United States and collaborated with local musicians who eventually formed the core of the Seattle-based band,

Manooghi Hi Manooghi Hi is a Seattle-based rock band formed in 2007 and featuring Indian pop singer, Mehnaz Hoosein. Their music is a blend of western rock-n-roll harmony and instrumentation with Indian melody and rhythms. The band sings in a variety of South ...

. As lead singer of Manooghi Hi, Mehnaz brought her background and knowledge of Indian pop and

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

to the all-American pure rock sensibilities of the band; Jonathan Zwickel of the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

said 'their sound has never before been attempted'.Manooghi Hi. Retrieved 19 March 2013
Mehnaz and Manooghi Hi vocalize in several South Asian languages, including English, Urdu, Sanskrit, Hindi and Bengali. Manooghi Hi released two albums titled Hi in 2009 Manooghi Hi (2009). "Manooghi Hi". cdbaby.com. Retrieved 12 March 2013
/ref> and Silence in 2011.Brian McKinnon (11 July 2011). Muzikreviews.com, Manooghi Hi. Silence. Retrieved 12 March 2013
/ref> Mehnaz was featured on the 2012, the

Barrett Martin Barrett Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American record producer, percussionist, writer, and ethnomusicologist from Washington. As a producer he has won one Latin Grammy and has been nominated in two other categories. As an ethnomusicologist ...

album release "Artifact "on Sunyata Records. In 2012, Mehnaz moved to New Orleans to pursue her dream of living in one of the most musical cities in the world. She has performed at Voodoo Fest with Leslie Blackshear Smith Mehnaz has also performed with Master Sarode player

Aashish Khan Aashish Khan Debsharma (born 5 December 1939) is an Indian classical musician, a player of the sarod. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode". He is also a recip ...

and (Shringar) Larry Sieberth, Andrew McLean, Michael Skinkus and Tim Green. Mehnaz has been collaborating with pianist, composer and producer Lawrence Sieberth and was featured at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2015

Discography

Studio Albums

*Miss India (1996) Crescendo Music * Mausam (1999) BMG Crescendo Music *Sajnaa (2006) Universal Music, India *Hi (2009) Manooghi Hi Records *Silence (2011) Mowlawner Records

Soundtrack Albums

*Bombay Boys (1998) *

(1999) *Snip (2000)

Compilation Albums

*32 Smash Hits (2000) BMG Crescendo Music *Hitz Unlimited (2002) Zee Records

Featured on Albums

*(2001) Air Supply, Giant Records / Warner Bros. *Clockwork (2011), Slow Bunny Records. *Artifact (2012), Barrett Martin Group, Sunyata Records.Barrett Martin Group, Artifact (May15, 2012), Featuring Hindustani Vocalist Mehnaz Hoosein, Amazon Music, Retrieved 12 March 2013
/ref>

Other Albums

*A Reason To Smile (1997) Magnasound

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoosein, Mehnaz 1973 births Indian Muslims Indian singer-songwriters Indian pop singers Indian women singers Indian women singer-songwriters Indian women pop singers 21st-century Indian singers Living people People from Mumbai People from Maharashtra Singers from Mumbai Indian women songwriters 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from Maharashtra