Neha Kakkar Singh (;
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kakkar; born 6 June 1988), 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 ...
. She is the younger sister of playback singer
Sonu Kakkar
Sonu Kakkar is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and television personality. She is the elder sister of Bollywood singers, Neha Kakkar and Tony Kakkar. Sonu Kakkar was born in Rishikesh on October 20, 1979 in Uttarakhand. One of her most po ...
. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the second season of the singing reality show, ''
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 – ...
''. She made her
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
debut as a chorus singer in the film ''
Meerabai Not Out
''Meerabai Not Out'', based on cricket, is a 2008 Hindi Bollywood film that stars Mahesh Manjrekar, Mandira Bedi, Eijaz Khan and Anupam Kher. It is a Pritish Nandy Communications presented movie, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.
Mandira Bedi pl ...
''. She rose to prominence with the release of the dance track "Second Hand Jawaani" 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 ...
'' (2012), which was followed by several popular party songs, including "Sunny Sunny" from ''
Yaariyan'' and "London Thumakda" from the 2014 soundtrack album ''
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
''. Apart from playback singing, Kakkar has appeared in several music videos and as a judge on several television reality shows including "''
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 – ...
''".
In 2019, Kakkar was listed among the most-viewed female artists on YouTube with 4.2 billion views.
In January 2021, she became the first Indian singer to win a YouTube Diamond Award.
She appeared in the ''
India Forbes'' Celebrity 100 in 2017 and 2019. In December 2020, she appeared in the list of Asia's 100 Digital Stars by ''
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 ...
''.
Early life
Kakkar was born on 6 June 1988 in
Rishikesh in the state of
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 ...
(now
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
).
In the early 1990s, Kakkar along with her family moved to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
, to try her luck in singing. Kakkar, at the age of four, started performing at local gatherings and religious event.
In 2004, she moved 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- ...
along with her brother,
Tony Kakkar
Tony Kakkar (born 9 April 1984) is an Indian singer known for his cringe pop songs. Kakkar made his debut in Bollywood in 2012, as a music director with the film '' Mr. Bhatti on Chutti'', for which he composed the song "Good Boys Bad Boys". He ...
.
In 2006, at the age of eighteen, Kakkar auditioned for the second season of ''
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 – ...
'' where she got eliminated early in the show.
Career
2005–2012: Career beginnings and breakthrough with ''Cocktail''
In 2005 she participated in the second season of the singing reality show, ''
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 – ...
'', in which she was eliminated early.'
![Neha Kakkar at Cinemax](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Neha_Kakkar_at_Cinemax.jpg)
In 2008, she launched her debut album ''Neha The Rockstar'' with music by
Meet Bros
Meet Bros is an Indian musical duo from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The duo consists of brothers Manmeet Singh and Harmeet Singh. They were formerly known as Meet Bros Anjjan with longtime collaborator Anjjan Bhattacharya.
Initially starting out ...
. Anjjan. During the time, she recorded for a music album, ''Romeo Juliet'' composed by her brother, Tony Kakkar. She sang "Hai Rama" from ''
Meerabai Not Out
''Meerabai Not Out'', based on cricket, is a 2008 Hindi Bollywood film that stars Mahesh Manjrekar, Mandira Bedi, Eijaz Khan and Anupam Kher. It is a Pritish Nandy Communications presented movie, directed by Chandrakant Kulkarni.
Mandira Bedi pl ...
'' (2008) along with
Sukhwinder Singh. The following year, she was featured in
A.R. Rahman's composition, the theme song of ''
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...
'' (2009) where she provided the chorus vocals for the song.
She then lent her voice for the title track of the Hindi-language soap opera ''
Na Aana Is Des Laado
''Na Aana Is Des Laado'' ( Never come to this country, dear female) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language soap opera that premiered on 9 March 2009 on Colors TV and finished on 27 July 2012, reaching a total of 870 episodes. The show portrays various ...
'' (2009).
In 2010, Kakkar made her screen debut with
Vidhi Kasliwal
Vidhi Kasliwal is an Indian film director and producer, who is the founder and CEO of Landmarc Films.
She has worked for Rajshri Productions, where she wrote and produced documentaries, and worked as an assistant to directors Sooraj R. Bar ...
's film ''
Isi Life Mein...!'' (2010) in which she played the role of a college student.
The same year, she debuted in both the
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
and
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
music industry by performing a total of four tracks for
Sandeep Chowta
Sandeep Chowta is an Indian music director who primarily works in Bollywood and Telugu cinema. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs.
In 2003, he produced an anti substance abuse documentary, titl ...
.
She lent her voice for the title track of the Kannada film ''
Thamassu'' and the song "Nodu Baare" alongside
Master Saleem
Master Saleem also known as Saleem Shahzada is an Indian singer who is known for his work as a devotional singer and also as a playback singer in Bollywood films, like ''Heyy Babyy'' (2007), '' Dostana'' and '' Love Aaj Kal'' (2009). He has als ...
. The former resulted in her only
Filmfare Awards South
Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...
nomination as the
Best Female Playback Singer.
She appeared in the second season of ''
Comedy Circus
''The Comedy Circus Show '' is an Indian comedy show that aired on Sony Entertainment Television.
Overview
Comedy Circus 1: Hindi TV Show where daily soap stars perform stand-up comedy. Paired with the "finest" stand up talent from India and ...
Ke Taansen'' alongside
Kapil Sharma
Kapil Sharma (born Kapil Punj; 2 April 1981) is an Indian stand-up comedian, television host from Punjab, India, Primarily known for hosting ''The Kapil Sharma Show''. He won the stand-up comedy reality show, The Great Indian Laughter Challen ...
and
Ali Asgar.
The following year, her collaboration with
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye. ...
for the dance track "Second Hand Jawaani" 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 ...
'' proved to be a major breakthrough for Kakkar. The song went to become popular among the music listeners, though it received mixed to negative reviews from critics. In 2012, she released "SRK Anthem" on YouTube, a tribute to actor
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
.
2013–2016: Chart-busters with ''Fever'' and ''Baar Baar Dekho''
Kakkar's first release of 2013, "Botal Khol" from ''
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
'' which met with controversy, where Central Board of Film Certification raised objections on the song citing that its lyrics contain double meaning.
This was followed by a
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 ...
's item number composed for ''
Ramaiya Vastavaiya
''Ramaiya Vastavaiya'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Kumar S. Taurani, under Tips Industries. The film stars debutant Girish Kumar alongside Shruti Haasan in lead roles. The ...
''.
Titled "Jadoo Ki Jhappi". She next collaborated with Pritam for another item song "Dhating Nach", performed alongside
Nakash Aziz
Nakash Aziz (born 24 February 1985), also known as Nakash, is an Indian composer and singer. He has worked as an assistant to composer A. R. Rahman on films such as ''Highway'', ''Raanjhanaa'', ''Rockstar'', ''Delhi 6'' and '' I'' (Hindi dubbe ...
and
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 ...
.
2014 saw the rise of Kakkar with the release of three popular songs.
The first release of the year was a collaboration with
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh or simply Honey Singh, is an Indian music producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and an actor. He started out in 2003 as a session and recording artist, and became a b ...
for the film ''
Yaariyan''. The duo collaborated once again for Bollywood's first trance number, "Manali Trance" from ''
The Shaukeens
''The Shaukeens'' is a 2014 Indian comedy film directed by Abhishek Sharma (director), Abhishek Sharma. The film features Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor, Piyush Mishra, and Lisa Haydon in the lead roles, and Akshay Kumar in an extended cameo as a fict ...
''. Her first work with
Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 2008 ...
, a wedding song titled "London Thumakda" was released in the same year, which received positive reviews from critics. On the occasion of Mother's Day, Kakkar shot and released a song for her mother which gained positive response among the audience.
![Neha Kakkar Fever](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Neha_Kakkar_Fever.jpg)
Kakkar's first release of 2015 came with "Ek Do Teen Chaar" from ''
Ek Paheli Leela
''Ek Paheli Leela'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller drama film, written and directed by Bobby Khan and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. It stars Sunny Leone in the titular lead role with Jay Bhanushali, Rajnee ...
'' which was composed, penned and co-sung by Tony Kakkar.
She then collaborated with the music composer duo, Amjad-Nadeem where she performed the tracks "Naughty No 1" and "Daaru Peeke Dance" for ''
Barkhaa'' and ''
Kuch Kuch Locha Hai
''Kuch Kuch Locha Hai'' (), previously titled ''Patel Rap'', is a 2015 Bollywood comedy film directed by Devang Dholakia and starring Sunny Leone, Ram Kapoor, Evelyn Sharma and Navdeep Chhabra in lead roles. The film is loosely inspired by th ...
'' respectively Kakkar sang
Meet Bros
Meet Bros is an Indian musical duo from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The duo consists of brothers Manmeet Singh and Harmeet Singh. They were formerly known as Meet Bros Anjjan with longtime collaborator Anjjan Bhattacharya.
Initially starting out ...
-composed "Tu Isaq Mera" from ''
Hate Story 3
''Hate Story 3'' is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language erotic thriller film directed by Vishal Pandya. Produced by T-Series, it stars Sharman Joshi, Karan Singh Grover, Zareen Khan and Daisy Shah, with Priyanshu Chatterjee in a pivotal role. Writte ...
''. Her last release of the year was "Tukur Tukur" from ''
Dilwale'', along with
Arijit Singh,
Kanika Kapoor
Kanika Kapoor (born 21 August 1978) is an Indian singer. She was born and raised in Lucknow. In 2012, she relocated to Mumbai to become a singer. Kapoor's first song "Jugni Ji" (2012) was for a music videowhich became a commercial success. In 2 ...
,
Siddharth Mahadevan
Siddharth Mahadevan is an Indian film composer who is known for his songs in the film '' Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' in which he sang "Zinda" and the rock version of the title song "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag".
Career
Mahadevan got further acclaim for th ...
and
Nakash Aziz
Nakash Aziz (born 24 February 1985), also known as Nakash, is an Indian composer and singer. He has worked as an assistant to composer A. R. Rahman on films such as ''Highway'', ''Raanjhanaa'', ''Rockstar'', ''Delhi 6'' and '' I'' (Hindi dubbe ...
.
The same year, she featured alongside
Shilpa Shetty
Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty; Née Shetty; 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller ''Baazigar'' (1993) which garnered her nominations for two Filmfare ...
in the video single "Wedding Da Season", composed by
Amaal Malik
Amaal Mallik (born 16 June 1990) is an Indian music director, composer, singer, music producer, arranger, background scorer, performer and lyricist. He is the elder son of Daboo Malik and Jyothi Malik, and grandson of Sardar Malik. He debuted ...
.
In 2016, she performed the popular song "Mile Ho Tum" from the film ''
Fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
'', composed, written and co-sung by Tony Kakkar.
Credited as the
most-viewed Bollywood song on YouTube, the song received a positive response from critics and audience. Also, she contributed to the soundtrack album of ''
Baar Baar Dekho
''Baar Baar Dekho'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language science-fiction romantic drama film directed by Nitya Mehra which marks her debut in Hindi cinema. It is produced by Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar under Dharma Productions and Excel Ente ...
'' by performing the wedding-song "
Kala Chashma" which became the "party anthem of the year". She worked with Epic Bhangra for the film ''
Sanam Re
''Sanam Re'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Divya Khosla Kumar and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and co-produced by Ajay Kapoor. The film stars Pulkit Samrat, Yami Gautam and Urvashi Rautela, whi ...
'', where they released the song "Humne Pee Rakhi Hai", a mix of club and EDM. She also provided her vocals for an additional song in the album, "Akkad Bakkad", 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 ...
song performed along with
Badshah. Apart from lending her vocals to the party song, "Kar Gayi Chull" from ''
Kapoor & Sons
''Kapoor & Sons'', also known as ''Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language family comedy drama film directed by Shakun Batra and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions, with F ...
'', which was a remake of the Haryanvi track "Chull" and her first recording for
Dharma Productions
Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., commonly known and doing business as Dharma Productions, is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Yash Johar in 1979. It was taken over in 2004, after his death, by his son, Karan Johar ...
, Kakkar performed several other recreated songs during the year including, "Maahi Ve"–a remake of the song "Maahi Ve" from ''
Kaante
''Kaante'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film directed by Sanjay Gupta, written by Milap Zaveri, and starring an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Kumar Gaurav, Sunil Shetty, Lucky Ali, Mahesh Manjre ...
'' (2002)– and "O Janiya"–a remake of the song "Kaante Nahi Kat Te" from ''
Mr. India'' (1987)–for ''
Wajah Tum Ho
''Wajah Tum Ho'' () is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language erotic-crime mystery thriller film directed by Vishal Pandya. It features Sharman Joshi, Gurmeet Choudhary and Sana Khan, in lead roles. The film revolves around a live murder committed on ...
'' and ''
Force 2
''Force 2'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Abhinay Deo, which features John Abraham, Tahir Raj Bhasin and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead roles. It is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Force'', and the second installmen ...
'' respectively.
2017–present: Collaboration with Tanishk Bagchi and series of remade songs
2017 marked Kakkar's first of many collaborations with
Tanishk Bagchi
Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
which resulted in the rehashing of several Bollywood songs in the coming years. Their first release, "Badri Ki Dulhania" from ''
Badrinath Ki Dulhania
''Badrinath Ki Dulhania'' () is a 2017 Indian romantic comedy film written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Dharma Productions. A spiritual successor to ''Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania'' (2014), the film stars Varun Dhawan and Alia ...
'' performed with
Dev Negi
Dev Negi (born 25 June 1989) is an Indian singer-songwriter and a playback singer based in Mumbai, India. Negi has recorded numerous chartbuster songs for Hindi films, albums, television and TV commercials. The song ''Biba'' which is a collabor ...
,
Ikka Singh
Ankit Singh Patyal, better known by his stage names Ikka and Ikka Singh (formerly Young Amli), is an Indian rapper and lyricist. He debuted in Bollywood with the song "In Da Club" for the 2014 film ''Tamanchey
Tamanchey () is an Indian Hi ...
and
Monali Thakur
Monali Thakur (born 3 November 1985) is an Indian singer and actress. She is the recipient of several awards including a National Film Award for the song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from the film '' Dum Laga Ke Haisha'' (2015) and a Filmfare Award for ...
has few segments lifted from the
Shankar-Jaikishen classic, "Chalat Musafir" from ''
Teesri Kasam
''Teesri Kasam'' () is a 1966 Hindi language drama film directed by Basu Bhattacharya and produced by lyricist Shailendra. It is based on the short story ''Mare Gaye Gulfam'', by the Hindi novelist Phanishwarnath Renu. The film stars Raj Kapoo ...
'' (1966). The version became an instant chart-buster among the audience and was included in the
list of most-viewed Indian videos on YouTube with over 500 million views.
This was followed by another chart-buster by the duo, "Cheez Badi" from ''
Machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
'', a re-creation of the 1994-released ''
Mohra
''Mohra'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written, edited and directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by his father Gulshan Rai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon in the lead roles, along with Naseeruddin ...
'' song "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast", which got mixed reviews from critics. Her next release was the dance song "
Main Tera Boyfriend
Main Tera Boyfriend () is a dance song recorded by Meet Bros, Arijit Singh, and Neha Kakkar. Lyrics by Jitendra Raghuvanshi, composed by Sohrabuddin. The music video of the song stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. The song is from the ...
" from ''
Raabta'' which was a recreation of a non-film track "Na Na Na Na".
The trend was carried forward with ''
Judwaa 2
''Judwaa 2'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by David Dhawan. A reboot of the 1997 film ''Judwaa'', which itself is a remake of Telugu film '' Hello Brother'' (1994). The film stars Varun Dhawan playing twins Raj ...
'' where she rendered two remake songs, co-composed by Sandeep Shirodkar and
Anu Malik
Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...
and one original song composed by Meet Bros. During the year, she appeared as a judge alongside
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 ...
and
Javed Ali
Javed Ali is an Indian playback singer who predominantly sings in Hindi. He has also sung in various Indian languages including Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Early life
Javed Ali was born Javed H ...
in the
sixth season of the Indian television music competition, ''
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, is a sub-series of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, it is a singing competition television series, which airs on Zee TV. Young children participate in this show and are judged on the basis of their voice quality, singing talent and ...
''.
The year ended with another recreated song, "Mehbooba" from ''
Fukrey Returns
''Fukrey Returns'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. The film stars Pulkit Samrat, Manjot Singh, Ali Fazal, Varun Sharma, Priya Anand, Vishakh ...
'', originally performed by
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
for ''
Dharam Veer'' (1977).
![Neha Kakkar High Fever](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Neha_Kakkar_High_Fever.jpg)
Kakkar's first release of 2018 was the
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh or simply Honey Singh, is an Indian music producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and an actor. He started out in 2003 as a session and recording artist, and became a b ...
's "Chhote Chhote Peg" from ''
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
''Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed and written by Luv Ranjan whose banner Luv Films co-produced it along with T-Series. The film was jointly distributed by T-Series, Amazon Prime Video and AA Fil ...
'', a remake of the
Anand Raj Anand
Anand Raaj Anand is an Indian composer, lyricist and playback singer in the Hindi film industry. He was nominated for the Best Music Director Filmfare Award for ''Kaante'' (2003).
Early life
Anand Raj was born on 8 November 1961 in Delhi in ...
-composition "Tote Tote Ho Gaya" from ''
Bichhoo
''Bichhoo'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film starring Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji. ''Bichhoo'' is a remake of the 1994 English-language French action thriller film ''Léon: The Professional''.
Synopsis
Jeeva (Bobby Deol) i ...
'' (2000). This was followed by Bagchi's recreation of "Aashiq Banaya Apne" included in the soundtrack album of ''
Hate Story 4
''Hate Story 4'' (styled as ''Hate Story IV'') is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language revenge thriller film directed by Vishal Pandya and written by Sammeer Arora. The film features Urvashi Rautela, Karan Wahi and Vivan Bhatena in the lead roles. Th ...
'', originally performed by
Himesh Reshamiyya and
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...
. The duo collaborated for five other projects, from which "
Dilbar" from ''
Satyameva Jayate
Satyameva Jayate (, ) is a part of a ''mantra'' from the Hindu scripture '' Mundaka Upanishad''. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a republic.
It is inscri ...
'' and "
Aankh Maarey
"Aankh Maarey" () is a Hindi-language song, originally composed by Viju Shah and sung by Kumar Sanu and Kavita Krishnamurthy for the 1996 Bollywood film '' Tere Mere Sapne'', as picturized on Arshad Warsi and Simran.
The ''Tere Mere Sapne'' ...
" from ''
Simmba
''Simmba'' is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty from a script written by Yunus Sajawal and Sajid-Farhad. The third installment of Shetty's Cop Universe film franchise, the film was produced by Shetty and Relian ...
'' became popular with music listeners, both songs reaching the
list of most-viewed Indian videos on YouTube and the former being the first Indian song to reach number three on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' YouTube Music Chart. Apart from rendering the folk pop song "Dholida" from ''
Loveyatri
''Loveyatri: A Journey of Love'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film produced by Salman Khan under Salman Khan Films and directed by debutante Abhiraj K. Minawala. It is inspired by the 2006 Telugu film ''Devadasu''. It st ...
'' 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 ...
and
Palak Muchhal
Palak Muchhal (born 30 March 1992) is an Indian singer and lyricist from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. She and her younger brother Palash Muchhal perform stage shows across India and abroad to raise funds for the poor children who need financial as ...
, Kakkar performed a traditional-themed-contemporary Punjabi track "Bhangra Da Sajda" from ''
Veere Di Wedding
''Veere Di Wedding'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language female buddy comedy film directed by Shashanka Ghosh and produced by Rhea Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi. Loosely based on the 2015 film ''The Wedding Ringer'', the film stars Kare ...
'', composed and co-sung by
Shashwat Sachdev
Shashwat Sachdev is an Indian music composer and entrepreneur. He also won the 65th Filmfare R. D. Burman Award, Filmfare R.D. Burman Award for best new and upcoming talent.
Early life
Sachdev was born in Jaipur. He started learning music when he ...
.
The trend continued with the item number "Gali Gali" included in the Hindi-dubbed version of the Kannada film ''
K.G.F: Chapter 1''. During the year, she appeared as a judge alongside
Anu Malik
Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...
and
Vishal Dadlani
Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, Front Man and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands called Pentagram.
As a singer he has sung various h ...
in the tenth 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 – ...
''.
2019 began with the release of three remade songs in collaboration with Bagchi, "
Chamma Chamma
"Chamma Chamma" is a Hindi song from the 1998 Indian film '' China Gate'' sung by Alka Yagnik and picturised on Urmila Matondkar which became extremely popular.
Song
It is a classical celebration song or Folk dance song with Filmi Lyrics.
Re ...
", recreated for the film ''
Fraud Saiyyan''–original composition from the film ''
China Gate'' (1998), while "
Coca Cola Tu" from ''
Luka Chuppi
''Luka Chuppi'' () is a 2019 Indian Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Laxman Utekar and produced by Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films. Set in Mathura, it is about a television reporter who cohabits with his headstrong intern a ...
'' and "
Hauli Hauli
"Hauli Hauli" is a Punjabi song sung by Garry Sandhu and Neha Kakkar originally released as "Yeah Baby" by Garry Sandhu.
Background
Original version
The single was released on YouTube by Fresh Media Records on 4 May 2018. The song is sun ...
" from ''
De De Pyaar De
''De De Pyaar De'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written by Luv Ranjan and directed by Akiv Ali in his directorial debut. It was produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg under their resp ...
''. The year marked her first collaboration with
Vishal Mishra and
Vishal–Shekhar
Vishal–Shekhar are an Indian music composer, production, singing and songwriting duo consisting of Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani from Mumbai. Known predominantly for their work as music composers in Hindi cinema, Vishal–Shekhar have a ...
, where she performed the female version of "Ki Honda Pyaar" from ''
Jabariya Jodi'' for the former and "The Hook Up Song" for the latter, which was well received by critics.
The trio of Kakkar, Bagchi and the dancer
Nora Fatehi
Nora Fatehi (born 6 February 1992) is a Canadian actress, model, dancer, singer, and producer who is predominantly known for her work in the Indian film industry. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam films.
She made her debut ...
re-united for two other chart-buster songs, "O Saki Saki" from ''
Batla House'' and "Ek Toh Kum Zindagani" from ''
Marjaavaan
''Marjaavaan'' () is a 2019 Hindi language romantic action film written and directed by Milap Milan Zaveri and produced by T-Series and Emmay Entertainment. ''Marjaavaan'' stars Sidharth Malhotra, Rakul Preet Singh, Riteish Deshmukh and Tara S ...
''. The former being a remake of ''
Musafir'' film's "Saaki", originally performed by
Sukhwinder Singh and
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. 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 ye ...
. During the year, Kakkar lent her voice for the "Dheeme Dheeme", composed by Bagchi and the romantic love song "Tu Hi Yaar Mera" composed by
Rochak Kohli
Rochak Kohli is an Indian music director for Bollywood films. He made his music debut in Shoojit Sircar's romantic comedy ''Vicky Donor'' with ''Pani Da Rang
"Pani Da Rang" ( en, "The Colour of Water") is a song from the 2012 Indian film ...
.
From 2017 onwards, Kakkar, primarily, in collaboration with
Tanishk Bagchi
Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
, became more associated with the trend of remaking old to very recent songs, which resulted in several backlashes targeted for the singer.
On 12 December 2021, Kakkar performed at the Jubilee Stage at
Expo 2020
Expo 2020 ( ar, إكسبو 2020) was a World Expo hosted by Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. Originally scheduled for 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 ...
in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
Plagiarism allegations
Neha Kakkar and her brother
Tony Kakkar
Tony Kakkar (born 9 April 1984) is an Indian singer known for his cringe pop songs. Kakkar made his debut in Bollywood in 2012, as a music director with the film '' Mr. Bhatti on Chutti'', for which he composed the song "Good Boys Bad Boys". He ...
have been criticized and accused of ravaging and plagiarizing lyrics, visuals, and harmony from several Indian classics on multiple occasions. Several Indian classics and pop hits like
Kavita Krishnamurti
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, Bhoj ...
's "Tu Cheez Badi Hai Mast Mast" and "Tip Tip Barsa Paani",
Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awar ...
's "Aashiq Banaya Aapne",
Falguni Pathak
Falguni Pathak (born 12 March 1969) is an Indian singer, performing artist and composer based in Mumbai. Her music is based on traditional musical forms from the Indian state of Gujarat. Since her professional debut in 1987, she has developed in ...
's "Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi",
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 ...
's "Kaanta Laga",
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 ...
's "Chamma Chamma",
Poornima's part of "Chalti Hai Kya 9 Se 12",
Payal Dev
Payal Dev is an Indian playback singer and music composer who sings and composes music for Bollywood films.
She sang "Ab Tohe Jane Na Doongi" from the film ''Bajirao Mastani,'' as well as "Bhare Bazaar" from '' Namaste England''. Dev made her de ...
's "Sawan Me Lag Gayi Aag", and several others. Most recently she plagiarized a full theme and harmony of Indian classic singer
Falguni Pathak
Falguni Pathak (born 12 March 1969) is an Indian singer, performing artist and composer based in Mumbai. Her music is based on traditional musical forms from the Indian state of Gujarat. Since her professional debut in 1987, she has developed in ...
's "Maine Payal Hai Chhankai"(1999) and remade an version named "O Sajna". Even after several appeals and requests from the original playback singers and fans to stop remaking original cult classics, Kakkar does not seem to honor their requests and instead claims that nothing can stop her as she has now gained fame and success in recent post.
Artistry
Voice
Her voice has been described several times in the media as "distinct", "unique", "chirpy", "seductive" and "partially nasal".
She did not take any formal vocal training.
Influence
![Neha Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar at Global Indian Music Academy Awards](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Neha_Kakkar_and_Sonu_Kakkar_at_Global_Indian_Music_Academy_Awards.jpg)
Kakkar admits that she has always looked up to her elder sister Sonu, as her singing inspiration and she "guides me on how to sing particular songs".
She named her brother Tony as a constant pillar of strength.
Public image
![Neha Kakkar SRK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Neha_Kakkar_SRK.jpg)
Kakkar is very active on social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube page, where she interacts with her fans and regularly posts updates about her life.
She is one of the most-followed Indian artistes on Instagram.
In October 2019, she received the Instagram trophy, celebrating the first Indian musician and the fifth Indian to reach the milestone.
In 2017, Kakkar was included in the list of 35 boldest entrepreneurs of India who are changing the game in various industries.
The same year she 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 sixty-fourth spot in 2017 and twenty-ninth spot in 2019. In 2019, Kakkar was listed on position second among the most-viewed female artists on YouTube with 4.2 billion views worldwide.
In December 2020, she appeared in the list of Asia's 100 Digital Stars by
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 ...
.
In December 2020, Neha launched an exclusive Masterclass for the aspiring singers with FrontRow.
Personal life
Kakkar and actor
Himansh Kohli
Himansh Kohli (born 3 November 1989) is an Indian actor from Delhi. He is best known for his role as Raghav Oberoi in the Hindi drama '' Humse Hai Liife''. He made his Bollywood debut with '' Yaariyaan'' (2014).
Biography
Kohli was born to fa ...
were in a romantic relationship since 2014. In September 2018, they officially announced their relationship on national television and revealed that they will tie the knot soon.
However, three months later, an Instagram post by Kakkar revealed that the couple broke-up.
Kakkar met
Punjabi musical artist
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...
Rohanpreet Singh in
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
for the first time and they soon fell in love. On 24 October 2020, they got married in a
Gurdwara
A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...
in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
.
Awards and achievements
Filmography
Film
Television
Selected discography
See also
*
List of Indian playback singers
This is a list of playback hindi singers from India.
Female playback singers
Male playback singers
See also
* Lists of Indian people
* Lists of musicians
* Bollywood content lists
This is a list of content of Hindi cinema.
{{dynamic ...
*
List of most-viewed Indian music videos on YouTube
This is a list of the most-viewed Indian music videos on YouTube. Phonics Song with Two Words from children's channel ChuChu TV is the most viewed video in India and is the 7th most viewed YouTube video in the world. "Why This Kolaveri Di" beco ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakkar, Neha
1988 births
Living people
Bollywood playback singers
Indian women playback singers
Singers from Uttarakhand
Women musicians from Uttarakhand
Hindi-language singers
Bengali-language singers
Punjabi-language singers
Indian Idol participants
Indian folk-pop singers
21st-century Indian women singers
21st-century Indian singers