Sukhwinder Singh (born 18 July 1971) is an Indian

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

who primarily sings

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

songs. He sang " Jai Ho" in the film ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...

'', for which he won a

Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Alan Menken has won five awards (out of nine nominatio ...

. He has also received two

Filmfare awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

for his singing. He also sang the song "

Chaiyya Chaiyya "Chaiyya Chaiyya" () is an Indian pop-folk song, featured in the soundtrack of the Bollywood film '' Dil Se..'', released in 1998. Based on Sufi music and Urdu poetry, the single was derived from the lyrics of the song " Tere Ishq Nachaya", wri ...

" in the film '' Dil Se..'', in a duet with

Sapna Awasthi Sapna Awasthi Singh is a Bollywood playback singer best known for her "Banno Teri Ankhiyan Soorme" from '' Dushmani'' (1995), "Pardesi Pardesi" from '' Raja Hindustani'' (1996), " Chaiyya Chaiyya" from '' Dil Se..'' (1998), "Angoori Badan" fr ...

Early life and career

Sukhwinder Singh was born in a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

family in

Amritsar, Punjab Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

. He learned music from Prof. BS Narang. He released a Punjabi album called ''Munda Southhall Da'' with T. Singh, joined

Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). In their career span stretching from 1963 to 1998, they composed music for about 750 movies, wo ...

's troupe, and quickly became a music arranger before heading to

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

to look for work. He sang for the Tamil film ''

Ratchagan ''Ratchagan'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written, produced by K. T. Kunjumon, and directed by Praveen Gandhi in his directoral debut. The music and background score is composed by A. R. Rahman. It stars Nagarjuna an ...

''. Singh got his Bollywood break with the song "Aaja Sanam" in the film named '' Khilaaf''. This performance went largely unnoticed. He first rose to prominence for singing "

" for

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

in the film '' Dil Se...,'' for which he received a Filmfare award. The song is considered one of the most iconic and famous of its time. Along with "Chaiyya Chaiyya," which was picturized on

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

, he has provided the playback for seven of Khan's songs. In June 2014, he participated in the seventh season of ''

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality television show and the Indian version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. The first four seasons of ...

''. He sang the

2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup The 2023 Men's FIH Hockey World Cup was the 15th edition of the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national field hockey teams organized by the International Hockey Federation. It was held at the Kalinga Hoc ...

anthem, ''Jai Ho Hindustan Ki'' composed by

Prem Anand Prem Anand () is an Indian music director and composer. He usually works in Cinema of Odisha, Odia film and television industry. In 2006, he started his career as a music director through the Odia movie Tu Eka Ama Saha Bharasa and worked as a m ...

Awards

Sukhwinder Singh won the

Filmfare Best Male Playback Award The Filmfare Best Male Playback Singer Award is given by Indian film magazine ''Filmfare'' as a part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. ...

for songs "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the movie '' Dil Se..'' and for the song "Haule Haule" from the movie ''

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known by its initialism as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra. It was produced by his father Yash Chopra under their production banner of Yash R ...

''. Sukhwinder Singh's song " Jai Ho" won the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

. The same song also won the

in 2010. He has been awarded the

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a male playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Indian film industry. The awar ...

at the

62nd National Film Awards The 62nd National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2014 in Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 24 March 2015 and the cer ...

for his rendition in the 2014 film ''

Haider Haider is a predominantly Arabic name, with alternative spellings such as Haidar, Haydar and Heydar. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Haider Shah 15th-century sultan of Kashmir *Haider Al-Abadi, Iraqi politician * Haider Acke ...

'' composed by

Vishal Bhardwaj Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian filmmaker, music composer, and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of nine National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. Bhardwaj made his debut as a mu ...

Discography

Studio albums

*''Nasha Hi Nasha Hai'' (2000) *''Jashn'' (2001)

As playback singer

Hindi songs

Telugu songs

Kannada songs

Tamil songs

Marathi songs

Urdu songs

Collaboration with musician and lyricist

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sukhwinder 1971 births Living people Bollywood playback singers Indian male playback singers 21st-century Indian singers Tamil playback singers Kannada playback singers Punjabi Sikhs Indian film score composers Indian male film score composers 21st-century Indian male singers ZYX Music artists Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award winners Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners