Satinder Pal Singh, popularly known as Satinder Sartaaj, is an Indian singer, songwriter, actor and poet of Punjabi language films and songs. He gained fame with his song "Udaarian". Since then he has performed across the world. He made his film debut as

Maharaja Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son, ...

in ''The Black Prince'' in 2017.

Early life

Satinder Pal Singh was born in the village of Bajrawar in

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

. He attended school at the government elementary school in his village. While in the third standard, he began performing in local Bal Sabhas.

Education

Sartaaj obtained an honors degree in music from Government College,

. He concentrated on his musical career while completing his

MPhil The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

in Sufi music singing and later a PhD in Sufi singing (Gayan) from

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is a collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. He also taught music at Panjab University for six years. Sartaaj also completed a certificate course and Diploma in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

language. He started writing poetry and adopted his

Takhallus A takhallus ( ur, , fa, تخلّص, hi, तख़ल्लुस), is a pen-name. Pen names were widely adopted by Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi and Persian poets. ''Takhallus'' is an Arabic word which means, literally, "to get liberated" or "become s ...

(Pen name), Sartaaj, while at college.

Career

Sartaaj pursued a professional music career in his 20s. Before this, he has stated he was a farmer and had no interest in pursuing a career as a performer. His big performance break was in 2008 when he got booked for a gig in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The show's organizers had heard him singing on YouTube and wanted him to perform for the Punjabi-Canadian audience. In 2011, Sartaaj won "Best International Act" at the

Brit Asia TV Music Awards The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that is held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010 (except in 2016), usually in October. The awards show is produced by ...

(BAMA). On 2 May 2014, Sartaaj performed in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. He won "Best Songwriter" again at BAMA 2017 and "Music Video of the Year" at BAMA 2018 for "Udaarian". He debuted in the American film industry with the lead role in the movie ''

The Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

,'' a historic biopic of Maharaja

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh, GCSI (4 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), or Sir Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

which was released on 21 July 2017.

Philosophy

Although he has taught at the university and is an accomplished bhangra performer, composer and singer, Sartaaj has said that he considers ''

shayari Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

'' (poetry) as his first love.

Discography

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sartaaj, Satinder Living people Indian male folk singers Punjabi-language singers Performers of Sufi music Indian Sufis Indian Sikhs Punjabi people People from Hoshiarpur Panjab University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)