Durga Jasraj (born 12 September 1966) is an Indian original content producer, actor and Hindustani classical singer. She focuses on creating indigenous content in formats for multiple media, viz. Live, Television, Online, Mobile VAS, Radio, CD/DVDs. She founded "Art And Artistes (I) Pvt. Ltd.", an entertainment programming company in 1999. She subsequently co-founded the Indian Music Academy (IMA) in 2006.

Early life

Jasraj was born in Mumbai to classical vocalist

Pandit Jasraj Pandit Jasraj (28 January 1930 – 17 August 2020) was an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the '' Mewati gharana'' (musical apprenticeship lineage). His musical career spanned 75 years resulting in national and international fame ...

Help for old and ailing musicians
''

CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...

'', 29 November 2010. and Madhura Pandit. She has an older brother, music director Shaarang Dev. Her maternal grandfather was

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 ...

director

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

Career

Jasraj started her career as a classical vocalist at age seven. Her acting debut came in Ketan Anand's ''Aaja Meri Jaan'' (1993). She acted in TV series including '' Chandrakanta'' (1994) and ''Mahabharat'' (1988). In the Mahabharat she acted as

Ulupi Ulupi (), also known as Uluchi and Ulupika, is a character the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. She is a Naga princess, the daughter of the king Kauravya, and is among the four wives of Arjuna. She also finds a mention in the ''Vishnu Purana'' and t ...

. She performed as a Hindustani classical singer and with her father for many years. She became popular on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

's show, ''

Antakshari Antakshari, also known as Antyakshari (अंताक्षरी ) is a spoken parlor game played in India. Each contestant sings the first verse of a song (often Classical Hindustani or Bollywood songs) that begins with the consonant of Hin ...

'' as a co-host with

Annu Kapoor Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 40 years as a ...

during the 1990s.Bollywood has helped independent musicians: Durga Jasraj
''South Asia Mail''. She quit the show to start her company Art And Artistes (I) Pvt Ltd.

Indian Music Academy

She co-founded Indian Music Academy (IMA) in 2006, with her father as a chief patron. The organization promotes various forms of

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk (Bollywood), rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed ove ...

. It was formally inaugurated on 18 February 2006, by then-President A P J Abdul Kalam at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts. IMA helps old and ailing musicians to get urgent medical attention. It holds annual IMA Awards. In 2007, the awards were given away by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Recipients included Carnatic musician

Balamuralikrishna Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (6 July 1930 – 22 November 2016) was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in ...

, playback singer

Asha Bhonsle 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 ...

, Music composer

Ilayaraja 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 ...

, Hindustani classical singer and Music composer

Ramesh Narayan Ramesh Narayan (born 3 November 1959) is an Indian classical vocalist, composer and music producer who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema. He belongs to the Mewati gharana of Hindustani classical music. Narayan began his initial traini ...

, Hindustani classical singer

Girija Devi Girija Devi (8 May 1929 – 24 October 2017) was an Indian classical singer of the Seniya and Banaras gharanas. She performed classical and light classical music and helped elevate the profile of thumri. She was dubbed as the 'Queen of Thumri ...

, sarod maestro

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, he ...

. Idea Jalsa Live Concerts have travelled to more than 50 cities across India and in the latest series beginning in January 2013, reached out to 7 crore (70 million).It’s aesthetically different
''The Hindu'', 15 October 2009. Durga directed "Tiranga" a production that traveled across the world. She served one term as a board member of the

Censor Board of India The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...

Personal life

Durga Jasraj married at age 18 and was divorced at 21. She has a daughter.

References

External links

Indian Music Academy, Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasraj, Durga Indian women television presenters Indian television presenters 1964 births Living people Businesspeople from Mumbai Indian women classical singers Businesswomen from Maharashtra Actresses in Hindi television Actresses from Mumbai