Antara Mitra (born 10 July 1987) is an Indian playback singer. Mitra came to limelight when she became a contestant in the popular singing reality show ''
Indian Idol 2
''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 2006. Mitra become more well-known and got recognition after the release of her duets
Gerua
Gerua () is a Hindi song from the 2015 Indian film '' Dilwale''. The song was written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam Chakraborty, and sung by Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra. The song's music video stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. ...
and Janam Janam with Arijit Singh. She also received significant amount of Indian media coverage for her singing of the Dilwale songs. Her
Baby Jaan
"Baby Jaan" is a Bengali song from the 2018 Indo-Bangladeshi romantic drama film, ''Bhaijaan Elo Re''. Written and produced by Dolaan-Mainnakk, the song is sung by Nakash Aziz & Antara Mitra. The music video of the track features Bangladeshi Sup ...
song from
Bhaijaan Elo Re
''Bhaijaan Elo Re'' () is an Indian Bengali-language action comedy film directed by Joydip Mukherjee. The film stars Bangladeshi superstar Shakib Khan and Srabanti Chatterjee and Payel Sarkar in the lead roles. The cast also includes Rajatabha D ...
received an overwhelming response on YouTube, and created a record of becoming the fastest Bengali language video track to reach 1 million views on YouTube .
Early life and struggles
Mitra is from
Maslandapur
Maslandapur (also spelled as Machhlandapur) is a census town in the Habra I Community development blocks in India, CD block in Barasat sadar subdivision in North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West B ...
, a small town in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, near
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, India.
Mitra grew up with music all around her: her father is a music teacher. Since the age of three, Mitra would sing along with other children who came to her home to learn from her father. Mitra started doing stage singing performances since the age of 6. Mitra was more inclined towards the singing of her aunt. Her aunt used to sing for
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
. She sung
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
Folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
songs during her growing up days.
She exhibited a keen early interest in music, and her father supported her. She was accepted as a contestant at age 18 on a national TV show and competed admirably as a finalist in both that show and a successive similar show '' Junoon''.
At one time she considered studying medicine, but abandoned the idea in favour of pursuing a professional singing career.
Mitra participated in the
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 – ...
season 2. Though she reached the top five but got eliminated.
When Mitra was eliminated from the contest, well-known music director
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 ...
offered her playback singing work, but Mitra returned to her home town and soon afterward (April 2006) she relocated 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- ...
to pursue a vocal-performance-for-film soundtrack career.
She then participated as part of the Bollywood team of vocalist contestants in another popular Indian TV reality show, '' Junoon – Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka'', where again she was not the winner, however she considers both shows learning and career-development experiences, and expressed gratitude to the TV audience, producers and judges of both contests for allowing her opportunities to perform for the broadcast audience and judges while competing.
During her early days in a city like
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- ...
, she managed to survive by consuming instant-noodles like
Maggi
Maggi ( or ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947.
History
Early history
Julius Maggi (1846–1912) ...
and burger as they were cheap.
Mitra got widespread recognition as a singer after her duets songs
Gerua
Gerua () is a Hindi song from the 2015 Indian film '' Dilwale''. The song was written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam Chakraborty, and sung by Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra. The song's music video stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. ...
and Janam Janam became hits in the year 2015, which was almost 9 years after 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- ...
.
Music career
Mitra sings in multiple languages:
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, and English and is active in the
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 ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
soundtrack music industry.
In an interview to the
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
in 2010, Mitra thanked and expressed her gratitude to Music Director
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. ...
, as he was the first one to show faith in her talent, as at that time all film songs for which she had lend her vocals were composed by Pritam.
Mitra received positive reviews for her first hit song "Bheegi Bhaagi Si" a duet with
Mohit Chauhan
Mohit Chauhan (born 11 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer, known for his work in Hindi films. He was a part of the Silk Route band. Chauhan has received two Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and three Zee Cine Award For Best ...
from Hindi film Rajneeti.
Mitra got widespread recognition for her acclaimed
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
songs
Gerua
Gerua () is a Hindi song from the 2015 Indian film '' Dilwale''. The song was written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam Chakraborty, and sung by Arijit Singh and Antara Mitra. The song's music video stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. ...
Runa Laila
Runa Laila ( bn, রুনা লায়লা, ur, ; born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in Pakistan film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani p ...
)
**The judges liked it, however Anu Malik was a bit hesitant.
Theater round
*"Kaisi Paheli Hai" ('' Parineeta'')
**Mitra was through to the piano round!
Piano round
*"Hume To Loot Liya Milke Husn Waalon Ne" (Private album) – ''Most votes''
**Mitra received good comments, especially from Anu, "I think I have found my playback singer," and made it through to the finals with the most votes.
Recordings and appearances
* '' Woh Pehli Baar'' album – sang a group number and solo "Tu Rutha To".
* TV appearances have included specials (and soap operas) including ''Navarati'', '' Thodi Khushi Thode Gham'', ''Music Masti Dhoom'', ''Kyunki'', ''
Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil
''Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil'' (''In Which Country Does My Heart Live'') is an Indian drama television series that aired on Star Plus. It starred Additi Gupta, Harshad Chopda, Sushant Singh Rajput and Meher Vij as Prem, Heer, Preet and Meher. ...
'', ''
Kitani Mohabbat Hai
''Kitani Mohabbat Hai'' ''(How Much I Love You)'' is an Indian soap opera which aired on Imagine TV from 19 January 2009 to 25 September 2009. '' Kitani Mohabbat Hai 2'' started airing on 1 November 2010. Season 2 is not a continuation; it star ...
'', '' K for Kishore'' and auditioning contestants in Bhopal for ''
Indian Idol 3
''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 – ...
''.
* Was a contestant on Adnan's ''
Bol Baby Bol
''Bol Baby Bol'' is a Hindi musical game show produced by Fox Television Studios that aired on STAR One Friday and Saturday nights. It is based on the American show ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!''. Hosted by Adnan Sami, the show featured contesta ...
'' show (won 200,000 for reciting famous song lyrics).
* Joined Nauman and Salman in ''Koi Aane Ko Hai'', another
Ekta Kapoor
Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...
soap opera (broadcast on
Colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
).
* Was a semi-finalist (as a member of the Bollywood contingent) on ''Junoon – Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka'' singing contest (reality show on
NDTV Imagine
Imagine TV was a Hindi general entertainment channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, and based in New Delhi.
The channel was known for shows such as '' Ramayan (2008), Chandragupta Maurya, '' Swayamvar'', ''Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo'', '' ...
).
* Was a contestant who reached the final four in ''IPL Rockstar'' contest (reality show on Colors).
* Recorded songs in Bengali (''Doshomi''),
Haryanvi
Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharibo ...
ek duje ke
EK or Ek may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Ek Commando Knife Co., US knife manufacturer
* Eastern Kentucky Railway (with reporting mark EK), now-defunct railway
* Eastman Kodak (formerly with NYSE ticker symbol EK), US-based photogra ...
which is used in the famous serial
yeh rishta Kya kehlata hai
''Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'' (), popularly known as ''YRKKH'' is an Indian Hindi-language romantic family drama television series that airs on StarPlus and streams on Disney+ Hotstar. It premiered on 12 January 2009 and is the longest r ...