Sona Mohapatra (born 17 June 1976) is an Indian singer, music composer and lyricist. In addition to her own material, Mohapatra has recorded remixes of songs by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, with " Let's Dance", and

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

, with "

Afterglow An afterglow in meteorology consists of several atmospheric optical phenomena, with a general definition as a broad arch of whitish or pinkish sunlight in the twilight sky, consisting of the bright segment and the purple light. Purple light mainl ...

", with the latter proving particularly successful.

Background

Sona is a BTech engineering graduate from the

College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar Odisha University of Technology and Research (OUTR) formerly College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar (CETB) is a public technical unitary university under the state government of Odisha located in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, I ...

in Mechanical Engineering. She also obtained an MBA degree from Symbiosis Centre for Management & HRD, Pune in marketing & Systems. She later worked as the brand manager in

Marico Marico Limited is an Indian multinational consumer goods company providing consumer products and services in the areas of health, beauty and wellness. With its headquarters in Mumbai, Marico is present in over 25 countries across Asia and Af ...

, handling brands like

Parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

& Mediker amongst others.

Releases

Her first ventures in music industry started with advertising. One of her most famous jingles was for Tata Salt – "Kal Ka Bharat Hai" & the campaign for

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

's Close Up has a section of her song "Paas Aao Na," which has been recorded in several languages and aired across 13 countries for four consecutive years. In 2007, she released her debut album, ''Sona'', on

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...

, which sought to explore the diverse styles of rock,

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

Flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

, Hindustani,

Baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...

and

Romani music Romani music (often referred to as gypsy or gipsy music, which is sometimes considered a derogatory term) is the music of the Romani people who have their origins in northern India but today live mostly in Europe. Historically nomadic, though n ...

. In 2009, she released the single Diljale & Paas Aao Na in the same year. She sang the song "Bedardi Raja" in the movie Delhi Belly for Aamir Khan Productions and did a cameo in it. She has also sung the theme songs "Mujhe Kya Bechega Rupaiya" and "Ghar Yaad Aata Hai Mujhe" for the TV show

Satyamev 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 inscr ...

. Her song "Jiya Laage Na" from the soundtrack of Talaash received rave reviews upon its release. Sona has her own band composed of guitar virtuoso Sanjoy Das amongst five more musicians and is an electric live performer who has played at a multitude of live venues including the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

& to stadium crowds in India in Chandigarh, Chennai & Siliguri amongst others . She has also headlined the international

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

RIFF A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

festival held at the

Mehrangarh Fort Mehrangarh Fort covers an area of 1,200 acres (486 hectares) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The complex is located on a hilltop around 122 metres above the surrounding plain, and was constructed by Rajput ruler Rao Jodha, though most of the exi ...

. The song "Bolo Na" from ''Sona'' was appreciated by the audience.

Career

Sona Mohapatra at the Women's Empowerment's concert in New Delhi

Sona Mohapatra came to mainstream prominence with the trendbreaking talk show ''Satyamev Jayate'' with

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

, in which she frequently appeared as a lead singer and performer. She was also the executive producer of the musical project on the same show. Her cameo performances recorded more than 9 million views across sites as per the latest digital count. She confessed in a recent interview that the project was all consuming in terms of the emotional and physical energies invested. It involved multiple lyricists, unconventional subjects, and lots of brainstorming on the songs, lyrics, shoots and recordings. To top it all, all songs were translated and recorded in multiple languages. According to Sona "Oriya influences in Bollywood are rare as yet – unlike an overdose of Punjabi, Rajasthani, Bengali and even Southern music. The song "Mujhe Kya Bechega Rupaiya," sung by Mohapatra, was composed by

Ram Sampath Ram Sampath (born 25 July 1977) is an Indian composer, music producer and musician, who started his career composing advertising jingles for Mumbai-based advertising industry, subsequently he started composing for pop albums like ''Tanha Dil'' ( ...

and was aired on the third episode of Satyamev Jayate based on celebrating women's freedom. The song has received over 26 million hits on t-series' YouTube channel.

Personal life

Mohapatra is married to

, a song composer and music director in

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 ...

. She first met him in 2002, while she was still working as a brand manager with

. They were introduced by director

Ram Madhvani Ram Madhvani is an Indian film director and producer known for his award-winning works in Hindi cinema, in the OTT space and in advertising. He is a-partner, director, and producer at Equinox Films, Ram Madhvani Films, and Equinox Virtual in par ...

, with whom Sampath was working for '' Let's Talk'' (2002); they married in 2005. Ram later became a household name for his innovative score of the film '' Delhi Belly'' (2011), followed by ''

'' (2012) and '' Talaash'' (2012). She is partners with Sampath in their music production house OmGrown Music and reside in

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- ...

, where they also have their own studios.

Controversies

In October 2018, she accused

Kailash Kher Kailash Kher (born 7 July 1973) is an Indian music composer and singer. He sings songs with a music style influenced by Indian folk music and Sufi music. He was inspired by the classical musicians' Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Hridaynath Ma ...

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 ...

of sexual misconduct. Recently, Mohapatra received a death threat after she lashed out at

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

for constantly taking digs at

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

for leaving

Bharat Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bhara ...

Documentary

Mohapatra released a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

based on her life called Shut Up Sona which won multiple awards at different film festivals

Discography

Bollywood

TV

– Mujhe Kya Bechega Rupaiya, Ghar Yaad Aata Hai Mujhe and Chanda Pe Dance, Bekhauff

Studio album

* SONA (Song – Bolo Na, Aja Ve, Tere Ishq Nachaya, Abhi Nahin Ana) * Piya Se Naina on Coke Studio Season 3 *

Rangabati "Rangabati" is perhaps the most popular recorded song in Sambalpuri Odia. Krishna Patel, a 2023 Padma Shri awardee, is the female singer while the male singer Jitendra Haripal is a 2017 Padma Shri awardee. The song was first recorded for All Ind ...

Coke Studio Coke Studio may refer to: * ''Coke Studio'' (Pakistan), a Pakistani television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio'' (India), an Indian television series featuring live music performances. * ''Coke Studio Bangla'', a Banglade ...

(India), 2015

Compilation

* Love is (2007) –

* Teri Deewani – Ishq Nachaya * Aao Ji – Aja Ve * Soulful Sufi (2009) – Abhi Nahin Anaa

Video

* Dekh Le (2013)

Covers

* "Zalima" (from ''Raees)''

Non-film Songs

* "Mon Ke Bojhai" with Sahil Solanki * "Ghane Badra" * "Aigiri Nandini" * "Piya Se Naina" * "Anhad Naad"

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Sona Mohapatra Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohapatra, Sona Living people Indian women playback singers Indian women singer-songwriters Indian singer-songwriters Bollywood playback singers Odia playback singers College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar alumni 1976 births 20th-century Indian singers Singers from Odisha 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Women musicians from Odisha