Alka Yagnik

Alka Yagnik (born 20 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer who worked predominantly in Hindi cinema during late 80s to early 2000s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> One of the most prominent singers of 1990s era Bollywood, she has received several accolades, including two National Film Awards, two Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards and seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback SingerTemplate:NoteTag from thirty-seven nominations. Alka has been described in the media as one of the greatest and most influential singers in Hindi cinema. She is cited as the 'Melody Queen' of Indian Cinema. Yagnik is one of the most successful and most popular female singers who reigned the Bollywood music industry for over two decades.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A prolific playback singer, Yagnik has sung the maximum number of female solos in her Bollywood career after Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.<ref name="ht01">Template:Cite web</ref> In her career spanning over four decades she has sung songs for more than one thousand films and recorded over 22,000 songs in over 25 different languages.<ref name="Iconic Alka Yagnik">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Twenty of her tracks feature in BBC's list of top forty Bollywood soundtracks of all-time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She is Ranked No.1 on the YouTube's Music Charts & Insights list of top global artists as of July 2025. She has been on the chart for years, with around 360-400 million views per week, around 18 billion views per year, an all-time unmatched record.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Yagnik has been recognised as the most streamed artist in the world by Guinness World Records with 15.3 billion YouTube views in 2022, with which some 12.3 billion or 80% are registered users from India, she is also the most listened to artist in Pakistan garnering 683 million views. The record book further reported that, "Kolkata-born Yagnik, 56, has been the most popular artist on the platform for the past three years, with 17 billion streams in 2021 and 16.6 billion in 2020."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Yagnik was born in Kolkata on 20 March 1966 to a Gujarati family.<ref name="tnn44">Template:Cite news</ref> Her father's name is Dharmendra Shankar.<ref name="ff01">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her mother Shubha was a singer of Indian classical music. In 1972 at age six, she started singing for Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta.<ref name="tnn44"/><ref name="number1">Template:Cite news</ref> At age 10, her mother brought her to Mumbai as a child singer. She was advised to wait until her voice matured, but her mother remained determined. On a subsequent visit, Yagnik got a letter of introduction to Raj Kapoor from his Kolkata distributor. Kapoor heard the girl and sent her with a letter to noted music director Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar. Impressed, Laxmikant gave her two alternatives – an immediate start as a dubbing artist or a later break as a singer; Shubha chose the latter for her daughter.<ref name="Iconic Alka Yagnik"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Yagnik mentioned that she was a bright student but didn't like studies.<ref name="ff01"/>

Career

Trained in the classical style, Yagnik began singing Bhajans for Akashvani (All India Radio), Calcutta<ref name="number1"/> at the age of six. Her first song was for the film Payal Ki Jhankaar in (1980). This was followed by Laawaris (1981) with the song "Mere Angane Mein", followed by the film Hamari Bahu Alka (1982). She got her big break with the song "Ek Do Teen" from the film Tezaab (1988). She has said that she had a high fever on the day she recorded "Ek Do Teen". The song won her the first out of seven Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer.<ref name="ht75"/> In addition to Hindi, she has sung in more than twenty-five languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Marathi, Manipuri, Odia, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Tamil and Telugu,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> besides singing 15 Pakistani songs.<ref name="toi666">Template:Cite news</ref> She has also performed in live concerts around the world. In an interview with Mid-Day, Yagnik told that she records five songs daily during her time.<ref name="md55"/>

In 1993, Yagnik sang a seductive song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" with Ila Arun. The song created controversy because of the lyrics written by Anand Bakshi. She got a second Filmfare award for the song, which she shared with Ila Arun.<ref name="bh17082014">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1994, she sang another seductive song "Din Mein Leti Hai" from the film Amaanat with co-singer Kumar Sanu and Ila Arun, composed by Bappi Lahiri and lyrics by Anwar Sagar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Besides the duet version, she also sang the female version of the song with Ila Arun.<ref name="mx01">Template:Cite web</ref> She has performed several shows with Kalyanji-Anandji and Laxmikant-Pyarelal.<ref name="md55">Template:Cite web</ref>

Throughout the 1990s Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy were singing most of the songs for heroines.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Yagnik worked on private albums like "Tum Yaad Aaye" in 1997 in close collaboration with award-winning lyricist Javed Akhtar and composer Raju Singh, "Tum Aaye" in 2002 with Javed Akhtar and singer Hariharan and "Shairana" in 2003 with Javed Akhtar and singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan. She has also performed the Hanuman Chalisa and various devotional songs. Her song "Chamma Chamma" from China Gate was featured in the song "Hindi Sad Diamonds" from the soundtrack of the film Moulin Rouge!.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, she along with Sonu Nigam sang a song 'Shiksha Ka Suraj' as part of the National Literacy Mission of India for which she was felicitated by Union Minister For Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Also in 2012, on the occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema, her song "Taal Se Taal Mila" from the movie Taal was voted as the best song of the century in a poll conducted by DesiMartini, Hindustan Times and Fever 104.<ref name="Song of The Century">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Also, her song "Choli Ke Peeche" from the movie Khalnayak was voted as the hottest song of the century in a poll conducted by Sanona.<ref name="Hottest Song of The Century">Template:Cite web</ref>

Yagnik has also been involved in various projects to empower girls.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, Yagnik again teamed up with Sonu Nigam to sing the song "Phool Khil Jayenge" for child health awareness.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She also sang a song titled "Maine Li Jo Angdai" for the album Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere. It was composed by Farid Sabri, Harish Chauhan, and Gurudatt Sahil; and penned by Sudhakar Sharma.

In 2015, she sang 'Agar Tum Saath Ho'; she explained that the music director of the song, A.R. Rahman, wasn't present in the studio but gave her instructions on a Skype video call and told her she should sing the song her own way.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Yagnik shares the title for the greatest number of Filmfare Awards with Asha Bhosle (seven) by a female playback singer.<ref name="Filmfare Award Archive">Template:Cite web</ref> She has sung 2,486 Hindi songs in 1,114 films. She is the fifth most prolific Bollywood singer of all time after Asha Bhosle (7886 songs), Mohammed Rafi (7405 songs),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lata Mangeshkar (5596 songs) and Kishore Kumar (2,707 songs).Template:Citation needed She is the third topmost female playback singer after Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle who has sung the maximum number of female solos in her Bollywood career.<ref name="ht01"/>

Artistry

Yagnik credits her mother as her first guru, who began singing at the age of four.<ref name="ht75">Template:Cite web</ref> Besides her mother, Alka learned singing from Kalyanji-Anandji and Laxmikant–Pyarelal.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although she has sung many genres of songs but according to Alka, her voice suits the romantic genre best.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> Alka has acknowledged veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar as her inspiration.<ref name=":0" /> Lata on her part has also praised Yagnik and acknowledged that Alka has come a long way since she began in the 1980s. On comparisons between Yagnik and her voice, Lata ji once said, "People say Alka sings somewhat like me, but I think Alka listened to my music and just took from that whatever she liked, what suited her. The rest is her own talent, her won effort. She would not have been singing successfully for twenty-five years if she did not have originality.".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lata has always picked Alka as one of her favorite singers from the current generation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yagnik has in her long career sung romantic, sad, peppy, seductive and item number songs.<ref name="mx01"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She started singing at the age of 4. Most of her duets were with Kumar Sanu, followed by Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam.<ref name=":1" /> She sang maximum numbers of romantic songs with Kumar Sanu and flamboyant numbers of songs with Udit Narayan<ref name=":1" /> and she is known with Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan, as the trinity of 1990s playback singing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Alka admits that she has got a very powerful voice due to which she is made to step back from the mike while singing. Crediting veteran composer Lakshmikant of the duo Lakshmikant-Pyarelal she said "When I began singing I’d sing softly and Laxmiji would shout at me to throw my voice. That cultivated what recordists now call a powerful voice. In fact I’m made to step back from the mike while singing."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yagnik has also called Veteran Composer Anandji of the duo Kalyanji-Anandji as her 'Godfather' and said "Anandji has been a great support and whatever I am today is hugely because of him."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the media and Legacy

Yagnik is cited as "the queen of playback singing".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref> On Mother's Day 12 May 2019, Alka became the most-streamed Indian artist-mom on Spotify.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Citing Alka as one of the finest and most versatile female playback singers of all time, Rolling Stone said that Yagnik is next to the late great Lata Mangeshkar, and Asha Bhosle, as there is no one else who matches that level of accomplishment. The Rolling Stone noted that in her career that spans over four decades, Alka has managed to stay relevant, sound fresh and create such an incredible archive of hit songs across countless languages and styles.<ref name="auto1"/> The Times of India cited her as 'honey-voiced singer'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Hindustan Times mentioned her as "magical voice".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mid-Day included her in the list of notable 1990s playback singers.<ref name="listmd">Template:Cite web</ref> Filmfare has acknowledged Alka as one of India's most celebrated playback singers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> One of the most well known and leading contemporary singer Sunidhi Chauhan once said that she can't even dream of getting where Lataji, Ashaji and Alkaji (Alka Yagnik) have reached.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Singer Sunidhi Chauhan has complimented Yagnik by calling her 'the best singer we have today'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Singer Sonu Nigam praising Alka Yagnik said that he 'could never match her' as a co-signer during duets and mentioned that Yagnik had 'A Very Powerful, Royal And Queen Like Voice'.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> Emphasizing Yagnik's ability to bring depth to the music with her vocal performance, music composer A.R. Rehman has called her 'An Icon' and said that she has 'The Most Amazing Voice'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Music composer Lalit Pandit cited Alka Yagnik as 'The Best Female Singer' after the Mangeshkar sisters (Lata-Asha duo) and said that, "Alka had a clear edge among her contemporaries because of her superior voice quality".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Legendary Vocalist from South India Vani Jairam picked Alka Yagnik as her favourite singer and complimented Yagnik for her lovely voice in 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Oscar-winning music composer from South India M.M. Keeravani has praised Yagnik by saying that Alka comes closest to conveying the vocal pitch of Lata Mangeshkar in a song.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Yagnik married Shillong-based businessman Neeraj Kapoor in 1989, with whom she has a daughter named Syesha.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2024 she was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Besides singing, Yagnik also judged several singing reality shows on television.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>

Year	Name	Notes	Channel	Ref
1992	Sapne Sajan Ke	Yagnik also appeared in film Sapne Sajan Ke in a song 'Yeh Dua Hai Meri' with co-singer Kumar Sanu.	Template:N/a	Template:N/a
2006	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs	She made her first television debut with the show.	Zee TV	<ref name="auto"/>
2014	Comedy Nights with Kapil	On 25 May 2014 she appeared as a special guest along with Kumar Sanu for the popular TV show Comedy Nights with Kapil.	Colors TV	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs	She had done Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs as a judge in first Season and fifth Season as a Maha Guru (also in previous 2 seasons).	Zee TV	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain!	In November 2016, she appeared in a Hindi comedy serial Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! with Kumar Sanu in a special one hour episode.	&TV	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2017	Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai	Yagnik also appeared as a guest in Hindi serial 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai'	STAR Plus	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs	She came with her co-singer Udit Narayan and sung many duets of the 1990s.	Zee TV	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2018	Rising Star	She appears as a guest and gave a special tribute to late actress Sridevi	Colors	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Indian Idol	She appeared in 10th season of Indian Idol with co-singer Kumar Sanu.	Sony Entertainment Television	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	The Kapil Sharma Show	She appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show with other two judges for the promotion of her show 'Superstar Singer'.		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Superstar Singer	In 2019, she appeared in Superstar Singer as a Judge in Sony TV.		<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2020	Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs	Besides Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu appeared as judges after 30 years.	Zee TV	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She also appeared in Star Voice of India as a judge.<ref name="tnn44"/> She appears as a guest with Udit Narayan in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She has also been a judge on fame gurukul, superstar singer 2, super singer plus,sa re ga ma pa-2009 and Indian idol and 2 seasons of Bengali sa re ga ma pa

Awards and nominations

Template:See also Yagnik has won several accolades including two National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her songs: "Ghoongat Ki Aad Se" from Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She has won a record seven Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback SingerTemplate:NoteTag for her songs: "Ek Do Teen" from Tezaab (1988),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" from Khalnayak (1993),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> "Zara Tasveer Se Tu" from Pardes (1998),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Taal Se Taal" from Taal (2000),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se" from Dhadkan (2001), "O Re Chhori" from Lagaan (2002) and "Hum Tum" from Hum Tum (2005) from a record thirty-six nominations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally she has won two Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. For her contribution in the field of music, Yagnik was bestowed with the Lata Mangeshkar Award in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• List of Indian playback singers

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Alka Yagnik Top MP3 Songs PlaylistTemplate:Dead link