Sunidhi Chauhan born 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of 5 and made her career debut at the age of 13, with the film Shastra (1996). During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled Meri Awaz Suno and rose to prominence after recording “Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi” from Mast (1999). It won her Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer. She is known for her versatility as a vocalist.
Her second breakthrough was released in 2000, with the song “Mehboob Mere” from Fiza, for which she received another Filmfare nomination. Sunidhi received her third Filmfare nomination with the song “Dhoom Machale” from Dhoom (2004) followed by two more nominations during the next year for “Kaisi Paheli” and “Deedar De” from Parineeta and Dus (2005). In 2006, she was bestowed with her first Filmfare award for her rendition of the song “Beedi” from Omkara and further two nominations for “Soniye” from Aksar and “Aashiqui Main” from 36 China Town.
The following year, Chauhan recorded the title song of Aaja Nachle (2007) and “Sajnaaji Vaari”, both critically and commercially well received. Chauhan received her twelfth Filmfare nomination with “Chor Bazaari” of Love Aaj Kal (2009) preceded by “Dance Pe Chance” from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). In 2010, she received her second Filmfare award with the item song “Sheila Ki Jawani” (2010) and was nominated for international styled carnival song “Udi” from Guzaarish (2010). The year marked her International singing debut, where she was featured in an alternate version of the song “Heartbeat” by Enrique Iglesias.
Apart from playback singing, Chauhan has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows and she also appears in music videos. Besides her career in music, she has also been involved in various charities and social causes. She has appeared four times in Forbes Celebrity 100 of India (2012–2015).
Early life
Sunidhi Chauhan was born on 14 August 1983, in New Delhi, India. Her father, Dushyant Kumar Chauhan, who is from Uttar Pradesh, is a theatre personality at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra.] Her mother, a homemaker, influenced Chauhan to pursue a career in music. She also has a younger sister. At the age of four, Chauhan started performing at competitions and local gatherings, subsequently convinced by her father’s friends to take singing seriously. During that time, she was doing live shows and trained herself with “regular riyaaz by listening to cassettes and CDs of popular numbers”.
She did her studies from Greenway Modern School and used to stay with her family members in Dilshad Garden, Delhi. She discontinued her studies right after schooling to pursue a career in the music industry. She said: “I quit because I did not feel like studying. I made the decision to pursue my dream as a singer and I don’t regret it one bit”.
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When actress Tabassum spotted her, she made her sing live in her show Tabassum Hit Parade and asked her family to shift to Mumbai. She then introduced Chauhan to Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah. Upon meeting, Kalyanji changed her name from Nidhi to Sunidhi as he felt that it is a lucky name. When she was 11, her dad quit his job and brought her to Mumbai. Initially, the family had financial difficulties in adjusting life to the city. After that she worked in Kalyanji’s academy for few years and became the lead singer in his “Little Wonders” troupe. She was then offered with many shows, though her father insisted on singing for films.
Personal life
In 2002, at the age of 18, Chauhan married director and choreographer Bobby Khan (brother of choreographer and director Ahmed Khan) after working on the music video, Pehla Nasha. It was reported that the couple married in a secretly arranged ceremony, attended only by very close friends. However, the marriage caused a rift between Sunidhi and her parents, who considered the union “unsuitable” and consequently disowned her. Despite that, she and Khan separated a year later, bringing about a reconciliation with her parents. She lived with actor Annu Kapoor and his wife Arunita during the separation, filed for divorce the same year, citing that she had realised that they “wanted different things from life”.
Later, Chauhan began a romantic relationship with the music composer Hitesh Sonik whom she was friends with, since the days she won Meri Awaz Suno. After dating for more than two years, they married on 24 April 2012, at a low profile wedding ceremony in Goa and had a grand reception in Mumbai, attended by many prominent Bollywood celebrities. On 1 January 2018, Chauhan gave birth to a boy whom she named Tegh.
Sunidhi Chauhan Measurements Height Weight Bra Size Age Biography
Voice
Chauhan possesses a high octave vocal range, and has the ability to reach lower octaves and dropping notes with transition. The Indian Express described her as a soprano, though criticising her “high-pitched non-falsetto voice because of the “squeakiness it acquires while belting out those notes”. Lata Mangeshkar who described Chauhan’s vocals as “different” from her contemporary, mentioned that her voice will not suit musical style of lori. Lyricist Prasoon Joshi described Chauhan as an effervescent and soulful singer who can lend her voice to any situation. Director Ram Gopal Varma calling her an extraordinary talent, said “I think it’s the various facets of her personality, that is so full of life and energy, which come through in a musical way in her diverse songs”. Chauhan has the ability to change her tonal quality with a lot of ease and charisma. According to Rajani Kanikar, she has a “powerful” and “husky” voice which she attributes to her father. Music composer Amit Trivedi considers Chauhan to be the most versatile female singer after Asha Bhosle who is good with all the genres. She feels that her vocals structure suits on Priyanka Chopra, Katrina Kaif, Kajol, Parineeti Chopra and Urmila Matondkar the most. According to The Daily Star, “be it a soft classical-like piece or an operatic pitch, Chauhan is spectacular with her vocals”. Though she has performs in high-pitched vocals songs, she is known for her “deeper pitched voice”, on which Ajay Gehlawat wrote: “Chauhan’s deeper timbre replaces Asha Bhosle’s higher pitched vocals” in the song “Yeh Mera Dil”, ensuring such “fuller female timbres become more commonplace’ to a decidedly more forceful and sensual sounds”. Ganesh Anantharaman in his book Bollywood Melodies: A History of the Hindi Film Song wrote that Chauhan has a “good, expressive” voice but she crafted a particular image for herself as the singer of fast, racy songs.
The Times of India considered her voice as the “liveliest voice in Bollywood”. According to MensXP.com, “her voice is orgasmic and extremely fierce. While singing a certain stanza, she gets into the mood so deeply, her voice breaks into a passionate squeal as she strikes a high note”. In an interview, classical musician Rahul Sharma said, “Chauhan’s voice has an element of sensuality which also very versatile and I admire the quality of her voice and the kind of emotions she can bring out”.
Musical style
Chauhan’s music contains elements of pop, hip hop and R&B. Music composer Sandeep Chowta while talking about the singer said “She is a brilliant singer with a wide range and an individual style. She does not copy anyone. She knows what she’s doing and is in total control. She’s not just a singer, she’s also a musician”. Chauhan has said that her audience feels more comfortable in hearing her singing item songs and she made her “name because of that genre”. The perception of singing only item songs was “broken” when Chauhan performed the romantic song, “Meri Zindagi Mein” for Anu Malik which was then followed by songs from Chameli and Fanaa. However, Chauhan declared that she “dislikes” tagging songs as item numbers and “they are treated specially, they have extra attention and they are picturised in a special way. So, I like being associated to any special song”.
Describing her singing style, Chauhan said; “I have no particular style; instead I only go with the music and the lyrics, and feel free to express my emotions through singing”. Though her singing style has a strong western influences, she has recorded some semi-classical songs in her career, including songs from Rang Rasiya. She has not performed any classical songs or a ghazal and has expressed her interest on releasing a ghazal album. Though known for her high pitch renditions, she personally prefers soft and soothing songs. Believing that singing all kinds of songs makes her grow as a musician she revealed that her “weakness remains for soft melodies”. “Even on live shows, I first sing my fast numbers to get the audience into the groove. But once they are happy with their favorite numbers, I switch on to slow scores”.
Chauhan’s live rendition of songs is praised by the viewers for her power and energy. A newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, The National wrote: “From flitting between fast and slow songs, to playing with the tempos and notes of the songs she sang, she didn’t stick to the original format of any number”.
Influence
Lata Mangeshkar has significantly influenced Chauhan and her music
Chauhan was introduced to music by her father and credits her “powerful” voice to him. She acknowledges that western music had a huge impact in her singing and confessed that she likes to perform “songs that have a western flavour in them”. Believing that her voice has a “global appeal”, she feels that her exposure to international music has only “sharpened” her skills while she does not forcefully tries to imply a western feel to the song.She considers Lata Mangeshkar as her biggest inspiration, calling her “a temple of music”. She grew up listening to music by Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle and is equally influenced by singers like Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, K.S.Chithra, Alka Yagnik, Kishori Amonkar, Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey.
Sonu Nigam who helped her get her first break in the industry was named as one of the biggest influences in shaping her career along with her parents and she described him as a “catalyst to fuel my career”. She was mainly compared with her contemporary singer Shreya Ghoshal for which Chauhan stated, “I am contented to have my own area in the current music world. Likewise, Shreya Ghoshal has her own. I personally respect Shreya for her talents and nice songs, whom people consider as a threat to me”. Moreover, Chauhan’s versatility is compared with Bhosle, where she described Bhosle as a “singing institution”, whereas, Chauhan is like a “student to her”.
Chauhan has also been influenced by many artists outside the country like Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. According to Chauhan, she started listening English songs after she turned 11, and she grew up listening to “Always Be My Baby” by Carey. Chauhan who admires the work of Shakira was keen to be part of the Indian version of The Voice, since she served as a coach on the American version of the show.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Ehsaas: The Feeling | Herself | Cameo appearance |
| 2003 | Bhoot | Herself | Special appearance in the promotional song “Bhoot Hoon Main” |
| 2004 | Uuf Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai | Herself | Special appearance in the promotional song “Uuf Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai” |
| 2006 | Bas Ek Pal | Herself | Special appearance in the promotional song “Dheeme Dheeme” |
| 2012 | Sons of Ram | Sita | Voice |
| 2014 | Hawaa Hawaai | Herself | Special appearance in the promotional song “Ghoom Gayi” |
| 2014 | Khoobsurat | Herself | Special appearance in the promotional song “Baal Khade” |
| 2016 | Playing Priya | Priya | Short film |
| 2016 | Rock on 2 | Herself | special appearance as reality show judge |
Television
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Indian Idol 5 | Judge |
| 2012 | Indian Idol 6 | Judge |
| 2015 | The Voice | Coach |
| 2018 | The Remix | Judge |
| Dil Hai Hindustani season 2 | Judge |
List of songs recorded by Sunidhi Chauhan