Kavita Seth (born 14 September 1970) is an Indian singer, who is most known as a playback singer in
Hindi cinema
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 ...
, as well as a performer of
Ghazal
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
s and
Sufi music
Sufi music refers to the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow, and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.
Qawwali is the best-known form of Sufi music and is most commonly found in the ...
, and leads a Sufi musical group, ''Karwaan Group''.
[Kavita Seth performs at Sufi concert]
Screen, 30 January 2009.
She won the
Filmfare Award
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
for
Best Female Playback Singer in 2010 for her classical Sufi rendition "''Gunja Sa Koi Iktara''" for the film ''
Wake Up Sid
''Wake Up Sid'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under Dharma Productions, with UTV Motion Pictures as distributor and visua ...
'' (2009). She also won the
Star Screen Award for Best Female Playback for the same song, which was one of the biggest chartbusters in 2009.
Early life
She was born in
Bareilly
Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The ...
, Uttar Pradesh.
[
]
Career
Kavita specialises in Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...
-style singing although she also sings geet, ghazal and folk songs. Over the years she has performed at live shows at London, Birmingham, Scotland, Berlin, Oslo and Stockholm and places across India. It was at one of her performance at Muzaffar Ali
Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker.
Biography
Ali was born in Lucknow in 1944.
The eldest son of Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, the ruling prince of ...
's International Sufi Festival concert, in Delhi that director Satish Kaushik heard her and offered a song "''Zindagi ko Maula''", in his film, the Amisha Patel starrer, '' Vaada'' (2005), marking her debut as a playback singer.[ Subsequently, 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 secon ...
, as this was followed by, ''"Mujhe Mat Roko"'' in Anurag Basu
Anurag Basu (born 8 May 1974) is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer. He began his directing career in television, moving to feature films in 2002. Basu achieved initial success with his films tackling the themes of passion and ...
's ''Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...
'' (2006), for which she received praise.
Besides singing she also composes music. She has composed three songs in N. Chandra
Chandrashekhar Narvekar (born 4 April 1952) is an Indian producer, writer and director, known for gritty realism, in his early dark and loud films. His most successful commercial films are '' Ankush'', ''Pratighaat'', ''Tezaab'' and '' Narsimha''. ...
's film ''"Yeh Mera India
''Yeh Mera India'' (also named ''Y.M.I. Yeh Mera India'' hi, ये मेरा इंडिया (भारत)) is a 2008 Hindi movie, written and directed by N. Chandra. The film stars Anupam Kher, Perizaad Zorabian, Sayaji Shinde Purab K ...
"'' (2009). She has also released private albums, including, ''Woh Ek Lamha'', ''Dil-e-Nadan'' both Sufi ghazal albums, followed by Sufi music albums, ''Sufiana'' (2008) and ''Hazrat''. Her 2008 album ''Sufiana'', composed of couplets of Sufi poet-mystic, Rumi
Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī ( fa, جلالالدین محمد رومی), also known as Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Balkhī (), Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( fa, مولانا, lit= our master) and Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( fa, مولوی, lit= my ma ...
was released at the 800-year-old Khaman Pir Ka Dargah in Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...
.
In 2020, Kavita composed the soundtrack of the BBC TV series ''A Suitable Boy'', while also giving vocals to the songs of Tabu's character in the show.
Awards and nominations
, -
, 5th Mirchi Music Awards
The 5th Mirchi Music Awards, presented by the Radio Mirchi, honoured the best of Hindi music from the year 2012. The ceremony was held on 7 February 2013 and was hosted by Ayushmann Khurana and Meiyang Chang. '' Agneepath'' won a leading seven aw ...
Female Vocalist of The Year – "Tum Hi Ho Bandhu"
,
Filmography
Playback singer
Music director
Personal life
She has two sons, Kavish Seth and Kanishk Seth
Kanishk Seth (born 4 November 1997) is an Indian cricketer. He plays Twenty20 cricket for Railways. He made his List A debut for Bengal in the 2016–17 Vijay Hazare Trophy on 28 February 2017. He made his first-class debut for Bengal in the 20 ...
, both of whom perform with her. Her husband K.K.Seth died of pancreatitis on 15 December 2011, aged 48.
Albums
* ''Sufiana'' (2007)
* ''Kabirana Sufiana'' (2010)
* ''Bulleh Shah'' (2010)
* ''Khuda Wohi Hai'' (2011)
* ''Ek Din'' (2012)
* ''Trance With Khusrow'' (2014)
* ''Lagan Laagi Re'' (2021)
References
Kavita Seth Interview
External links
*
Sufi and the voice
Sufi Singer Kavita Seth Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seth, Kavita
Living people
Bollywood playback singers
Indian women playback singers
People from Bareilly
Performers of Sufi music
Delhi University alumni
Indian women classical singers
Singers from Uttar Pradesh
Women musicians from Uttar Pradesh
21st-century Indian singers
21st-century Indian women singers
1970 births
Filmfare Awards winners
Screen Awards winners
International Indian Film Academy Awards winners