Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers of 80s and 90s era of

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 ...

. The recipient of several accolades including a

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

, four Filmfare Awards (winning consecutively during 1990–92) and two

Odisha State Film Awards The Odisha State Film Awards have been conferred by the Department of Culture of the Government of Odisha, India. The awards were initiated in 1968. The awards are decided by independent juries formed by the Department of Culture. The jury ...

, she has been honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

with the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, the country's fourth-highest civilian honour for her contribution in the field of

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. She was honored with honorary degree of D.Litt. by ''D Y Patil University'', the second singer to receive this degree after

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...

. She is engaged in social work and had a foundation named Suryodaya Foundation. In her career spanning over four decades Paudwal has recorded more than 9,000 songs and more than 1,500 bhajans in several languages including Gujarati,

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 ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, Marathi,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Nepali and Maithili. She is ranked NO. 31 in ''Youtube's Music Charts and Insights'' list of top global artist as of 3 February 2022. She has been on chart since last 237 weeks. She has been awarded a doctorate in music by DY Patil University felicitated by the house of commons in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and awarded the Cultural ambassador to Indian devotional by the United Nations in New York.

Career

Paudwal made her debut from a Sanskrit verse in the 1973 Hindi film ''Abhiman'', composed by S. D. Burman. She has also sung in films including Marathi, Tamil, Odia, Nepali, Bengali and

Early days and Success

She started her music journey in 1973 from film Abhiman. In 1970s, she sang a few popular songs which were praised by the music composers as well as public. She obtained popularity from her song ''Tu Mera Janu Hai'' in film Hero. After that in mid-80s, she sang along with

Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz (born as Sayeed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna (Name Given By Legendary Music Composer Akshaya Mohanty, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood ...

and gave one after one hit songs and established herself in the music industry. It was the time when Anuradha Paudwal was given preference over Mangeshkar sisters.

Work with other singers

She started her music journey from 1973. She has worked with Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Yesudas,

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhe ...

, Kumar Sanu,

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer * Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent * Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch * Udit Patel (born ...

Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Governme ...

, Mukesh,

Pankaj Udhas Pankaj Udhas (born 17 May 1951) is an Indian ghazal and playback singer. He started his career with a release of a ghazal album titled ''Aahat'' in 1980 and subsequently recorded many hits like ''Mukarar'' in 1981, ''Tarrannum'' in 1982, ''Mehf ...

Manhar Udhas Manhar Udhas is a Hindi and Gujarati language singer and Bollywood playback singer. Early life Manhar Udhas is the eldest son of Keshubhai Udhas and Jituben Udhas, and the elder brother of singers Pankaj Udhas and Nirmal Udhas. He completed hi ...

, Suresh Wadkar, Nitin Mukesh,

Abhijeet Bhattacharya Abhijeet Bhattacharya (born 30 October 1958), better known as Abhijeet, is a Bollywood playback singer. Abhijeet has sung 6034 songs in over 1000 films. Personal life Abhijeet was born to a Kanpur-based Bengali businessman turned editor Dhir ...

and many other male singers. She has worked with

Kavita Krishnamurti Sharada Krishnamurthy, popularly known as Kavita Krishnamurthy or Kavita Subramaniam, is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded 50,000 songs in 45 various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhoj ...

, Alka Yagnik,

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

and many other female singers. In early 1990s, she gave one after one hit movies like

Aashiqui Aashiqui () is a 1990 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film and first installment of Aashiqui series directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori in pivotal roles. The film was known for its music, by com ...

Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin ''Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film produced by Gulshan Kumar and directed by Mahesh Bhatt. The film starred Bhatt's daughter Pooja Bhatt in her first major lead female role, while the lead male ...

Sadak ''Sadak'' () is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Mahesh Bhatt. It stars Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt. The film is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year 1991. The film is also fondly remembered for the l ...

, Dil, Beta, and Saajan. She established herself as a leading singer in music industry. Her singing talent was recognised by the audience for the first time for the Marathi film, Yashoda, released in the same year. She received fame after her song ''Tu mera janu hai'' in film Hero. She was one of the most famous playback singers in 90s. She has sung for about four decades through the soundtrack of movie songs, lyrics and hymns. Anuradha Poudwal uses the money earned from the songs to help the families of soldiers who died in the war, to provide electricity to poor families and to solve the problem of

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues ...

Legacy

Paudwal has recorded 23 songs with the music composer

Nadeem–Shravan Nadeem–Shravan were an Indian music directors duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. They derives its name from their first names as, Nadeem Akhtar Saifi (born 6 August 1954) and Shravan Kumar Rathod (13 November 1954 – 22 April 2021) ...

. These songs were used in 3 films –

and

. All three films were blockbusters, and for the songs, Anuradha Paudwal won two Filmfare Awards.

is the third most selling album ever in Indian Music Industry.

was 5th most selling soundtrack of 1991.

was the third most selling album of 1991. These songs were released under the label T-Series. Her chhath geet are extremely popular and has crossed 47 million views on YouTube. Her gayatri matra is immensely popular and crossed 220 million views on YouTube. Her Shiv Amritwani has become highly popular and has crossed 250 million views collectively on YouTube. Hanuman Amritwani recorded by her has crossed 450 million views on YouTube. Shiv Bhajans and Durga bhajans sung by her are immensely popular in India. She has sung thousands of songs in several languages. She has won four Filmfare Awards out of eleven nominations.

Television and albums Appearance

Paudwal is one among the most popular singers in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She has appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show as a guest along with

and Kumar Sanu. She has also appeared in popular singing show Indian Idol as a special guest where she share some of the memories of her career. Apart from this, She has also appeared in

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa ''Sa Re Ga Ma Pa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality singing television show. It started airing on Zee TV in 1995 as ''Sa Re Ga Ma''. It is the oldest running game show in India as well as the oldest show on private television in India. The ...

singing reality show. She has also appeared in Superstar Singer Season 2 singing reality show. She has also appeared in many devotional albums like Shiv Amritwani, Mamta Ka Mandir, Hanuman Amritwani and also has special appearances in various Bollywood Movies like Saathi, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Jai Maa Vaishno Devi.

Personal life

She was born as Alka Nadkarni, in a Marathi speaking family in Karwar. She was married to

Arun Paudwal Arun Paudwal (died 1 November 1991) was a composer in Bollywood in India. He worked with music director S. D. Burman for some time. Biography Arun Paudwal's wife is the well known Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal. Their daughter Kavita Paudw ...

, a music composer, with whom she had a son Aditya and a daughter Kavita, a singer by profession. Anuradha survived a helicopter crash in 2002 in Madhya Pradesh. On 12 September 2020, her son Aditya died of kidney failure.

Awards and recognitions

She has been honoured with many awards including 4 Filmfare Awards, 1

and

. Her other accolades are as follows: * 2017:

* 2013: Mohammed Rafi Award by Government of Maharashtra * 2011:

Mother Teresa Award Mother Teresa of Kolkata has been memorialized throughout the world in recognition of her work with the poor. During her lifetime this commemoration often took the form of awards and honorary degrees bestowed upon her. She has also been memorialized ...

for Lifetime Achievement * 2010: Lata Mangeshkar Award by the

Madhya Pradesh Government Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive, ...

Filmfare Awards

Won * 1986: Best Female Playback Singer – "Mere Man Bajo Mridang" ('' Utsav'') * 1991: Best Female Playback Singer – "Nazar Ke Saamne" (''

'') * 1992: Best Female Playback Singer – "Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin" (''

'') * 1993: Best Female Playback Singer – "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga" ('' Beta'') Nominations * 1983: Best Female Playback Singer – "Maine Ek Geet Likha Hai" ('' Yeh Nazdeekiyan'') * 1984: Best Female Playback Singer – "Tu Mera Hero Hain" ('' Hero (1983 film)'') * 1989: Best Female Playback Singer – "Keh Do Ki Tum" ('' Tezaab'') * 1990: Best Female Playback Singer – "Tera Naam Liya" (''

Ram Lakhan ''Ram Lakhan'' is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed by Subhash Ghai and written by Anwar Khan with screenplay by Ram Kelkar. ''Ram Lakhan'' stars an ensemble cast of Raakhee, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri ...

'') * 1990: Best Female Playback Singer – "Bekhabar Bewafa" (''

'') * 1991: Best Female Playback Singer – "Mujhe Neend Na Aaye" ('' Dil'') * 1992: Best Female Playback Singer – "Bahut Pyar Karte Hain " ('' Saajan'')

National Film Awards

* 1989: Best Playback Singer (Female) – "He Ek Reshami"

Kalat Nakalat ''Kalat Nakalat'' is a Marathi movie released on 11 December 1989. Produced by Smita Talwalkar and directed by Kanchan Nayak. Cast *Vikram Gokhale as Manohar Desai *Savita Prabhune as Uma Desai * Ashok Saraf as Chotu *Ashwini Bhave as Manish ...

(Marathi)

Odisha State Film Awards

* 1987: Odisha State Film Award for Best Singer – Tunda Baida * 1997: Odisha State Film Award for Best Singer – Khandaei Akhi Re Luha

Guild Film Awards

* 2004: Nominated for Apsara Award for Best Female Playback Singer

Others

* She was honoured with D Litt degree by the D.Y. Patil University. * The Citizen Award, which she received at the hand of late Shri Rajiv Gandhi in 1989 . * The prestigious Mahila Shiromani award in 1993 at the hands of the first lady Smt. Vimal Sharma. * Honoured with 'Mahakaal Award' by the Madhya Pradesh govt.2004

Discography

References

External links

*
List of Hindi movies with songs by Anuradha Paudwal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paudwal, Anuradha Bhajan singers Bollywood playback singers Living people 1954 births Indian women playback singers Indian women classical singers 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers Bengali-language singers Kannada playback singers Marathi playback singers Marathi-language singers Odia playback singers Nepali-language singers from India Punjabi-language singers Tamil-language singers Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners Singers from Mumbai Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Filmfare Awards winners