Tochi Raina (born 2 September 1971) is an Indian singer, composer and philosopher, best known as a playback singer in
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 ...
films. His most notable works include the songs ''Kabira'' for the movie "
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (), also abbreviated as ''YJHD'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama film directed by Ayan Mukerji, written by Mukerji and Hussain Dalal, and produced by Karan Johar. It stars Ranbir ...
", "Iktara" from "
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 ...
", ''Ishq Waale Chor Hain'' for the
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 ...
movie Kya yahi sach hai with Vishal Khurana, ''Saibo'' for the
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 ...
Shreya Ghosal
Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer and television personality. One of the highest-paid and most well-established playback singers of Indian cinema, she has received four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards, ...
, ''Maldar Ki Jeb'' for the movie Bhindi Baazaar Inc. and ''Aali Re'' for the movie No One Killed Jessica. He recorded a music album 'Tochinaamah' consisting 3 song – Saaiyaan, Jamoora and Akela
Early life
He was born in a Kashmiri Sikh family to Sahib and Surjit Kumar Raina in Darbhanga,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
and went to school in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
where his father, a government employee, was posted. His brother Arvinder is a composer in Malaysia and his sister Harmeet Kaur is a Ph.D. in classical music and also a music teacher in a school in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
.
He hails from a family with music background. His father played the harmonium, his grandmother was a
Sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
player, his uncle, Ratan Singh, a renowned Violin player and his grandfather, Akaali Kaur Singh, a saint. He later moved to Delhi where he started learning music under Pandit Vinod Kumar – a disciple of Indian classical singer
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, from the Patiala gharana. He also learnt music from Ustad Bhure Khan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Altaf Hussain Sarang, Pt. Mani Prasad and Pt. Sitaram. According to him his Gurus not only taught him music, but also to visualize his breath. Slowly, he started visualizing words and he turned to spirituality and Sufi music.
He also sang the Song "Rabba" in Coke Studio @MTV Season 3 which is composed by
Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 200 ...
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
to make a career as a Music Composer & playback singer. Tochi got his first commercial break with Bulleshah in A Wednesday! in 2008. He has been a part of a number of movies and albums as a Music Composer including Bezubaan Ishq, Note Pe Chot and a lot more. He is currently working with his Band of Bandagi and creating soulful Sufi music with the band. Band of bandagi has released their first album Sufi Acoustica with 6 Sufi Songs in it. Tochi has joined hands with Music Distribution Company Movement Creations LLP as Head of the department for music since March 2021. His 4 audio tracks has been released so far including :
'Gayatri Mantra' (Raag Malkauns),
'Alakh Niranjan',
'Hare Krishna',
'Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo'.
Personal life
He is married and has two daughters, Harleen & Simran. Harleen was born the night he finished recording for Shor in the city.