Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

who works predominantly 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 ...

. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent

Bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers of 80s and 90s era of Bollywood. The recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, four

Filmfare Awards 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 ...

(winning consecutively during 1990–92) and two Odisha State Film Awards, she has been honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian honour for her contribution in the field of arts. She was honored with honorary degree of D.Litt. by ''D Y Patil University'', the second singer to receive this degree after Lata Mangeshkar. 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, Kannada,

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, Sanskrit, Bengali, Tamil,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Assamese Assamese may refer to: * Assamese people, a socio-ethnolinguistic identity of north-eastern India * People of Assam, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and multi-religious people of Assam * Assamese language, one of the easternmost Indo-Aryan language ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

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 ...

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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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

, Tamil,

, Bengali and Kannada.

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 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 Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

S.P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wid ...

, Yesudas, Manna Dey, Mohammed Aziz, Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Mukesh, Pankaj Udhas, Manhar Udhas,

Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...

, Nitin Mukesh, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and many other male singers. She has worked with Kavita Krishnamurti,

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

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, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Sadak, Dil,

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

, 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.

Legacy

Paudwal has recorded 23 songs with the music composer Nadeem–Shravan. These songs were used in 3 films – Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and Sadak. All three films were blockbusters, and for the songs, Anuradha Paudwal won two

. Aashiqui is the third most selling album ever in Indian Music Industry. Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin was 5th most selling soundtrack of 1991. Sadak 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. She has appeared in The Kapil Sharma Show as a guest along with Udit Narayan 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 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

speaking family in Karwar. She was married to Arun Paudwal, 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

, 1 National Film Award and Padma Shri by Government of India. Her other accolades are as follows: * 2017: Padma Shri by Government of India * 2013: Mohammed Rafi Award by

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

* 2011: Mother Teresa Award for Lifetime Achievement * 2010: Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Madhya Pradesh Government

Filmfare Awards

Won * 1986: Best Female Playback Singer – "Mere Man Bajo Mridang" ('' Utsav'') * 1991: Best Female Playback Singer – "Nazar Ke Saamne" ('' Aashiqui'') * 1992: Best Female Playback Singer – "Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin" ('' Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin'') * 1993: Best Female Playback Singer – "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga" (''

'') 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) ''Hero'' is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language romantic action film directed by Subhash Ghai. Jackie Shroff played the lead role, and achieved stardom through this film. The actress Meenakshi Sheshadri, who had been Miss India in 1981 and played the l ...

'') * 1989: Best Female Playback Singer – "Keh Do Ki Tum" ('' Tezaab'') * 1990: Best Female Playback Singer – "Tera Naam Liya" ('' Ram Lakhan'') * 1990: Best Female Playback Singer – "Bekhabar Bewafa" ('' Ram Lakhan'') * 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 Manisha ...

(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 The following is the list of winners and nominees of Apsara best female playback Records: Most awards to female singer, Shreya Ghoshal, was four times. Superlatives Winners and Nominees 2000s * 2004 Alka Yagnik - "Oodhni" - '' Tere Naam'' ** A ...

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