Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

and politician who works predominantly in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

and Odia cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singers 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, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

. The recipient of several accolades including a

National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, four

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

(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 u ...

, she has been honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

with the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

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

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

. Her contribution in Indian devotional music and Bollywood Industry gained her the titles such as "Bhajan Queen", "Melody Queen". 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 Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

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

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, Marathi,

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Assamese, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Brajbhasha, Nepali and Maithili. She is ranked NO. 26 in ''Youtube's Music Charts and Insights'' list of top global artist as of 6 February 202

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and awarded the Cultural ambassador to Indian devotional by the United Nations in New York. She started her political career by joining

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

on 16 March 2024 ahead of

2024 Indian general election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...

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, Odia, Nepali, Bengali and

Early days and Success

Before entering in Bollywood she sang in a Radio program. She started her music journey in 1973 from film Abhiman where she sang a Sanskrit verse for Jaya Bhaduri. In 1970s, she sang a few popular songs which were praised by the music composers as well as public, but doesn't get much popularity. At that time she sang as a dubbing artist. She obtained popularity from her song ''Tu Mera Janu Hai along with

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 the singer Pankaj Udhas, who died on 26 February in 20 ...

'' in film

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

. She had been asked to 'dub' this song for the actual singer -

. Later Lataji was to have sung the song for the actual recording. But when music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal heard Anuradha's version, they determined that since the movie had an actress, Meenakshi Seshadri, making her debut, it was only appropriate that the song should also be sung by a fresh voice. After that in mid-80s, she sang along with Mohammed Aziz, and this duo was highly liked by public. It was at this time that Anuradha Paudwal started to climb the ladder of success. After that she sang songs with established singers of that time and worked with many music composers. At that time she met Nadeem–Shravan who were struggling at that time. She listened to some of their songs and asked them to compose music for her. They composed 23 songs which were sung by her along with

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), professionally known as Kumar Sanu, is a leading Indian playback singer who primarily sings in Hindi film songs. He is widely regarded as the Melody King of Bollywood. He holds the record for winn ...

Udit Narayan Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil ...

, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Babla Mehta among others. Ten songs out of them are to be released as Chahat album, which were later released as film songs in Aashiqui movie in 1990.

As an established singer

When music of the film Aashiqui was released, it became popular in no time. It established Anuradha Paudwal as a successful playback singer. After that Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, and Sadak were released in 1991, which were also immensely successful. Several other albums release at that time made her an established singer and she was often given preference over Mangeshkar sisters. When she was at the peak of her career, she decided to sing exclusively for T-Series. And after this her immensely successful Bollywood career started falling slowly and other female playback singers like Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurti and

Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam (née Ghanekar, born 7 March 1969) is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Marathi language, Marathi, Bengali language, Bengali, Nepali, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, ...

came into prominence.

As a bhajan singer

After quitting Bollywood she started singing devotional songs. One day before Navratri Gulshan Kumar asked Anuradha Paudwal to sing devotional songs of maa Durga. Anuradha sang those bhajans and when these were released in market these sold immediately. After this she started singing devotional songs one after one and never look back again. Her Bhajans are extremely popular in India specially her Shiv and Durga bhajans. Apart from Hindu Bhajans she also sang some Islamic, Christian, Jain, Boddha, and Sikhh Devotional songs. She has sung thousands of bhajans and is still active in Bhajan singing.

Re-entry in Bollywood

In 1997 Gulshan Kumar got murdered and after that Anuradha Paudwal again started to sing songs for other music labels. She again started working with Tips Industries, Venus Records & Tapes, and others. She got some of the best songs and became popular again, but at that time Alka Yagnik was dominating the Industry and Anuradha Paudwal didn't receive much success which she achieved earlier. She continued to sing till 2006 and after that she quit Bollywood.

Work with other singers

She started her music journey from 1973. She has worked with

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

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. 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 range of voice ...

, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Yesudas, Manna Dey, Mohammed Aziz,

, Sonu Nigam, Mukesh,

Pankaj Udhas Pankaj Udhas (17 May 1951 – 26 February 2024) was an Indian ghazal and playback singer known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian pop. He started his career with the release of a ghazal album titled ''Aahat'' in 1980 and subsequently rec ...

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

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; ; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur, actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the media as one of the ...

and many other female singers. After working with almost all notable singers and musicians and establishing herself as an established singer she completely quitted the Bollywood in 2006. She sang her last song 'Palkein uthake Dekhiye' in film Jaane Hoga Kya.

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 The Indian Music Industry (IMI) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India. It was founded on 28 February 1936, as Indian Phonographic Industry (IPI). It is the 2nd oldest music industry organisation in the world ...

. 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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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

and

. 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 27 October 1954 as Alka Nadkarni, in a Marathi 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

and

. Her other accolades are as follows: * 2017:

* 2013: Mohammed Rafi Award by

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the executive branch of the Indian states of india, state of Maharashtra. The government is led by the List of chief ministers of Maharashtra, chief minister (currently Devendra Fadnavis since 5 December 2024) ...

* 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" (''

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; or ) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Ancient Greek, beta represented the voiced bilabial plosive . In Modern Greek, it represe ...

'') 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'') * 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 (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 * Kishore Samman by Samrat Sangeet Sadhana Seva Samiti.

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