Zubeen Garg (born Zubeen Borthakur ; 18 November 1972) is an Indian singer–songwriter, composer, lyricist, music director, music producer, actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, poet and philanthropist. He primarily works for and sings in the Assamese,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

and

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 ...

-language film and music industries, but has sung in 40 other languages and

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

s, including

Bishnupriya Manipuri Bishnupriya Manipuri, also known as Bishnupriya Meitei or simply as Bishnupriya, is an Indo-Aryan lect belonging to the Bengali–Assamese linguistic sub-branch. It is a creole of Bengali language and ''Meitei language (also called Manip ...

Boro BORO (Business Objects Reference Ontology) is an approach to developing ontological or semantic models for large complex operational applications that consists of a top ontology as well as a process for constructing the ontology. It was originally ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, Goalpariya,

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 ...

, Karbi, Khasi,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...

, Mising, Nepali, Odia,

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 ...

, Sindhi,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

Tiwa Tiwa and Tigua may refer to: * Tiwa Puebloans, an ethnic group of New Mexico, US * Tiwa (Lalung), an ethnic group of north-eastern India * Tiwa language (India), a Sino-Tibetan language of India * Tiwa languages, a group of Tanoan languages of the ...

. He is also a

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

and plays 12 instruments including anandalahari,

dhol Dhol () can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such ...

dotara The ''dotara'' or ''dotar'' ( ''dütüra'', দোতৰা ''dütora'', ; ''dotora''), (literally, “Of r ‘having’two strings”) is a two- stringed, plucked musical instrument from South Asia, with most contemporary models having four ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and various

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

s. He is Assam's highest-paid singer. In 2011, Zubeen Garg was honoured as a guest artist of the year by the Assam Convention, at Oakbrook in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Personal life

Garg was born to an

Assamese Brahmin Assamese Brahmins are the Brahmin, Brahmin community present in the Assamese people, Assamese society. There they promoted learning, Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religion, astrology, ayurveda and as well as imparting general vedic knowledge ...

family at

Tura, Meghalaya Tura (IPA: ˈtʊərə) is a municipality in the West Garo Hills district of the Indian state of Meghalaya. One of the largest towns in Meghalaya, Tura is located in the foothills of the Nokrek range of Garo Hills. The climate in Tura is moderat ...

to Mohini Mohon Borthakur and Late Ily Borthakur. He was named after the music composer

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor :wikt:emeritus, emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father ...

and used his

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotr ...

'' Garg'' as his surname. His father Mohini Borthakur was a Magistrate, and is a lyricist and a poet under the name ''Kapil Thakur'' and his mother Late Ily Borthakur was a singer. Garg's younger sister Jongki Borthakur was an actress and singer who died in a car accident in February 2002 in

Sonitpur district Sonitpur district ron: ˌsə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊə or ˌʃə(ʊ)nɪtˈpʊəis an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district headquarters is located at Tezpur. Etymology The name of the district is derived from a story found ...

while they were going to perform stage show along with her co-artists. He had released the album ''Xixhu'' in 2002, in the memory of Jonkey Borthakur. His another sister is Dr. Palme Borthakur. Garg passed his matriculation exam in Tamulpur Higher Secondary School and then pursued a degree in

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

B. Borooah College B. Borooah College (Autonomous), established in 1943, is a degree college situated in Ulubari locality of Guwahati, Assam. It was named after Bholanath Borooah a businessman from Nagaon. This college is affiliated with the Gauhati University. A ...

but

dropped out Dropping out refers to leaving high school, college, university or another group for practical reasons, necessities, inability, apathy, or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves. Canada In Canada, most ind ...

to concentrate in his singing career. Garg married Garima Saikia, a

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

from

Golaghat Golaghat ( ''Gʊlaɡʱat'' ) one of the largest subdivisions of the Indian state of Assam, later elevated to the position of a full–fledged district headquarter on 5 October 1987, is a city and a municipality and the seat of administrativ ...

, Assam on 4 February 2002. Garg considers himself

irreligious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationa ...

and says that he does not have any

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. On 27 May 2024, Zubeen Garg was awarded an honorary Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) degree by the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya.

Controversies

In 2019, the artist faced a controversy when he said, “I am Brahmin, but I have snapped my ‘lagun’ (a sacred thread worn by Brahmins) in the movie. I had removed the thread earlier, and still don't wear it. These Brahmins should be killed”. Later he apologized for this statement. In April 2024, during Bihu concert, he said to the crowd that

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deity, was never

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

but a man, and he was subsequently banned from

Majuli District Majuli district is situated on Majuli, the largest river island in the world, in the Brahmaputra River in Northeastern Assam. It is the first river island district of the country. On September 8, 2016, an additional district was announced by Sarba ...

Satra Mahasabha.

Starting of musical life

Garg started to sing from the age of three. His first guru was his mother from where he learnt to sing and then he learnt tabla from Pandit Robin Banerjee for 11 years. Guru Ramani Rai acquainted him with Assamese folk. Garg was composing songs from his school days and used to give to singers to sing.

Singing career

Beginning of singing career (1992–1995)

Garg got his confidence to become a professional singer when he got gold medal for his western solo performance in youth festival held in 1992. And after this he entered into professional music with his debut Assamese album ''Anamika'', which was released in November 1992. Garg's first recorded songs were ''"Tumi Junu Pariba Hun"'' and ''"Tumi Junaki Hubakh"'' for the album ''Ritu'' but was released in 1993''.'' He released many other albums such as ''Xapunor Xur'' (1992), ''Junaki Mon'' (1993), ''Maya'' (1994), ''Asha'' (1995) etc. Before he moved to Mumbai in 1995, he released his first bihu album ''Ujan Piriti'' which was a commercial success.

Bollywood singing career (1995–2013)

In the mid-1995, Garg moved to

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

to work in the

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 ...

music industry where he debuted his first Indipop solo album ''Chandni Raat''. Later, he recorded few Hindi albums and remix songs like ''Chanda (1996)'', ''Shradhaanjali vol: 1,2,3 (1996-97)'', ''Jalwa (1998)'', ''Yuhi Kabhi (1998)'', ''Jadoo (1999)'', ''Sparsh (2000)'', etc. He got to sing for different films like '' Gaddaar (1995)'', '' Dil Se (1998)'', '' Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998)'', '' Fiza (2000)'', '' Kaante (2002)''. In 2003, he sung "Sapne Saare" and "khwabon Ki" from the movie '' Mudda-The Issue'', "Mango Agar Dil Se Toh Khuda" from the movie ''

Chupke Se ''Chupke Se'' (), is a 2003 Bollywood romantic comedy film, directed by Shona Urvashi. It stars Zulfi Syed, Masumeh, Rati Agnihotri, Tinnu Anand, Om Puri, Reema Lagoo, and Dilip Prabhawalkar. The film's soundtrack was composed by Vishal Bha ...

'', "Holi Re" from the movie ''Mumbai se Aiya Mera Dost'' and "Jo Pyar tumne" from the movie '' Jaal: The Trap''.

Bengali singing career (2003–2017)

Apart from singing in his Bollywood and Assamese industries, he debuted in the Bengali music industry in 2003 where he sang two songs in the movie ''Mon''. In the next year, he sang three songs in the movie ''

Shudhu Tumi ''Shudhu Tumi'' () is a 2004 Bengali romantic action drama film directed by Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy, produced by Sagar Bhora and Siddhartha Bhora, and starring Prosenjit and Koel in the lead roles. Zubeen Garg composed the music. C ...

'' and was the film's music director. In 2005 he sang"''O Bondhure"'' and "Lagena Bhalo" in the film ''

Premi ''Premi'' (, translated as "Lover") is a Bengali romantic drama film released in 2004. Directed by Rabi Kinagi, the movie featured Jeet, Jisshu Sengupta and Chandana Sharma. This was Chandana Sharma's debut movie It is a remake of the Telugu-la ...

''.

Breakthrough Song "Ya Ali" and more (2006–presents)

He got the biggest break in Bollywood from the movie ''

Gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) 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 ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

'' where he sang the song ''"Ya Ali"''. The song brought him the best playback singer Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) in 2006. His next Hindi album '' Zindagi'' was released in 2007. In 2008, he recorded several Bengali songs like "Mon mane Na" from" the movie ''Mon Mane Na'', "Piya re Piya re" from the movie '' Chirodini Tumi je Amaar'', and "Mon jete chay shudhu" from the movie ''

Love story Love Story or A Love Story may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres * Romance (love) ** Romance film ** Romance novel Films * ''Love Story'' (1925 film), German silent film * ''Love Story'' (1942 film), Italian drama film * ''Love ...

Social work

Garg runs a charity, the Kalaguru Artiste Foundation, which donates money for various causes. He urged people to donate clothes, medicines and contributions when devastating floods hit Assam. He took on the issue over corruption in APSC recruitment in his movie

Kanchanjangha ''Kanchanjangha: Rise'' is a 2019 Indian Assamese language, Assamese-language action drama film directed by Zubeen Garg and produced by Zubeen Garg, Garima Saikia Garg and Shyamantak Gautam under the banner of "Eye Creation Productions" and "Ze ...

. He is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

fan and has played matches to collect funds for flood-affected people. Garg was one of the main non-political figure of the Anti-CAA protest in Assam. In May 2021, during a surge in COVID-19 cases, Garg offered his two-storeyed house in Guwahati to be converted into a COVID Care Centre. This generous act aimed to address the rising demand for beds for patients in the critical time.

Legacy

As a mark of respect and to celebrate Garg, a 20 foot tall statue has been set up. It was unveiled by the singer himself on 2 December 2022 during the Nazirating Tamuli Tourism Festival in Digboi. Bamboo bridge built across the Na Dihing river by villagers of Tengapani and named after Zubeen Garg is inaugurated by the singer himself at Tengapani-Thepabari on 29 February 2020.

Discography

Filmography

As a Music Director

• Assamese film Hiya Diya Niya (2000) Tumi Mur Mathu Mur (2000) Morome Morom Jane (2000) Daag (2001) Sesh Upahar (2001) Nayak (2001) Prem Aru Prem (2002) Kanyadaan (2002) Jonaki Mon (2002) Jibon Nodir Duti Par (2002) Agnishakshi (2003) Priya Milan (2003) Bidhata (2003) Juman-Suman (2003) Barud (2004) Rong (2004) Dinabandhu (2004) Adhinayak (2006) Ami Asomiya (2006) Mon Jai (2008) Ekhon Nedekha Nodir Xipare (2012) Rodor Sithi (2014) Gane Ki Aane (2016) Antarin (2017) Mission China (2017) Priyar Priyo (2017) The Underworld (2018) Kanchanjangha (2019) Ratnakar (2019) Pratighat (2019) Dr. Bezbaruah-2 (2023) The Slam Book (2023) Raghav (2023) Sikar (2024) Bhaimon Da(2025) • Bengali Film Sudhu Tumi (2004) Mon Niye (2010) Kachhe Achho Tumi (2010) Samsara (2019) • Hindi Film Strings (2006) Dil toh Deewana Hai (2016)

Films

Television

As a director

Films

As a producer and screenwriter

Producer

Screenwriter

As a judge

Bibliography

He got Seuji-Seuji award for his poetry book in 2017.

Awards and honours

Zubeen Garg has received the following recognitions for his work in the industry. Zubeen Garg receiving National Award

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garg, Zubeen 1972 births Living people Assamese playback singers Assamese-language singers Assamese singers Bengali playback singers Bengali-language singers Bollywood playback singers 21st-century Indian male singers 21st-century Indian singers Indian pop singers Indian male singer-songwriters Indian singer-songwriters Indian male pop singers Indian male playback singers Indian rock singers Indian folk-pop singers People from Jorhat district Performers of Hindu music Singers from Assam Singers from Guwahati Singers from Meghalaya Assamese-language film directors Indian film score composers Assamese actors 21st-century Indian composers Film directors from Assam People from Meghalaya People from Tura, Meghalaya Musicians from Guwahati Indian male film score composers Assamese film score composers Assamese-language lyricists

Personal life

Controversies

Starting of musical life

Singing career

Beginning of singing career (1992–1995)

Bollywood singing career (1995–2013)

Bengali singing career (2003–2017)

Breakthrough Song "Ya Ali" and more (2006–presents)

Social work

Legacy

Discography

Filmography

As a Music Director

Films

Television

As a director

Films

As a producer and screenwriter

Producer

Screenwriter

As a judge

Bibliography

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links