Mame Khan is an Indian playback and folk singer from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India. He has been

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 ...

for numerous

Hindi films 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 "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

such as '' Luck By Chance'' (2009), ''

I Am I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" ( ...

'' (2010), '' No One Killed Jessica'' (2011), '' Mirzya'' (2016) and '' Sonchiriya'' (2019). Khan was featured on Coke Studio @ MTV (second season) along with Amit Trivedi, the duo performed the track ''Chaudhary''. He received the Best Folk Single Award at

Global Indian Music Academy Awards The Global Indian Music Academy Awards (also known as the GiMA Awards) are presented annually by Global Indian Music Academy to honour and recognise Hindi-language music. The nominees are voted by GiMA's jury, who have some of the most respecte ...

(GiMA) 2016. Mame Khan was first ever Folk artist to walk the Red Carpet at The Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and to perform at the Indian pavilion at Cannes. Mame Khan's most recent folk, Sufi, fusion album named "Desert Rose" was released on 13 October 2022.

Early life and background

Mame Khan was born in Satto, a small village near

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

in Rajasthan. He belongs to the Manganiyar community of

, India. He was exposed to the folk music of the Manganiyar community since childhood. His father, Ustad Rana Khan was also a

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of Indic languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the state * Rajasthani architecture, Indian ar ...

folk singer. At the age of 14, he was given a six-year scholarship by the

Indian Council for Cultural Relations The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India's global cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their people. It was founded on 9 April ...

to pursue his studies in music and arts.

Career

Khan made his singing debut in

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 ...

with

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. In 2023, he was awarded an honorary doctorate (''honoris causa'' degree) by Birmingham Ci ...

for the film '' Luck By Chance'' in 2009. However, he shot into the spotlight, when he appeared in an episode of Coke Studio @ MTV (season 2), featuring the song ''Chaudhary'' in collaboration with music director Amit Trivedi in 2012. Mame also performed another title ''Badri badariya'' at Coke Studio @ MTV, where he collaborated with singer Mili Nair. He sang for movies like '' Mirzya'', ''

'', '' No One Killed Jessica'' and '' Sonchiriya''. He also lent his voice for a Hindi song in

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 ...

film, '' Monsoon Mangoes''. In October 2015, Khan released his debut album, ''Mame Khan's Desert Sessions'', which was crowd funded. He sang the national anthem for

Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar, also known as JioHotstar or simply Hotstar, is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Disney Star. The brand was introduced as Hotstar for a streaming service carrying content from Di ...

and Star Sports's 2015 Pro Kabaddi League season. In December 2016, he released a single, ''Sanu Ik Pal Chain Na Ave'', which was a combination of Punjabi and Rajasthani folk music. In December 2017, he had collaboration with composer duo

Salim–Sulaiman Salim–Sulaiman are an Indian music composer duo consisting of siblings Salim Merchant and Sulaiman Merchant. The duo has composed music predominantly for Hindi films. Life and early career Salim–Sulaiman's ancestral town is Mundra, Kutch, ...

for McDowell's No.1's No.1 Yaari Jam's ''Yaari'' song. He also sang for television commercials for clients such as

Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...

and

Tanishq Tanishq is an Indian jewellery brand owned by Titan Company. Founded in 1994, it is based in Bengaluru. As of 2023, it has more than 400 retail stores across India, the UAE, the US, Singapore and Qatar. History By the end of the 1980s, Tita ...

. Mame Khan has been the voice for the nutrition campaign "Mhari Champion" by ICDS and the Government of Rajasthan. He was also a part of

's folk project titled My Country, My Music. He was the lead vocalist of Roysten Abel's show, ''The Manganiyar Seduction'', which has been touring the world since 2006. He has performed at some of India's most popular festivals including the NH7 Weekender,

Mood Indigo "Mood Indigo" is a jazz song with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard and lyrics by Irving Mills. Composition Although Irving Mills—Jack Mills's brother and publishing partner—took credit for the lyrics, Mitchell Parish claimed in a ...

, Repertwahr Festival, Rajasthan Partnership Summit and Sahitya Aaj Tak. In June 2018, he performed with his troupe at the

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 ...

National Centre for the Performing Arts National Centre for the Performing Arts may refer to * National Centre for the Performing Arts (China) The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) (), colloquially described as The Giant Egg (巨蛋), is an arts centre containing an opera ...

(NCPA), where he also collaborated with Kaushiki Chakraborty. First folk singer to play the opening act at NMACC's Studio Theatre in 2023.

Discography

; As a playback singer

TV shows

Singles

Albums

Awards

References

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

(Interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Mame Living people Indian folk singers Bollywood playback singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian male singers People from Jaisalmer Hindustani singers Year of birth missing (living people)