Monali Thakur
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Monali Thakur (born 3 November 1985) is an Indian playback singer. She is the recipient of several awards including a
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Cinema of India, Indian fi ...
for the song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" from the film '' Dum Laga Ke Haisha'' (2015) and a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Sawaar Loon" from the film '' Lootera'' (2013). She was a judge of Zee TV's singing reality show '' Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs 2014''. She was also an "expert" on Colors TV's ''Rising Star'' for two consecutive seasons.


Early life

Thakur was born on 3 November 1985 in a Bengali Brahmin family in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
(now Kolkata). Her father Shakti Thakur was a professional singer and actor in Bengali film industry and her sister Mehuli Thakur is a playback singer in Bengal. She has learnt
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
and
Bharatanatyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism.< ...
and is also a trained salsa dancer. An alumnus of The Future Foundation School and St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, Thakur started singing in school and college competitions and performing at local functions.Shruti, I.L.
Katrina liked my voice
", The Deccan Herald, 26 August 2008.


Career

In 1999, she sang the first song of her career in the film '' Chena Chena'' under the musical direction of Anupam Dutta and penned by
Pulak Bandyopadhyay Pulak Bandyopadhyay (; 2 May 1931 – 7 September 1999) was a Bengali people, Bengali Indian lyricist and songwriter of Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. Early life He was born and brought up in Salkia, Howrah. His family had close links w ...
. It was a Bengali children song titled "Choi Choi Choi Tipi Tipi". The same year, she recorded the title track of Bengali serial ''Shri Ramkrishna''. She received the Best Playback Singer Award at Anandalok Awards for it when she was 14. She rose to popularity after placing ninth in ''
Indian Idol 2 ''Indian Idol'' is an Indian music competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, solo (music), soloists, composers, conducting, conductors, musicologists or compositions. Pop m ...
''. She had to struggle even after ''
Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is an Indian music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was ...
'' to get a strong foothold in the music industry. She got an offer from music director
Pritam Chakraborty Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, music producer and singer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jin ...
to sing two songs for the Bollywood film '' Race'' in 2008 – "Khwab Dekhe" (Sexy Lady) and "Zara Zara Touch Me". Monali's first large format live concert was at Powai Sarvajanin Durgotsav in 2011.


Early years (2000-2012)

Monali started her career in 2000 with the song 'Sundar Kato Sundar' from the Bengali movie '' Sajoni Aamar Sohag'', sung along with
Kavita Krishnamurti Kavita Krishnamurthy (born as Sharada Krishnamurthy), is an Indian playback and classical singer. She has recorded numerous songs in various Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Odia, Marathi, E ...
,
Goutam Ghose Goutam Ghose (also spelled Gautam Ghosh; born 24 July 1950) is an Indian film director, actor, music director and cinematographer who works primarily in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio ...
and Pratik Choudhary. In 2005, she participated in the singing reality show ''
Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is an Indian music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was ...
'', She was eliminated very early and stood at 9th position. About her experience with ''Indian Idol,'' which ran for up to six months, Thakur said that she was mostly nervous the entire time. "I would get severe anxiety attacks while singing on stage and I wish I had more fun at the time". However, she opened up about the impact of participating in and winning these shows: "You win good money and it gives you face value but you can only capitalise it for no more than a couple of months. The real war starts afterwards once you start working bit by bit". Post-''Indian Idol,'' Thakur made her singing debut with the song "Kabool Kar Le" in the 2006 film '' Jaan-E-Mann'', composed by
Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film ...
; who was also one of the judges in ''Indian Idol''. In 2008, Thakur rose to prominence with the songs "Zara Zara Touch Me" and "Khwab Dekhe (Sexy Lady)" in the film ''Race'', composed by
Pritam Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, music producer and singer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jin ...
. Thakur considers the former of the songs to be her first real breakthrough. 'Zara Zara Touch Me' was originally the only song that Thakur was scheduled for, but her first recording impressed the film's directors
Abbas–Mustan Abbas–Mustan are an Indian filmmaker duo consisting of brothers Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla and Mustan Alibhai Burmawalla, working in Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily pr ...
enough for them to book her a second song. According to her: "Ramesh ji and Kumar ji he producers of Racehad signed me up for an album for Tips at a time independent albums had become extinct, but they liked my voice, and Pritam got me to sing for a scratch recording. Abbas-Mustan he directorsliked it, and that is how I got the other song, Khwab Dekhe, too". "Zara Zara Touch Me" was enormously successful, becoming the fourth-most-played song on Indian radio during the first half of 2008.And the most popular songs playing on radio are...; AirCheck India takes stock
", exchange4media News Service, 5 July 2008
Joginder Tuteja of
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
picked it along with "Pehli Nazar Mein" as the biggest hits of the album and praised the song calling it "fresh, naughty and seductive". "Zara Zara Touch Me" became one of the year's biggest chartbusters. She also got nominated for an IIFA Award for Best Female Playback and an Apsara Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Zara Zara Touch Me". That year, she collaborated with Pritam once again for the song "Meow", sung along with
Suzanne D'Mello Suzanne D'Mello, formerly known as Suzie Q, is an Indian playback singer of Bollywood films and other regional films. She also has voiced jingles for television advertisements. Career Over the years, Suzanne has worked with several music direc ...
for the film ''
Golmaal Returns ''Golmaal Returns'' () is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty. The film is a remake of the 1989 Marathi film '' Pheka Pheki'', which itself was inspired by the 1973 Hindi film '' Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar'', it serves a ...
''. Also, she performed the title track of '' Ekhane Aakash Neel'', which is an official Bengali remake of the Hindi series ''Sanjivani'', which aired on
StarPlus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented realit ...
. In 2009, her first song was "Khudaya Khair" from '' Billu'', which she sang along with Soham Chakrabarty. The song received mixed reviews from critics but Thakur was praised for her vocals. Her other songs that year included "Do Dil Hai Janwa", "Hai Junoon (Remix)" and some Bengali tracks like 2 songs, 'Prithibi Onek Boro' and 'Kalke Jilam Jajaber' in ''Love'' and 3 songs in '' Dujone.'' In 2010, she sang the song "Dilrubaon Ke Jalwe" in the film '' Dulha Mil Gaya'' with
Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, ...
. Shot on
Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...
and
Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (; born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress and beauty pageant titleholder, who was crowned Miss Universe 1994, becoming the first Indian people, Indian woman to win the title. Sen has since predominantly worked in Hindi films, ...
, the song met with positive reviews where
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
praised her diverse vocals in comparison to her previous songs. Next, she sang a solo track 'Ishq Mein' in ''Prince''. The song was praised where critics called it upbeat and her vocals seductive. That year, she also sang 'Anjaana Anjaani Ki Kahani' from '' Anjaana Anjaani'', composed by Vishal–Shekhar along with the whole album received huge critical acclaim. Her Bengali songs that year included releases such as 'It's Only Pyaar', 'O Yaara Ve', 'Bol Na Aar' from '' Dui Prithibi,'' 3 Tracks in '' Kellafate'', and more. In 2011, she sang songs like 'Naina', 'Ayo Manaye Jashn', 'Tik Tuk' from Rascals, 'Give it up' from United Six, 'Haal-e-dil' from Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap composed by Vishal–Shekhar, co-sung with
Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...
. She also lend her voice to 3 songs, 'Ke Se', 'O Shona Eshona' and 'Mon Banjara' to 2011 Bengali film Fighter. In 2012, she sang 'Tu Mohabbat Hai' from
Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya ''Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya'' () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Mandeep Kumar and produced by Kumar S. Taurani. The film features the real-life couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D'Souza in lead roles. ''Tere Na ...
with
Atif Aslam Atif Aslam (; born 12 March 1983) is a Pakistani playback singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He has recorded many songs in both Pakistan and India, and is known for his Belting (music), vocal belting technique. Born in Wazirabad, Waziraba ...
, composed by
Sachin–Jigar Sachin–Jigar are an Indian music composer duo consisting of Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya. They are both known for their compositions in both Hindi and Gujarati language films. Personal life Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya are both orig ...
, the song received critical acclaim. Apart from other songs that year, she sang 'Aga Bai' along with
Shalmali Kholgade Shalmali Kholgade is an Indian playback singer who predominantly sings for Bollywood films. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in other Indian languages such as Marathi language, Marathi, Bengali language, Bengali, Telugu language, Telugu, ...
from the movie Aiyyaa. The song composed by Amit Trivedi was a hit and had favourable reviews where
Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...
called it a 'Fast-paced Disco Number'. About the song she said: "I was feeling incomplete at the time as I had so much to offer, So, I would complain to Amit rivedi saying what was the point of doing riyaaz racticefor 10-12 hours if I cannot use it. Then, he asked me to sing a thumri in Aga Bai, parts of which had already been sung by Shalmali Kholgade". Among others, She also Sang a Bengali Track 'Shadow Tales' in the film Aparajita Tumi. Composed by
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian pianist, score composer and musician who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films ''Parineeta (2005 film), Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron K ...
, the song was appreciated by critics.


"Sawaar Loon" and Bollywood film debut as an actress (2013-2014)

In 2013, Thakur sang "Sawaar Loon", composed by Amit Trivedi from the film '' Lootera''. The song met with highly positive reviews,
Filmfare ''Filmfare'' is an Indian English-language fortnightly magazine published by Worldwide Media. Acknowledged as one of India's most popular entertainment magazines, it publishes pieces involving news, interviews, photos, videos, reviews, events, ...
wrote, "Monali Thakur instills sugar in our ears, the '50s orchestration, coupled with the perfect pitch of the singer manages to take you back to a bygone era", while Mohar Basu of Koimoi wrote, "A romantic ballad out of the 50s, the song sung by Monali Thakur is astonishingly wonderful. Thakur's heart melting voice is gripping and Amit Trivedi's tunes and
Amitabh Bhattacharya Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian Bengali lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. At the beginning of his career back in 2000's, he was working for few musicians as a singer & met Pritam, who gave him ...
's heart wrenching lyrics skillfully weaves a wonderful tapestry of music that we can call sheer finesse. The playful drift of Thakur's voice, is abundant in naivety making the song soulfully innocent". The song won her first Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Her next releases that year were 'Hip Hop Pammi' from '' Ramaiya Vastavaiya'' sung with
Mika Singh Mika Singh (born 10 June 1977) is an Indian singer, rapper, musician and actor. His songs include "Bas Ek King" (''Singh Is Kinng''), "Mauja Hi Mauja" (''Jab We Met''), "Ibn-e-Batuta" (''Ishqiya''), "Dhanno" (''Housefull (2010 film), Housefull' ...
, 'Muh Meetha Kara De' from ''
Rabba Main Kya Karoon () is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Amrit Sagar Chopra and produced by Moti Sagar. The film features Akash Sagar Chopra, Arshad Warsi, Paresh Rawal, Tahira Kochhar, and Riya Sen as main characters. Plot revolv ...
'', 'Laila' from '' Nasha.'' Also, she sang the title track of I Don't Luv U along with Neuman Pinto, the singer's voice was praised, though the song was not. 'Raghupati Raghav' from
Krrish 3 ''Krrish 3'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language superhero action thriller film written, produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan, who wrote the screenplay with Honey Irani and Robin Bhatt. It is the third film in the ''Krrish'' series, following ...
was her next release, co-sung with Neeraj Shridhar and composed by Rajesh Roshan, the song received praise where singers were applauded for their energetic vocals. Her The following releases that year were 2 tracks from the movie '' I, Me Aur Main'', 'Darbadar' in which she collaborated again with
Sachin–Jigar Sachin–Jigar are an Indian music composer duo consisting of Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya. They are both known for their compositions in both Hindi and Gujarati language films. Personal life Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya are both orig ...
and 'Meri Jaaniye' performed alongside Shaan. while the former, a classical touch song, the latter is a romantic number with a western touch. Both of them were well appreciated by critics where, Suparna Thombare of 'Bollywood Life' stated about 'Darbadar' that "The ektara, clap sounds and Monali Thakur's silken voice lead you into this Sufi number that slowly zooms into a high energy song. Monali gets the chance to sing a semi-classical number for the first time and she truly shines, Joginder Tuteja of
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
stated about 'Meri Jaaniye' "It is good to see Monali wear a different hat for this one and step into a Western avtar". She performed a female solo 'Laila' in ''Nasha'', composed by musical duo Sangeet-Siddharth, the song was well received and called a sweet one. That year also, she sang some Bengali tracks. In 2014, Thakur made her film debut with ''Lakshmi'' dealing with the harsh realities of human trafficking and child prostitution, which continues behind closed curtains in rural areas of India. Directed by
Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyderabad Blues' ...
, the film did not perform well and received mixed reviews by critics but Thakur's performance was praised. She won Best Actress Award at the South-Asian International Film Festival in Washington DC, making her the first Bollywood singer to have won. That year, she also Collaborated with
Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...
for the Bangla version of the song 'Tune Mari Entriyan' from the film '' Gunday''. The song was a chartbuster in both Hindi and Bangla. Mitesh Saraf of 'Planet Bollywood' appreciated the song "Bappi Lahiri and Monali Thakur takes centre stage and both does really well in maintaining the entertainment quotient" while,
Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
stated "Monali Thakur goes all out to make the best use of the platform provided to her. A chartbuster all the way". She provided English Vocals in the song 'Love Me Thoda Aur' sung by
Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (; born 25 April 1987) is an Indian playback singer. A leading figure in contemporary Hindi film music, he is the recipient of several accolades including two National Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards. He was conferred the P ...
for the film ''Yaariyan''. During the year, she voiced for some other songs, 'Sweety' from '' Bobby Jasoos'' performed alongside
Aishwarya Nigam Aishwarya Nigam (born 4 July 1989) is an Indian singer. He is best known as a playback singer in Hindi films, particularly for films like '' Dabangg''. He has received several awards for the song " Munni Badnaam Hui" from '' Dabangg''. Early ...
and composed by
Shantanu Moitra Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian pianist, score composer and musician who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films ''Parineeta (2005 film), Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron K ...
, the song received mixed reviews, the Title Track of '' Karle Pyaar Karle'' co-sung with
Benny Dayal Benny Dayal (born 13 May 1984) is a UAE-born Indian playback singer. He is a prominent singer in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi and more languages films. He is a member of the band S5, launched by ...
, the reviews for the songs were fair. She was a judge in the Bengali music reality show ''Bengali Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs'' for two years. She also appeared in the Bengali show ''Key Hobe Biggest Fan'' and was part of '' Coke Studio''.


'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage' and further hits (2015-present)

She began the new year with a song 'Turram Khan' in Hawaizaada, co-sung by Papon and
Ayushmann Khurrana Ayushmann Khurrana (born Nishant Khurrana; 14 September 1984) is an Indian actor and singer who works in Hindi films. Known for his portrayals of ordinary men often battling social norms, he is the recipient of several awards, including a Na ...
. 'Karthik' of Milliblog stated, "superbly led by Papon, till Ayushmann Khurrana and Monali Thakur interject later in the song with a lively melodic distraction". After it, she sang 3 Bengali songs of which 2, 'Ure Geche' and 'Tumi Aashe Paashe' composed by
Indraadip Dasgupta Indraadip Dasgupta (born 17 January 1973) is an Indian composer whose range of music is well known in various Bengali Films. In 2017 he worked in ''Begum Jaan (2017 film), Begum Jaan'', for which he composed the background score. Film direc ...
from the film Parbona Ami Chartey Tokey, 1 song 'Kono Ek Nilchee Pari' from
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
. This year turned out to be again very successful for her when she sang a semi-classical melody, 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage', from the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha starring
Ayushmann Khurrana Ayushmann Khurrana (born Nishant Khurrana; 14 September 1984) is an Indian actor and singer who works in Hindi films. Known for his portrayals of ordinary men often battling social norms, he is the recipient of several awards, including a Na ...
,
Bhumi Pednekar Bhumi Pednekar ( born 18 July 1989) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Known for her portrayals of headstrong small-town women, she is the recipient of several awards, including three Filmfare Awards. After working as an assistant ...
and Composed by
Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film ...
. A separate male version of the song is sung by Papon. According to her, "It doesn't happen often that in the world of EDMs and Hiphop Bollywood numbers one gets a chance to sing evergreen rich Indian melody, hence I can't thank Anu Ji enough to trust me as a singer with this beautiful song "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage", thus keeping a promise he made years back to me in a reality show where I was just a contestant". The Song became a Chartbuster and was Highly appreciated by Audience as well as Critics. Prateek Sur of 'Bollywood Life' commented, "Monali impresses with her melodic vocals". The song won her several awards including
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Cinema of India, Indian fi ...
at the
63rd National Film Awards The 63rd National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2015 in Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 28 March 2016 ...
, IIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer at 17th IIFA Awards. Also, she was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the same. The composer Anu Malik as well as lyricist of the song Varun Grover won several awards. Varun won
National Film Award for Best Lyrics The National Film Award for Best Lyrics is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) to a lyricist who has composed the best song for films produced within the Indian c ...
for it. As of 2021, the lyrical video of the song has garnered more than 130 Million views on YouTube. On winning prestigious National Award, Thakur says, "This gives a lot of happiness when you know that you have won an award or for that matter that you have been nominated for your work. I realised the actual gravity of this award when I saw the reactions of family and friends". In 2018, Thakur appeared in the
Zee5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...
show ''Lockdown'' along with
Mickey Singh Harmanjit "Mickey" Singh (born December 21, 1990) is an Indian-American singer, songwriter, producer, dancer, model and actor. He gained widespread popularity through his first mixtape of Punjabi and English music, ''Mick's Tape.'' It was release ...
which was produced by Badshah's production house Afterhours. They recreated two tracks, "Jiya Jale" and "Gur Nalon Ishq Meetha". Apart from these Monali has also sung several super-hits like "Cham Cham" song from 2016 film '' Baaghi'', which has garnered more than 1 Billion views on YouTube as of January 2022 and The Title Track of 2018 film " Badrinath Ki Dulhania", which she sang along with
Neha Kakkar Neha Kakkar Singh (; née Kakkar; born 6 June 1988) is an Indian singer. She is the younger sister of playback singers Tony Kakkar and Sonu Kakkar. She began performing at a very early age at religious events. In 2005, she participated in the ...
,
Dev Negi Dev Negi (born 25 June 1989) is an Indian singer-songwriter and a playback singer based in Mumbai, India. Negi has recorded numerous chartbuster songs for Hindi films, albums, television and TV commercials. The song ''Biba'' which is a collabor ...
and Ikka Singh, has been watched more than 800 Million times on Youtube as of January 2022. Thakur has also released her singles, "Tamanna" (2018), "Shy Mora Saiyaan" (2018), "O Re Naseeba" (2019), "Pani Pani Re" (2019), "Dugga Elo" (2019) and her latest Single is "Dil Ka Fitoor" (2020). In 2020 Thakur has sung 2 more singles: "Aaina" along with Ranajoy Bhattacharjee and "Elo Maa Dugga Thakur" along with ''
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, dubbing artist and actor. He is one of the most versatile singers and widest vocal ranges in the history of Indian music. His songs vary from romantic to break-up, cla ...
''.


Acting career

As a child, she appeared in a Bengali television show, ''Aalokito ek Indu'', in which she played the lead role Indubala. It was followed by two telefilms, including Sudeshna Roy's ''Phagune Agun'', in which she was seen as Ruman. She made her acting debut in
Raja Sen Raja Sen (born 10 November 1955) is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of Subhasree Sen and Sreyoshi Sen. Career Raja Sen first received reco ...
's Bengali film ''Krishnakanter Will'', in which she played Bhromor. In 2014, she made her Bollywood debut in
Nagesh Kukunoor Nagesh Kukunoor (born 30 March 1967) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and few Telugu films. He is known for his works in parallel cinema, such as '' Hyderabad Blues' ...
's ''
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
''. The film is about
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
and
child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...
and Thakur plays a 15-year-old girl who gets trapped in it. She was seen in a guest appearance as a Kashmiri Girl in 2014 film PK. Thakur has also a played a cameo role in film Secret Superstar released in 2017. She will be seen in
Abbas Tyrewala Abbas Tyrewala (born 15 May 1974) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and director. After making his mark as a screenwriter and dialogue writer in the early 2000s, with award-winning films such as ''Maqbool'' (2003) and ''Munnabhai M.B.B.S.'' ( ...
's multistarrer ''Mango''. She also acted in a short film titled ''Jangle Bells'' along with Namit Das. The film came out on Christmas of 2015.


Personal life

Thakur married Maik Richter, a restaurateur based in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, in 2017. She met Richter during a backpacking trip to Switzerland – he was her
Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...
host. Thakur made the marriage public only in June 2020 after releasing her single "Dil Ka Fitoor", which features her along with Maik.


Discography

Thakur has sung numerous songs of different languages including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


See also

* List of Indian playback singers


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thakur, Monali 1985 births Living people Filmi singers Bollywood playback singers Indian women playback singers Indian Idol participants Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Singers from Kolkata Actresses from Kolkata 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian women singers Women musicians from West Bengal Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners