Satinder Pal Singh, popularly known as Satinder Sartaaj, is an Indian singer, songwriter, actor and poet primarily associated with

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

songs and films. He gained fame with his song "Sai". Since then he has performed across the world. Sartaaj made his film debut as

Maharaja Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (6 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), also spelled Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

in ''The Black Prince'' in 2017.

Early life

Satinder Pal Singh was born in the village of Bajrawar in

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. He attended school at the government elementary school in his village. While in the third standard, he began performing in local Bal Sabhas.

Education

Sartaaj obtained an honours degree in music from Government College,

. He concentrated on his musical career while completing his

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in Sufi music singing and later a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Sufi singing (Gayan) from

Panjab University, Chandigarh Panjab University (PU) is an Indian collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh. Funded through both State and Union governments, it is considered a state university. It traces its origins to the University of the Punjab in Laho ...

. He also taught music at Panjab University for six years. Sartaaj also completed a certificate course and Diploma in the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

language. He started writing poetry and adopted his

Takhallus In Persian language, Persian, Turkic languages, Turkic, Hindustani language, Hindustani and Punjabi language, Punjabi, the word ''takhallus'' (from Arabic , ; ; ; ; , ) means a pen name. Pen names were widely adopted by Persian, Turkic, Urdu and Pu ...

(pen name), Sartaaj, while at college.

Career

Sartaaj pursued a professional music career in his 20s. Before this, he has stated he was a farmer and had no interest in pursuing a career as a performer. His big performance break was in 2008 when he got booked for a gig in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The show's organisers had heard him singing on YouTube and wanted him to perform for the Punjabi-Canadian audience. In 2011, Sartaaj won "Best International Act" at the

Brit Asia TV Music Awards The Brit Asia TV Music Awards, also known as Brit Asia TV World Music Awards or the abbreviation BAMA, is an awards show that has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 2010 (except in 2016), usually in October. The awards show is produce ...

(BAMA). On 2 May 2014, Sartaaj performed in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. He won "Best Songwriter" again at BAMA 2017 and "Music Video of the Year" at BAMA 2018 for "Udaarian". He debuted in the American film industry with the lead role in the movie ''

The Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, succeeded to the throne instead. Edward ne ...

,'' a historic biopic of Maharaja

Duleep Singh Maharaja Sir Duleep Singh (6 September 1838 – 22 October 1893), also spelled Dalip Singh, and later in life nicknamed the "Black Prince of Perthshire", was the last ''Maharaja'' of the Sikh Empire. He was Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest son ...

which was released on 21 July 2017. He has also acted in Punjabi films including '' Ikko Mikke'' (2020) and '' Kali Jotta'' (2023).

Philosophy

Although he has taught at the university and is an accomplished

bhangra Bhangra may refer to: * Bhangra (music), a genre of Punjabi music * Bhangra (dance), a folk dance of Punjab region * ''Bhangra'' (film), a 1959 Indian Punjabi-language film See also * Bhangara, Nepal Bhangara, Nepal is a village development c ...

performer, composer and singer, Sartaaj considers ''

shayari Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

'' (poetry) as his first love.

Discography

Film

Album/Single

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sartaaj, Satinder Living people Indian male folk singers Punjabi-language singers Performers of Sufi music Indian Sufis Punjabi Sikhs People from Hoshiarpur Panjab University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Punjabi-language poets