Swati Sharma is an
Indian singer. She is known for her popular song ''Banno Tera Swagger'' from the
''Tanu Weds Manu: Return'', a film directed by
Anand L. Rai
Aanand L. Rai (born 28 June 1971) is a Hindi film director and producer known for romantic-comedy movies ''Tanu Weds Manu'' (2011), ''Raanjhanaa'' (2013), '' Tanu Weds Manu: Returns'' (2015), '' Zero ''(2018), '' Atrangi Re '' (2021) and ''Rak ...
. She is also notable for producing music that has been used in
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
films.
In 2017 she became the first Indian singer to perform at the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nickname ...
(Paris).
Biography
Sharma was born in
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth ...
,
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...
, in northeast India. Her father worked in marketing, while her mother was a homemaker. Sharma's family traces its origin to
Sikar
Sikar is a city and municipal council in the Sikar district of the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Sikar district. It is part of the Shekhawati region, which consists of Sikar, Churu and Jhunjhun ...
in Rajasthan, and this
Rajasthani heritage which would inspire some of her later work in the music industry.
She started singing at the age of seven, after which her family encouraged her to purse a career in the music industry; her relatives would also jokingly compare her to
Sunidhi Chauhan, a prominent
playback singer
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...
.
With her father's support, Sharma began her education in music at Pankaj Maharaj, a musical school in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, before going on to take a music course at
Chandigarh University
Chandigarh University (CU) is a private university located in Mohali, Punjab, India.The university was established on 10 July 2012 by an act of Punjab State Legislature. It is recognized by University Grants Commission under Section 2(f) ...
, an institution long associated with Indian music. During this time she also worked as a playback singer, with most of her early work being dubbed over by other musicians or actresses.
After she performed a number of devotional hymns before a live audience in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...
, she received enough positive feedback to being producing devotional albums.
After finishing her studies, Sharma moved to
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
to continue her career in music. She networked extensively, using
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
to contact musicians for advice and to advocate for her ability to sing. In 2015 she was contacted by
Tanishk Bagchi
Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
(of the group
Tanishk-Vayu
Tanishk-Vayu is a duo of Indian composer Tanishk Bagchi and lyricist Vayu Shrivastav, who also act as a composer duo. They together composed for films like '' Tanu Weds Manu Returns'' (2015), '' Bareilly Ki Barfi'' (2017), '' Tumhari Sulu'' (2017) ...
), a
film score composer who worked extensively in the
Bollywood film industry.
He commissioned Sharma to sing a romantic song for an upcoming film. The song, ''Banno tera Swagger'', was recorded and later dubbed over by Indian actress
Kangana Ranaut
Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfare ...
in the 2015
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
film ''
Tanu Weds Manu: Returns''. The film was a critical and financial success, and Sharma's role in producing a hit song for ''Tanu''
's score led to a dramatic uptick in her popularity.
Sharma has continued to record albums and done more playback work.
She won a number of music awards in 2016.
In 2017 she became the first Indian singer to perform at the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nickname ...
.
Discography
Awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Swati
1994 births
Indian women playback singers
Living people
People from Muzaffarpur
Singers from Bihar
21st-century Indian women singers
21st-century Indian singers