Tochi Raina (born 2 September 1971) is an Indian singer, composer and philosopher, best known as a playback singer in

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 ...

films. His most notable works include the songs ''Kabira'' for the movie "

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (), also abbreviated as ''YJHD'', is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Ayan Mukerji, written by Mukerji and Hussain Dalal, and produced by Karan Johar under Dharma Produc ...

", "Iktara" from "

Wake Up Sid ''Wake Up Sid'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Comedy drama, comedy-drama film written and directed by Ayan Mukerji in his directorial debut, and produced by Karan Johar under the Dharma Productions banner. T ...

", ''Ishq Waale Chor Hain'' for the

movie Kya yahi sach hai with Vishal Khurana, ''Saibo'' for the

movie

Shor in the City ''Shor in the City'' () is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Raj & DK and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Girija Oak, Radhika Apte, Nikhil Dwivedi, P ...

a duet with

Shreya Ghosal Shreya Ghoshal (; born 12 March 1984) is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and influential singers of India. Often referred to as the "Queen of Dynamics'' for her remarkable voc ...

, ''Maldar Ki Jeb'' for the movie

Bhindi Baazaar Inc. Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the wo ...

and ''Aali Re'' for the movie

No One Killed Jessica ''No One Killed Jessica'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language Crime film, crime drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Gupta. It stars Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji. Based on the Murder of Jessica Lal, Jessica Lal murder case, the film revolves ...

. He recorded a music album 'Tochinaamah' consisting 3 songs – Saaiyaan, Jamoora and Akela.

Early life

He was born in a Kashmiri Sikh family to Sahib and Surjit Kumar Raina in

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth largest city and municipal corporation in the state of Bihar in India, and is considered an important city in North Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. Darbhanga ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and went to school in

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

where his father, a government employee, was posted. He hails from a family with music background. His father played the harmonium, his grandmother was a

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

player, his uncle, Ratan Singh, a renowned Violin player and his grandfather, Akaali Kaur Singh, a saint. He later moved to Delhi where he started learning music under Pandit Vinod Kumar – a disciple of Indian classical singer

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was a Pakistani vocalist, from the Kasur Patiala Gharana.

. He also learnt music from Ustad Bhure Khan,

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997), also known by his initials NFAK, was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. Khan was primarily a singer of qawwali, a form of Sufi music, ...

, Ustad Altaf Hussain Sarang, Pt. Mani Prasad and Pt. Sitaram. According to him his Gurus not only taught him music, but also to visualize his breath. Slowly, he started visualizing words and he turned to spirituality and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

music. He also sang the Song "Rabba" in Coke Studio @MTV Season 3 which is composed by

Amit Trivedi Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician who works primarily for Indian cinema. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as ...

, and the song 'Bannado' in coke Studio @MTV Season 4 which is composed and arranged by Sachin-Jigar and the lyrics ae written by Priya Sariya.

Career

He 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 make a career as a Music Composer & playback singer. Tochi got his first commercial break with Bulleshah in

A Wednesday! ''A Wednesday!'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film written and directed by Neeraj Pandey and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Anjum Rizvi and Shital Bhatia under UTV Motion Pictures and Friday Filmworks. The film stars Naseeru ...

in 2008. He has been a part of a number of movies and albums as a Music Composer including

Bezubaan Ishq ''Bezubaan Ishq'' () is a 2015 Hindi romantic film directed by Jashwant Gangani and produced by C.J. Gadara and Dinesh Likhiya. The film stars Mugdha Godse, Sneha Ullal, and Nishant Singh Malkani in lead roles. Music directors Babli Haque an ...

, Note Pe Chot and a lot more. He is currently working with his Band of Bandagi and creating soulful

music with the band. Band of bandagi has released their first album Sufi Acoustica with 6 Sufi Songs in it. Tochi has joined hands with Music Distribution Company Movement Creations LLP as Head of the department for music since March 2021. His 4 audio tracks has been released so far including : 'Gayatri Mantra' (Raag Malkauns), 'Alakh Niranjan', 'Hare Krishna', 'Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo'.

Personal life

He is married and has two daughters, Harleen & Simran. Harleen was born the night he finished recording for Shor in the city.

List of songs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raina, Tochi 1971 births Living people Kashmiri people Indian male playback singers Bollywood playback singers People from Darbhanga district