Uttam Singh (born 25 May 1948) is an Indian music director and a well-known violinist. He has also worked as a music arranger, programmer and recordist for many

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 ...

films. He worked as a music assistant for

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

in numerous

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

films before establishing himself as an independent composer.

Music career

Childhood

Uttam Singh's father 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 family 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 ...

, when Singh was 12. He learned

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

and Western violin. His family used to sing

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

s at various

Gurudwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and religions are welcomed in gurd ...

s and religious functions to supplement their income.

Violinist

Uttam Singh worked as violinist for three years. His big break came in 1963, when he worked as a violinist for a documentary being made by Mohammad Safi (an assistant to

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...

). After this, Uttam Singh played violin for major composers including

, Roshan,

Madan Mohan Madanamohana () is an epithet of the Hindu deity Krishna. It translates as, "he whose charm (''mohana'') bewilders even the god of love ('' madana'')". The epithet describes the powerful nature of the attraction for the deity from his devotees, e ...

, C. Ramchandra,

Sachin Dev Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. He was a member of the Tripura royal family, but his father was excluded from the throne. He started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He late ...

. Later, he became the main violinist for S D Burman's son,

Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (; 27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director and singer, who is considered to be one of the greatest and most successful music directors of the Hindi film music industry. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman ...

Music arranger

Singh later partnered with another musician, Jagdish, to arrange music for films. The duo became reputed arrangers, working for over 65 films in several Indian languages. These films included major

Rajshri Productions Rajshri Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Mumbai, India, established in 1947, which is primarily involved in producing Hindi films. History Rajshri Productions, the film production division of Rajshri, ...

hits, ''

Maine Pyar Kiya ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (), also known by the initialism ''MPK'', is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Sooraj Barjatya in his directorial debut. Produced by Tarachand Barjatya, the film was co-written by S. M. Ahale ...

'' and '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!''. He also worked with

as a music arranger in various Tamil films.

Music director

Singh and Jagdish worked as music directors ("Uttam-Jagdish") for

Manoj Kumar Manoj Kumar (born Harikrishan Giri Goswami; 24 July 1937 – 4 April 2025) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful actors in t ...

's '' Painter Babu'' (1983). Later they worked for Kumar's other film, ''

Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

'' (1989). Together, they also worked on the Smita Patil-Raj Babbar-Raj Kiran-Amrita Singh-Amrish Puri starrer, '' Waaris'' (1988). After Jagdish died in 1992, Singh started working independently. His most notable film as a music director was

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the reci ...

's ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ) is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor, and Akshay Kumar. It follows the love lives of the members of a musical tro ...

'' (1997). He also composed music for many other films including '' Dushman'' (1998), '' Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain'' (1999), '' Farz'' (2001) and ''

Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai ''Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Kirti Kumar, starring Govinda and Rani Mukerji. It is a remake of the Tamil film ''Sollamale'' (1998). Plot Sunder comes from his village to the big ...

'' (2002). He also composed music for Anil Sharma's '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' (2001) and later for '' The Hero: Love Story of a Spy'' (2003). His songs and score for the Chandra Prakash Dwivedi's 2003 partition drama '' Pinjar'', in which he collaborated with the Wadali Brothers, won him much critical acclaim and is considered to be his finest work as composer.

Private albums

Singh recorded his first private album ''Om Sai Ram'' in 1996. Later, he also composed music for his daughter Preeti Singh's album ''Soor'' (2002).

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Awards *

Filmfare Award for Best Music Director The Filmfare Award for Best Music Director is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to the best composer/arranger of a soundtrack. This category was first presented in 1954. Naushad Ali was th ...

– 1997 (for ''

'') *

Zee Cine Award for Best Music Director The Zee Cine Award Best Music Director is chosen by the jury and the winner is announced at the actual ceremony. A. R. Rahman has won most awards in this category (6 times). Multiple wins Awards See also * Zee Cine Awards * Bollywood ...

– 1998 (for ''Dil To Pagal Hai'') Nominations * Zee Cine Award for Best Background Score – 1998 (for ''Dil To Pagal Hai'') * Screen Award for Best Music Director – 1998 (for ''Dil To Pagal Hai'') *

– 2002 (for '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'') * IIFA Award for Best Music Director – 2002 (for ''Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'') * Screen Award for Best Music Director – 2002 (for ''Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'') * Screen Award for Best Background Music – 2003 (for '' Pinjar'') * Zee Cine Award Best Background Music – 2003 (for ''Pinjar'') * Apsara Award for Best Music Director – 2003 (for ''Pinjar'')

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Uttam Filmfare Awards winners Hindi film score composers Indian violinists Performers of Sikh music 1948 births Living people 21st-century Indian violinists Punjabi Sikhs