Alisha Chinai

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Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai 2009 - still 64293 crop.jpg
Chinai in 2009
Background information
Born (1965-03-18) 18 March 1965 (age 61) [1]
Genres
OccupationSinger
Years active1985–present

Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) [1] is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema. [2] She began her singing career with the album Jadoo in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the 'Queen of Indipop'. [3] Her best known songs were collaborations with producers Anu Malik and Biddu during the 1990s. She is best known as a solo artist for her song "Made in India", from her 1995 eponymous studio album. [4]

Contents

Career

Chinai's initial albums included Jaadoo, Babydoll , Aah... Alisha! , Madonna , Kamasutra , Alisha -Madonna of India and Made in India . [2] Alisha was introduced to Hindi film music by the veteran music director and composer Bappi Lahiri. They had many disco hits together in many films in the 1980s including Adventures of Tarzan , Dance Dance , Commando, Guru, Love Love Love , etc. When she started her career with him, she was playback singing for many leading actresses, such as Karisma Kapoor, Smita Patil, Mandakini, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Divya Bharti. In 1985, Alisha sang two songs with Remo Fernandes, in Konkani, for the album Old Goan Gold . She also recorded a song for Pankuj Parashar's film Jalwa (1987), composed by Anand–Milind. One of her biggest hits during the 1980s was "Kaate Nahin Katthe" from Mr. India , which she recorded in 1987 with Kishore Kumar under the music direction of Laxmikant–Pyarelal. Another successful track, in 1989, was "Raat Bhar Jaam Se" from the film Tridev , which had music by Kalyanji-Anandji and Viju Shah. [5]

In the 1990s, Chinai took on working in different films, collaborating with other music directors, such as Anu Malik, Anand–Milind, Rajesh Roshan and Nadeem-Shravan. Throughout these years, she had several Bollywood hit songs, including "Dhak Dhak Dhak" with Aditya Pancholi from Maha-Sangram , "Jalta Hai Badan" from Balwaan , "Tere Ishq Mein Nachenge"from Raja Hindustani , "Chaa Raha Hain Pyaar Ka Nasha" from Chandra Mukhi , "Roundhe" from Pyar Tune Kya Kiya, "Sona Sona Roop Hai" from Bollywood/Hollywood , "Mouje Mein" from Karobaar, "De Diya" from Keemat, "Ruk Ruk Ruk" from Vijaypath and the controversial "Sexy Sexy Sexy Mujhe Log Bole" from Khuddar.

Chinai recorded an album with Lesle Lewis, titled Bombay Girl , which included the hit song "De De" released in 1994. Simultaneously, she recorded many songs as a pop singer, with accompanying album releases. Chinai was noted for her 1995 hit single and eponymous studio album, titled Made in India, which was composed by Biddu and went on to become one of the highest-selling pop albums of its time, making Alisha became a household name. It contains well-known songs such as "Aaja Mere Dil Mein", "Ek Baar Do Baar", "Sun O Meri Dhadkan", "Tu Kahan", "Ooh La La", "Tu Jo Mila", "Dhokha Diya Hai Re Tune Mere Dil" and "Lover Girl". With its success, Chinai announced her departure from playback singing and wanted to concentrate only on private pop albums. However, her follow-up releases were less successful. This was also the period when she got embroiled into a major controversy with the man who recorded several hit songs with her, Anu Malik. During the release of Made in India, Chinai had accused Anu Malik of molesting her. Anu Malik and Chinai did not work for several years, only to reunite in 2003 with Ishq Vishk .

Chinai in 2010 AlishaChinai1.jpg
Chinai in 2010

Chinai's comeback to film music was with the song "Oh My Darling" in the Yash Raj film Mujhse Dosti Karoge! . From 2000 to 2009, she recorded primarily with Himesh Reshammiya, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Pritam. After her controversy with Anu Malik in the 1990s, she patched up with him to record for a number of films, starting with Ishq Vishk , Fida , No Entry , Love Story 2050 , Maan Gaye Mughle Azam, Ugly Aur Pagli , Chehraa and Kambakht Ishq. [6]

In 2005, Chinai's career reached a new high when she sang "Kajra Re" from Bunty Aur Babli . The song was a hit and won her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She was also a judge on Indian Idol 3 and is a judge on Zee TV's Star Ya Rockstar with Anu Malik.

In 2021, Alisha Chinai appeared on Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show, where she talked about her childhood. She shared that her love for music began early, with school performances and her mother's influence, as her mom enjoyed Western pop music. Alisha also mentioned how she challenged the stereotype that Indian girls couldn’t sing pop music with her own work. [7]

Awards

Following are the list of awards and nominations in different categories.

YearCategorySongResult
Screen Awards
1996Best Indian Pop Album"Made in India"Won
Best Music VideoWon

Personal life

Chinai is a Gujarati. [10] She was married to her manager Rajesh Jhaveri and is now separated. [11] Chinai has been in a relationship with Furkat Azamov, a native of Tajikistan, since 2020. [12]

Discography

Studio albums

YearAlbumRecord label
1985Jadoo His Master's Voice
1986 Aah... Alisha!
1988 Babydoll
1989 Madonna
1990 Kamasutra
1992Alisha - Madonna of India [13]
1994 Bombay Girl Magnasound
1995 Made in India
1998Om His Master's Voice
1999Dil Ki Rani Virgin Records
2001Alisha Tips

Compilation albums

YearAlbumRecord label
1993Best of Alisha LiveUnknown
Alisha Greatest Hits
1995Born with a Wild HeartUnknown
1996Channel Hits Magnasound
1997Alisha Unleashed His Master's Voice
Party ZoneMagnasound
1998The Ultimate Party Album
The Best of Alisha
1999Now That's What I Call Indipop Sony Music
2001Alisha: Singer Doll of IndiaUnknown
2002Hitz Unlimited [14] Zee Records
2007Shut Up N Kiss Me [15] Tips

Soundtrack albums

The following are sales of Bollywood soundtrack albums featuring songs by Alisha Chinai.

AlbumYearSalesRef
1991 Phool Aur Kaante 6,000,000 [16]
1992 Khiladi 2,500,000
1995 Haathkadi 1,000,000
1994 Main Khiladi Tu Anari 3,000,000
Khuddar 2,800,000
1997 Aflatoon 2,500,000
2002 Mujhse Dosti Karoge 1,200,000 [17]
2003 Ishq Vishk 1,200,000
2004 Murder 2,200,000
Fida 1,400,000
2005 Bunty Aur Babli 1,900,000
2006 Dhoom 2 2,000,000
Don: The Chase Begins Again 1,500,000
2007 Jhoom Barabar Jhoom 1,700,000
Namastey London 1,400,000
Total sales30,800,000

Other albums

YearAlbumLanguageRecord label
2001Santiago Fiesta Latina: Bollywood Goes Latino
(As a singer)
Hindi EMI Virgin Records
2002 Bandhoi
(As a backing vocals)
AssameseRaj Music
2009Caminho das Índias
(As a singer)
Portuguese Som Livre

Select hit songs

References

  1. 1 2 Goel, Hemul (17 March 2016). "Made in India: Five things every '90s girl can thank birthday girl Alisha Chinai for". India Today. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 Kasbekar, Asha (2006). Pop culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle. ABC-CLIO. p. 34. ISBN   1-85109-636-1 . Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  3. Asha Kasbekar Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle 2006 1851096361 page 34 "Alisha Chinai (1972– ) is the pioneer and undisputed Queen of Indipop—that's the verdict of the music industry. Her first major hit album was Jadoo (Magic). Further platinum albums included Aah... Alisha! , Babydoll , Madonna and Kamasutra, but it was her most successful and popular album Made in India , released in 1995, that established Indipop as a discrete genre and Chinai its prime proponent."
  4. "Made In India Hitmaker Alisha Chinai Looks Unrecognisable In Latest Pics". NDTV . 29 October 2025. Archived from the original on 29 January 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  5. "Interview | I think my time has come: Alisha Chinai". DNA. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  6. India Today International - Volume 2, Issues 27-34 - Page 56 2003 Indipop Rock 'n' Rule 1 QO r It has been in arrival mode ever since Alisha -L-/0 J Chinai's Jaadu hit platinum. Ten years on, her Made in India sparked the music video boom. India believed it had found a Madonna clone, while in Daler Mehndi's energetic warbling, they thought folk – or a reasonable simulacrum – had achieved record-busting status. But film music remains indomitable, accounting for 65-75 per cent of sales
  7. "Alisha Chinai, A Feisty Singer With An Angelic Voice, Fearless Of Controversies". jay-ho.com. 17 October 2022.
  8. 51st Filmfare Awards Deprecated link archived 3 January 2013 at archive.today filmfareawards.indiatimes.com Retrieved 29 August 2007
  9. Alisha going global Archived 6 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine outlookindia.com Retrieved 29 August 2007
  10. "Priyanka Chopra is Alisha's fan". The Times of India . 16 October 2011.
  11. "The Sunday Times on the Web – Plus". Sundaytimes.lk. 8 December 1996. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  12. "Alisha Chinai found love in music producer from Tajikistan, who would always 'dream about meeting her'". The Indian Express. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  13. "Madonna of India :: Music Composer & Producer Songwriter". Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  14. "Hitz Unlimited (2002) - Hindi Album, Tracklist, Full Album Details and more". Zubeen Garg Discography. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  15. "Playback singers are paid very poorly: Alisha Chinai". Hindustan Times. IANS. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  16. "Music Hits 1990-1999 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India . Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  17. "Music Hits 2000-2009 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India . Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.