Harshdeep Kaur

Harshdeep Kaur
Kaur in 2023
Born	(1986-12-16) 16 December 1986 (age 38) Delhi, India
Occupation	Singer
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Mankeet Singh ​ (m. 2015)​
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Sufi, Bollywood

Harshdeep Kaur (born 16 December 1986) is an Indian playback singer known for her Bollywood Hindi, Punjabi, English and Sufi songs. She is popularly known as "Sufi Ki Sultana" because of her soulful Sufi renditions. ^[1] After winning titles in two reality shows, Kaur established herself as a lead singer in Bollywood soundtracks. Kaur was sixteen years old when she released her first Bollywood song, "Sajna Mai Haari".

Kaur has recorded songs for film music in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Urdu, and has established herself as a leading playback singer of Indian cinema. She has worked with leading music directors ^[2] (including A R Rahman, Pritam Chakraborty, Vishal–Shekhar, Salim–Sulaiman, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Amit Trivedi, Shantanu Moitra, Tanishk Bagchi, Himesh Reshammiya, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Sohail Sen.^{[ citation needed ]} She's one of the very few Indian singers to have sung for a Hollywood film. Her track R.I.P., composed by AR Rahman, was a part of Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle's film 127 Hours . ^[3] She has also sung a few songs for the Pakistani film and television industry.

Some of her popular songs include Katiya Karun from Rockstar; Dilbaro from Raazi; Heer from Jab Tak Hai Jaan; Ik Onkar from Rang De Basanti; Zaalima from Raees; Nachde Ne Saare from Baar Baar Dekho; Bari Barsi from Band Baaja Baaraat; Kabira from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani; Jugni ji from Cocktail; and Twist Kamariya from Bareilly ki Barfi. ^[4]

In 2019, Kaur received the IIFA Award for Best Female Playback Singer award at the 20th IIFA Awards for the song "Dilbaro" from the film Raazi. She also won the Star Screen Award, Zee Cine Award for the same song Dilbaro. ^[5]

Early life

Kaur was born on 16 December 1986 to Savinder Singh Sohal in Delhi. ^[6] She is from a musical background. Her father, Savinder Singh Sohal, owns a factory of musical instruments. She attended Springdales School in New Delhi. Apart from studying, she started learning music at the age of six. She learned Indian classical music from Mr. Tejpal Singh, popularly known as the Singh Brothers, and Western classical music from George Pullinkala, Delhi Music Theatre. Later, at the age of twelve, to explore the world of music, she joined the Delhi School of Music to learn piano.

Career

Television

Kaur won the singing competition MTV’s Video Ga Ga in 2003. ^[7] In 2008 she won Junoon – Kuch Kar Dikhaane Ka . She competed from the Sufi Ki Sultan genre with Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan as her mentor. ^[8]

She sang the title song of TV series Bani – Ishq Da Kalma in 2013. ^[9] Kaur is the only singer who has appeared on all four seasons of Coke Studio (India) from 2011 to 2015. ^[10]

Harshdeep Kaur became a "Judge" on StarPlus singing reality show The Voice India . She was joined by Adnan Sami, Kanika Kapoor and Armaan Malik as the other coaches and by "Super Guru" A. R. Rahman. ^[11]

Personal life

Kaur married her childhood friend Mankeet Singh in a traditional Sikh wedding ceremony on 20 March 2015 in Mumbai. ^[12] The couple's first child, Hunar Singh was born on 2 March 2021. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Television appearances

• Coke Studio (India) on MTV:
  • Season 1 – Hoo ^[16] (Music recreated by Leslie Lewis) in 2011
  • Season 2 – Nirmohiya ^[17] (Music by Amit Trivedi) & Hey Ri ^[18] (Music by Hitesh Sonik) in 2012
  • Season 3 – Dinae Dinae ^[19] with Papon in 2013
  • Season 4 – Teriyan Tu Jaane ^[20] (Amit Trivedi) in 2015
• As a judge on The Voice, a singing reality show on StarPlus in 2019. Her team won the reality show.
• The opening ceremony of IPL in 2017.
• Special performance at the Global Indian Music Academy Awards in 2016.
• MTV Unplugged: Aaj din Chadeya with Pritam
• Featured multiple times on The Kapil Sharma Show

Concerts and tours

Year	Concerts and Tours	City(s) / Country(s)	Notes	Ref.
2010	A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour	USA, Canada, UK, South Africa, & Singapore		[21]
2011	Rockstar Concert	India, London	Film promotional Concert	[22] [23]

2013

• In April she headlined the Southbank Centre Music Festival in London, alongside Soul/Bollywood singer Ash King. ^[24]
• In August she headlined the Mosaic Festival held in Mississauga, Canada. ^[24]
• In September she performed at the London Mela in Gunnersbury Park. ^[25]

2014

• AAS Concert at Purana Qila with Attaullah Khan. ^[26]
• MTV Unplugged Concert with Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan
• Live in Concert with Pritam at Wembley Arena, London, Dubai & Singapore
• Infinite Love Concerts with AR Rahman in Singapore and Malaysia

2015

• Performed with her band at the Stardust Concert held at the Royal Festival Hall in London in September 2015

2016

• Performed at the Heart of Asia Conference held in Amritsar in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Asian leaders in 2016
• Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi with Shekhar Ravjiani at The Esplanade in Singapore in September 2016

2017

• First Indian singer to become a headliner at the Manchester International Festival in June 2017. ^[24]
• Headlined "Sounds Of Sufi" Concert at the Esplanade in Singapore in November 2017
• Leading performers of the AR Rahman Encore tour in India 2017
• Her Solo UK tour in March 2018 was a huge success and garnered a lot of appreciation from the music industry and her fans.
• She has performed with the Legendary Punjabi singer "Gurdas Mann" in 2015 & 2018 in New Delhi.

2018

• She was the leading performer on Pritam's First-ever North American Tour in April 2018.
• She opened for Bryan Adams' on his India tour on 12 October(Mumbai) and 14 October (Delhi) in 2018. ^[27]
• Performed for Ranveer Singh & Deepika Padukone's Wedding in Lake Como, Italy.

2019

• Headlining performer at the "Jashn-e-Rekhta" Festival held in Delhi.
• Headlined Konark Festival in Orissa

Discography

Film songs

Year	Film(s)	No.	Song(s)	Co-artist(s)	Notes
2003	Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai	1	"Sajna Main Haari"	Nikhil–Vinay
	Oops!	2	"Alag Alag"	Ravi Pawar
		3	"Uljal Baat Hai Duniya Ki"
2005	Karam	4	"Le Jaa"	Vishal Dadlani
2006	Rang De Basanti	5	"Ik Onkar"	A. R. Rahman
	Taxi No. 9211	6	"Udne Do"	Vishal–Shekhar
2007	1971	7	"Saajana"	Akash Sagar
		8	"Saajana" (Remix)
	Red: The Dark Side	9	"Dil Ne Ye Na Jaana"	Himesh Reshammiya
2008	Halla Bol	10	"Is Pal Ki Soch"
	Karzzzz	11	"Lut Jaaon Lut Jaaon"	Himesh Reshammiya
2010	Kajraare	12	"Aafreen"
		13	"Woh Lamha Phir Se Jeena Hai"
		14	"Woh Lamha Phir Se Jeena Hai" (Party Mix)
	Guzaarish	15	"Chaand Ki Katori"
	Band Baaja Baaraat	16	"Baari Barsi"	Labh Janjua, Salim Merchant
	Khatta Meetha	17	"Sajde Kiye" (Film Version)	Roopkumar Rathod
		18	"Sajde Kiye" (Remix)	KK, Suzanne D'Mello
2011	Desi Boyz	19	"Jhak Maar Ke"	Neeraj Shridhar
		20	"Jhak Maar Ke" (Remix)
	Rockstar	21	"Katiya Karoon"	A.R. Rahman
2012	Cinema Company	22	"Sonee Lagdee"	Alphons Joseph, Manjari	Malayalam film
	Cocktail	23	"Alif Allah (Jugni)"	Arif Lohar
	Jab Tak Hai Jaan	24	"Heer"	A.R. Rahman
	Khiladi 786	25	"Tu Hoor Pari"	Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal, Chandrakala Singh
	Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana	26	"Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana"	Shahid Mallya
		27	"Luni Hasi" (Female)
2013	Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani	28	"Kabira" (Encore)	Arijit Singh
	Phata Poster Nikhla Hero	29	"Mere Bina Tu" (Film Version)	Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
2014	Ennathan Pesuvatho	30	"Nenje Nenje Nee"		Tamil film
		31	"Pennaga Pirathu"	Dhilip Varman
	Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar	32	"Saanu Te Aisa Mahi"	Sunidhi Chauhan	Punjabi film
	Punjab 1984	33	"Rabb Meri Umar" (Lori)
	Pora Pove	34	"Nee Adugu Venaka"		Telugu film
	Bang Bang!	35	"Uff"	Benny Dayal
2015	Bin Roye	36	"Ballay Ballay"	Shiraz Uppal	Urdu film
	Prem Ratan Dhan Payo	37	"Jalte Diye"	Anweshaa, Shabab Sabri, Vinit Singh
2016	Saadey CM Saab	38	"Mere Vich Teri"	Harbhajan Mann	Punjabi film
	31st October	39	"Rabb De Bande"
	Sultan	40	"Sachi Muchi"	Mohit Chauhan
	Happy Bhag Jayegi	41	"Happy Oye"	Shahid Mallya
	Baar Baar Dekho	42	"Nachde Ne Saare"	Jasleen Royal, Siddharth Mahadevan
	Parched	43	"Mai Ri Mai"	Neeti Mohan
	Befikre	44	"Khulke Dulke"	Gippy Grewal
2017	Raees	45	"Zaalima"	Arijit Singh
	Irada	46	"Mahi"	Shabab Sabri
	Flat 211	47	"Tere Lams Ne" (Unplugged)
	Bareilly Ki Barfi	48	"Twist Kamariya"	Yasser Desai, Altamash Faridi
2018	Hichki	49	"Oye Hichki"
		50	"Soul of Hichki"
	Raazi	51	"Dilbaro"	Vibha Saraf, Shankar Mahadevan
	Lashtam Pashtam	52	"Rab Rakha"	Sukhwinder Singh
	Manmarziyaan	53	"Grey Walaa Shade"	Jazim Sharma
		54	"Chonch Ladhiyaan"
		55	"Jaisi Teri Marzi"	Bhanu Pratap Singh
	Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi	56	"Happy Bhag Jayegi"	Daler Mehndi, Suvarna Tiwari
2019	Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga	57	"Gud Naal Ishq Mitha"	Navraj Hans
	Parey Hut Love	58	"Ik Pal"	Hadiqa Kiani, Suhas Sawant	Urdu film
		59	"Behka Na"	Ali Tariq
2020	Happy Hardy and Heer	60	"Ishqbaaziyaan"	Asees Kaur, Alamgir Khan, Jubin Nautiyal
		61	"Le Jaana"	Asees Kaur, Himesh Reshammiya, Navraj Hans
	Bhangra Paa Le	62	"Sacchiyaan"	Amit Mishra
	Panga	63	"Le Panga"	Divya Kumar, Siddharth Mahadevan
	Tanhaji	64	"Tinak Tinak"
	Jawaani Jaaneman	65	"Mere Baabula" (Madhaniyaa)	Akhil Sachdeva
2022	Bal Naren	66	"Ram Ji Aayenge"	Manish S

Other songs

Year	No.	Album(s) / TV Show(s)	Song	Notes
2010	1	Channel Divya	"Barse Channel Divya" (Theme Song 1)
2013	2	Bani – Ishq Da Kalma	"Saaiyaan"	TV show
	3	Mohabat Subh Ka Sitara Hai	"Ye Jo Subha Ka Ik Sitara Hai"	Pakistani TV Show
2015	4	—	"Jutti Kasuri"	Punjabi Folk (Single)
	5	Save the Girl Child	"Nanak di Soch"	Single
2016	6	—	"Saaun Da Mahina"	Tribute to Jagjit Singh
	7	Shabad	"Lakh Khushiyaan"
	8		"Nanak Naam Mile"
	9	Strumm Sufi Album	"Wali Allah"
	10	Educate the Girl Child Anthem	"School ki Ghanti"	For Nestle
	11	100 Days	"Joban Madhuban"	TV show
	12	Ek Shringaar-Swabhiman	"Ek Shringaar Swabhimaan"
	13	MTV Unplugged	"Aaj Din Chadeya"	with Pritam
	14	350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh	"Guru Gobind Singh Ji"
2017	15		"Waho Waho Gobind Singh"
	16	Social Song	"Hawa Badlo Anthem"	Campaign against Air Pollution
	17	Collaboration	"Lovers Quest Medley 5"
	18	Single	"Dil Di Reejh"	Punjabi Single
	19	T Series Mixtapes	"Ehna Akhiyaan / Yaar Mangeya Si"
	20	Simran for meditation	"Satnam Waheguru Ji"	Guru Nanak Jayanti Special
2018	21	T Series Mixtapes Punjabi	"Chhalla / Ni Mai Kamli"
	22	Single	"Chamba Kitni Duur"	Himachali Folk Song (Single)
	23	Song for Virushka	"Peer Vi Tu"	Wedding Song of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma
	24	Shabad	"Satguru Nanak Aaye Ne"	550 years of Guru Nanak Jayanti Special
2020	25	Prayer	"Taati Vaao Na Lagai"
	26	Prayer	"Chaupai Sahib"	Prayer written by Guru Gobind Singh
	27	Title song	India Wali Ma	Sony TV
	28	Single	Pyaar Mileya	Single on her own music label
2021	29	Single	Behaal
	30	Single	Jannat	Collaboration with UK Based artist Ezu
	31	Prayer	Tegh Bahadur Simriye	400 years of Guru Tegh Bahadur Jayanti Special
	32	Bhoomi	Jallianwala	Released in Album Bhoomi by Salim Suleiman
2022	33	Himesh Ke Dil Se	"Tenu Pyyarr Kardaa"	Music Album
	34	Bhoomi	Koi Bole ram	Released in Album Bhoomi by Salim Suleiman
	35	Single	Ni Main Jaana	Featured at Times Square for Spotify Equal
	36	Prayer	Mere Maalik Ji
	37	Single	Waah Sajna	Single on her own music label
	38	Prayer	Lakh Khushian Patshahian
	39	Prayer	Purab Mubarak
	40	Prayer	Jithe Jaaye Bahe Mera Satguru
2024	41	Single	Bhala Sipahiya	Dogri Song
	42	Prayer	Naasro Mansoor Guru Gobind Singh	Released on her own music label
	43	Prayer	Ram Siya Ram	Released on the occasion of Ram Mandir opening at Ayodhya
	44	Single	O Sajna	Collaboration with Abhijit Vaghani
	45	Prayer	Anand Sahib	Released on her own music label
	46	Single	Yaar Banaaya Tennu	Collaboration with Kunaal Vermaa & Abhijit Vaghani
	47	Single	Dua	Collaboration with ShameerTandon and released on Zee Music
	48	Single	Pardesiya	Collaboration with Kanwar Grewal
	49	Single	Teri Ban Jaana	Released on Zee Music

Awards and nominations

Year [a]	Award	Category	Film /Album	Song	Result	Ref.
2011	BIG Star Entertainment Awards	Most Entertaining Singer – Female	Rockstar	"Katiya Karoon"	Nominated	[28]
2012	Filmfare Awards	Best Female Playback Singer			Nominated	[29]
	Global Indian Music Academy Awards	Best Female Playback Singer			Nominated	[30]
	International Indian Film Academy Awards	Best Female Playback Singer			Nominated	[31]
	Mirchi Music Awards	Female Vocalist of The Year			Nominated	[32]
	Producers Guild Film Awards	Best Female Playback Singer			Nominated	[33]
2013	Indian Television Academy Awards	Best Singer	Bani – Ishq Da Kalma	"Bani Ishq Da Kalma"	Won	[34]
2014	Global Indian Music Academy Awards	Best Devotional Album	Ik On'kar	—	Won	[35]
2015	Mirchi Music Awards Punjab	Female Vocalist of The Year	Punjab 1984	"Rabb Meri Umar" (Lori)	Nominated	[36]
	PTC Punjabi Film Awards	Best Female Playback Singer			Won	[37]
2016	Lux Style Awards	Best Playback Singer - Female	Bin Roye	"Ballay Ballay"	Nominated	[38]
2018	Zee Cine Awards	Song of the Year [b]	Raees	"Zaalima"	Nominated	[39]
	Screen Awards	Best Female Playback Singer	Raazi	"Dilbaro"	Won	[40]
2019	Filmfare Awards	Best Female Playback Singer [c]			Nominated	[41]
	International Indian Film Academy Awards	Best Female Playback Singer [c]			Won	[42]
	Mirchi Music Awards	Female Vocalist of The Year			Nominated	[43]
		Song of The Year			Nominated
	Reel Movie Awards	Best Female Playback Singer				Won
	Zee Cine Awards	Best Playback Singer – Female [c]			Won	[44]

Reality competitions

• Winner, MTV Video GaGa Contest (2001)
• Winner, NDTV Imagine's JUNOON Kuchh Kar Dikhane Ka (2008)
• Winner, Aao Jhoomein Gaayein (SAB TV)
• Winner, SAREGAMA Punjabi (Alpha TV)

Notes

1. Refers to the year in which the ceremony was held.
2. Shared with Co-Singer Arijit Singh and Composers JAM8.
3. Shared with Vibha Saraf for same song.

References

1. "Harshdeep Kaur on timesofindia". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
2. "Economictimes Harshdeep Kaur". The Economic Times. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
3. "My musical journey has been really beautiful: Harshdeep Kaur". Governance Now. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
4. Roy, Dhaval (20 November 2017). "Harshdeep Kaur to sing at Farhan Akhtar's concert". DNA India. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
5. ANI (19 September 2019). "IIFA 2019: Alia Bhatt-starrer 'Raazi' wins big; Ranveer Singh named Best Actor for 'Padmaavat'". Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
6. Kameshwari, A. (16 December 2017). "Happy birthday Harshdeep Kaur: The young singer who adds a Sufi twist to Bollywood songs". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
7. "Music show fashions new teen princess of melody". Tribune. 20 July 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
8. "Junoon made me a face". Rediff.com. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
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13. Raghuvanshi, Aakanksha (3 March 2021). "Singer Harshdeep Kaur And Husband Mankeet Singh Welcome A Baby Boy". NDTV. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
14. Service, Tribune News (3 March 2021). "'Our junior 'Singh' has arrived': Singer Harshdeep Kaur, husband welcome baby boy". Tribune. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
15. "Harshdeep Kaur names her newborn son Hunar, here's what it means". The Indian Express. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
16. Hoo,Harshdeep Kaur,Coke Studio @ MTV,S01,E01, 9 June 2011, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 28 October 2019
17. Nirmohiya – Amit Trivedi feat Devendra Singh & Harshdeep Kaur, Coke Studio @ MTV Season 2, 21 July 2012, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 28 October 2019
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19. Papon & Harshdeep Kaur Teaser, Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3, 16 July 2013, archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 28 October 2019
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23. "'Rockstar' concert in Delhi, London in November". Zee News. 2 October 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
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26. "NGO AAS presents 'Ibaadat' Mehfil-e-Ruhaaniyat featuring Legendary Attaullah Khan's first performance in India at Purana Quila". DelhiEvents.com. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
27. "Harshdeep Kaur and Aditi Singh Sharma to open for Bryan Adams in India". The Indian Express. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
28. "Big Star Entertainment Awards 2011". Big Star Entertainment Awards. 31 December 2011. STAR India.
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33. Press Trust of India (20 January 2012). "Rockstar leads nominations at the Apsara Awards 2012". NDTV. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
34. "ITA Awards 2013 Winners". Indicine.com. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
35. "GiMA Music Awards 2014 – Complete Winners". Global Indian Music Academy Awards. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
36. "Nominations of Mirchi Music Awards Punjab 2015". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
37. "PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2015 Winners & Results". The Times of India. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
38. "Nominees and Winners of 15th Lux Style Awards 2016". Lux Style Awards. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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41. "Nominations for the 64th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2019". Filmfare. 12 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
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43. "Nominations for the 11th Mirchi Music Awards". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
44. "Zee Cine Awards full winners list". India Today. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2020.

External links

• Harshdeep Kaur at IMDb
• Harshdeep Kaur on Facebook