Kumar Sanu

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Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu at colors indian telly awards.jpg
Kumar Sanu in Indian Telly Awards
Background information
Birth nameKedarnath Bhattacharya
Also known asMelody King of Bollywood [1]
Born (1957-10-20) 20 October 1957 (age 67)
Genres
Occupation Playback singer
Instruments
Years active1983–present
Labels
Spouses
Rita Dutta
(m. 1986;div. 1994)
Saloni Bhattacharya
(m. 2001)

Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), known professionally as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He has primarily worked in Hindi cinema during the 1990s. [6] Sanu won the Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer for five consecutive years from 1990 to 1995. In 1993, he recorded 28 songs in a single day, a feat recognized by the Guinness World Record. [7] In addition to Hindi, he has sung in several other languages, including Bengali, Marathi, and Tamil. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009. [8]

Contents

In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Several of his tracks are included in the BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time". [9]

Early life

Kumar Sanu's father, Pashupati Bhattacharya, was a vocalist and composer.[ citation needed ] The family’s ancestral home was in Bikrampur, situated in the Munshiganj district near Dhaka, which is now part of Bangladesh. He and his elder sister lived in Panchanantala at Gopal Bose Lane in the Sinthee area of North Kolkata. [10]

Personal life

Kumar Sanu's first marriage was to Rita Bhattacharya in the 1980's. [11] The couple had three children: Jiko, Jassi, and Jaan Kumar Sanu. [12] They divorced in 1994. During their marriage, Kumar Sanu had entered a six-year relationship with actress Kunickaa Sadanand. [13] [14]

After separating from Kunickaa Sadanand, Kumar Sanu married Saloni Bhattacharya. They have two daughters: Shannon K, a singer [15] and Annabelle Kumar Sanu, a songwriter and author. [16] [17]

Career

Kumar Sanu began his career in 1983 under his birth name, Kedarnath Bhattacharya. His first credited playback song was for the 1984 film Yeh Desh , followed by work on the Bangladeshi film Tin Konya(1985). His first major break in Hindi cinema came with the song "Jashn Hai Mohabbat Ka" from Hero Hiralal (1988).

A turning point in his career occurred on 23 September 1989, when singer Jagjit Singh introduced him to the composer Kalyanji. On their suggestion, he adopted the stage name "Kumar Sanu" as a tribute to his influence, Kishore Kumar. Subsequently, the composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji gave him his first major opportunity in the film Jaadugar (1989).

Sanu's rise to prominence came with the soundtrack for Aashiqui (1990), for which music directors Nadeem-Shravan had him sing nearly all the male solos. The film's success established him as a leading playback singer and earned him his first Filmfare Award. This began an streak of five consecutive Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer, which continued for his work in Saajan (1991), Deewana (1992), Baazigar (1993), and 1942: A Love Story (1994).

Other works

Kumar Sanu has released several albums of Kishore Kumar's songs including Kishore Ki Yaadein, a collection early in his career. This was followed by the Yaadein series where he sang many of the songs of Kishore Kumar along with singers Abhijeet and Vinod Rathod. [18] [19]

In 2017, he along with Sadhana Sargam sung for the title track of 19s Story based TV Series "Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hain" and also appeared as a part for cameo in it. [20] In 2019, he made a song for the Star Plus's "Kulfi Kumar Bajewala". [21]

Kumar Sanu is a trustee and Brand Ambassador of Bishwa Bandhan, [22]

Kumar Sanu opened a primary school, Kumar Sanu Vidya Niketan, [23] for underprivileged children in Karol Bagh, Delhi. The students are given uniforms and books free of cost. [24]

In 2022, Kumar Sanu collaborated with music director Vaibhav Saxena and two emerging singers for "Mohabbat Mein Tere Sanam" which was released and distributed worldwide by new-age Record Label Music Records. [25]

Accolades

See also

References

  1. "Notes to note from the melody king of the Bollywood, Kumar Sanu". The Hindu. 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  2. "(Exclusive) Kumar Sanu: Music logon ko theatre tak kheench ke laata hai". The Times of India. 25 January 2025.
  3. "Kishore Ki Yaaden - Kumar Sanu". YouTube .
  4. "Listen to Popular Bengali Folk Song- 'Ichchha Kare Parandare'Sung by Kumar Sanu". The Times of India .
  5. "Bengali Folk Songs Kumar Sanu - Kumar Sanu - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn". 4 October 2000.
  6. Tripathi, Shailaja (29 August 2017). "Notes to note from the melody king of Bollywood, Kumar Sanu". The Hindu.
  7. "Did you know Kumar Sanu holds the world record for singing 28 songs in a day?". The Times of India. 6 August 2018. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. "Kumar Sanu Odia Songs". Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  9. BBC. "BBC – Asian Network – Top 40 Soundtracks of All Time". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  10. "A Singer Acts". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 April 1997. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  11. "Kumar Sanu's daughter Shannon K reveals she was depressed as a teen due to online trolls: 'I self-harmed'". Hindustan Times. 25 April 2023.
  12. "Kumar Sanu says son Jaan Kumar Sanu should change his name: 'He should write Jaan Rita Bhattacharya'". Hindustan Times. 25 November 2020.
  13. "Jaan Kumar Sanu: It was very daunting to know Kumar Sanu is my father - Exclusive". The Times of India. 3 April 2023.
  14. "Exclusive - Bigg Boss 14's Jaan's mom Rita Bhattacharya on Kumar Sanu commenting on his upbringing: He should have realised that he is talking about his own son". The Times of India. 21 November 2020.
  15. thomasowen408 (17 May 2017). "Meet Shannon K, The Summer's Best Up And Coming Artist !". BuzzFeed Community. Retrieved 20 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. "Kumar Sanu's daughter turns singer at 12". The Times of India. 7 August 2014.
  17. "Kumar Sanu's Daughter Shannon On Making Her "Own Identity": "Not Here Because Of My Dad's Name"".
  18. "Kumar Sanu: The Melody Of His Voice Lingers On - Odisha Bytes" https://odishabytes.com/kumar-sanu-the-melody-of-his-voice-lingers-on/ Archived 11 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine
  19. "Singer Kumar Sanu on Being the King of Melody | Entertainment" https://www.idiva.com/entertainment/bollywood/i-will-always-remain-king/24242 Archived 1 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  20. India-West, R. M. VIJAYAKAR, Special to. "Kumar Sanu Makes Cameo Appearance in 'Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai'". India West. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. "Kulfi Kumar Bajewala | Kumar Sanu & SiKulfi". YouTube . 20 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021.
  22. "BishwaBandhan: PURPOSE". 20 March 2016. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  23. "Kumar Sanu Vidya Niketan – An NGO for underprivileged children". kumarsanuvidyaniketan.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  24. "Singer Kumar Sanu opens school for the underprivileged.. - Bollywood.com News". 23 August 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  25. "Kumar Sanu teams up with youngsters to bring melody back- Gunjan Jha, Vaibhav Saxena create magical tunes; Kshitij, Diksha lend velvet voice - The Week" https://www.theweek.in/news/entertainment/2022/03/04/mohabbat-mein-tere-sanam--melody-is-back.html Archived 24 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine
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