An Indian playback singer enjoys as much appreciation and adulation as an actor or actress. Their songs are usually prerecorded and the actors and actresses lip sync while the singer’s face is not shown on screen. Asha Bhosle and her sister Lata Mangeshkar are one of the most accomplished singers today. Any Indian singer who wants to connect with the larger mass Indian audience has to dabble in playback singing as it is through Bollywood that singers are able to gain popularity with the common man. Well known established playback singers are Mohammed Rafi, K J Yeshudas, Kishore Kumar, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan. In the Indian film industry the success of a movie depends on the teamwork of composers, lyricists, music directors wherein the role of an Indian playback singer is very important. It is very difficult to understand the Indian music landscape as singers get easily typecast and it is very difficult to predict who is going to be a success.
There are a huge variety of these singers who can turn even a mediocre song into something that sounds stunning and mellifluous such as Roop Kumar and Sunali Rathod, Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh and Shaan. The traditional playback singing scene in India has changed. Initially it was essential that the male Indian playback singer had to have a voice that was distinctively masculine and matched with the stereotype of the Indian hero. Nowadays if a Sufi song is needed for the film a Sufi singer performs if a rock song is needed a rock singer performs the diversity of music involved in films has increased.
The differences between a playback singer and a singer who is accomplished at a specific genre of music are blurring. More and more singers from diverse backgrounds are venturing into and building their success through Indian playback singing. As film makers are becoming more adventurous and are exploring different themes previously untouched the need for music and singers that are more experimental and exclusive to their genre is on the rise, this has led to many singers who would otherwise stay away from playback singing to actually join it.
India has always had a rich cultural heritage; dance and music have been an essential component of Indian culture. With such diversity in our culture it is no wonder that there are so many genres and expressions of music that are blending into the Hindi film industry. Playback singing in India has also expanded to include Pakistani singers and western singers whose participation was unheard of before. Its exponential growth has made many believe that Indian playback singing is prepared to conquer people’s hearts the world over.
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