Kumar Sanu

One of the Indian film industry's most endlessly productive vocalists, Kumar Sanu estimates that his discography had already surpassed 8,000 tracks by the year 2000. He earned a Guinness world record by laying down twenty-eight songs during a single studio session, a feat made possible by both his technical precision and his rare gift for absorbing new repertoire almost instantly. Along with Lata Mangeshkar on the distaff side, he also secured five straight Filmfare trophies for Best Playback Singer—the Indian equivalent of an Academy Award—making him arguably the nation's dominant male vocalist throughout the 1990s.

Born Kedernath Bhattacharjee in Calcutta, Sanu received his earliest musical instruction from his father, the noted classical singer and composer Pashupati Bhattacharjee, who trained him in both vocal technique and tabla. After earning a commerce degree from Calcutta University, Sanu began appearing live in 1979, performing at local venues in a manner so closely modeled on screen idol Kishore Kumar that some listeners accused him of imitation. Despite the cutthroat nature of Bollywood casting, he spent the early eighties cutting Kishore Kumar tributes for a pop imprint while still unable to penetrate the film market.

His first real opening arrived in 1987 when ghazal specialist Jagjit Singh invited him to record for the Hindi picture Andhiyan. Sanu moved to Bombay and soon received another assignment, Jadoogar, from the Kalyanji/Anandji duo; they supplied his professional name to broaden his appeal beyond Bengali listeners and to acknowledge his chief influence. Wider recognition followed with the 1990 soundtrack for Aashiqui, crafted by Nadeem/Shravan. Sanu performed every number except one, launching his stardom and delivering the first of five consecutive Filmfare victories. Subsequent wins came for Saajan, Deewana, Baazigar, and 1942: A Love Story, yet his output ranged far beyond those titles; by decade's end he had contributed to hundreds of films across numerous languages.

As the nineties closed, Sanu deliberately reduced his schedule, electing to favor older melodic forms over contemporary Western-inflected pop. He explored acting in a Bengali feature and launched television series in both Bengali and Hindi, while also embracing live performance through regular international tours. Entering the new millennium, he followed Lata Mangeshkar's example by declining any further Filmfare consideration so that emerging artists might be recognized, even as fresh hits continued through 1999 and 2000 and he remained locked in popularity with Udit Narayan.