Music is something that people choose to go with when they want to relax. Music is worshiped by not only the musicians and singers who practice it but also by their true admirers. It is a gift to be blessed with a voice that can mesmerize millions of souls. These people who have been blessed with this gift have their special way of effecting people’s lives with their songs. We all have our songs and these songs are the ones that we choose to listen whenever there is a special kind of occasion in our lives. We listen to songs when we are sad, when we are in love, when we are emotional about a particular relation or phase in our lives and even at the times when we are celebrating. The way of listening to these songs of course changes from time to time; depending upon the occasion and situation.
And when we are talking to these special songs that find such an important place in our lives; how can we forget to give the credit to the singers who have gifted us with these beautiful songs. So here is a list of top 30 famous Indian male playback singers and we are sure that some of them will be your favorite too.
30. Javed Ali
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Born in 1982 in the capital of India (Delhi); this man has been singing as a playback singer in the Bollywood industry since 2000. Not only that he has excelled his singing skills in the Hindi language; but his beautiful voice has also been used to record songs in Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Odia and Marathi. This man has also appeared as a judge on the reality TV show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs in 2011 on Zee TV. Some of his famous songs include Jashn E Bahaara from Jodha Akbar and Arziyaan from Delhi 6 in both of which he sang with the great musician and singer A R Rahman.
29. Daler Mehndi
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The real name of this singer is Daler Singh but it is his stage name that has got him popularity among his fans. Daler was born in Patna on 18th of August and is known basically for his Punjabi numbers. He has been best known for his energetic pop songs and is often regarded by many as the pop icon and the father of Indian pop. This man has been recognized for his singing talents right from his younger age when he was just 13 years old when he gave his first live performance in front of an audience of 20000 people. Some of his famous songs include Tunak Tunak, Har Taraf Tera Jalwa, Na Na Na Na Na Re andRang De Basanti Title Song.
28. Yo Yo Honey Singh
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If Popularity had to be the measure from which we would be ranking our singers here; maybe he would have found a higher place. but we are talking about singing talents together with fame and that is why this spot for him. Honey is an Indian rapper who was born in 1983 on 15th of March in the Hoshiarpur region of Punjab. This man has a huge army of fans and some of his famous songs include, Blue Eyes, Blue hai Paani Paani, Brown Rang etc.
27. Amitabh Bachchan
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Don’t be shocked to see his name in the list as any true fan of this man will be quite aware with his singing potentials. Amitabh has one of the manliest voices in the industry and musicians of his movies never miss a chance to take advantage of this attribute of Amitabh’s personality. We all know that Amitabh was born in Allahabad on 11th of October in 1942. His fans celebrate his birthday like a festival and his songs like Mei yaha Tu Wahaan, Chali Chali Fir Hawa from Baaghban and Rang Barse from Silsila show his incredible singing skills too.
26. Palash Sen
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This man is a live example that no matter what your field of expertise may be; but if you have it in you; the stage will attract you for singing. Palash has an MBBS degree and yet he gained popularity as a singer and the founder and lead singer of the Pop Band Euphoria. This 50 year old Indian Rockstar was born in Varanasi in 1965 on 23rd of September. Fans love him for his rocking album songs that includeDhoom, Mayeri, Soniya and Kabhi Aana Tu Meri Gali.
25. K.K.
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K.K. is actually the short for Krishnakumar Kunnath and he is born on 23rd of August of 1970 in New Delhi. Highly inspired from legendary singer Kishore Kumar and R D Burman; this man has received no formal training in singing and believed in the fact that a singer must be heard rather than seen in his albums. Fans know him for his famous songs like Tujhko Jo Paya, Kabhi Aayine Pe Likha Tujhe and Tu Aashiqui Hai etc.
24. Hariharan
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Hariharan is a playback and Ghazal singer who is best known for his soulful voice and has always been seen with his typical Pony Tail. This 60 year old man was born in Kerala on 3rd April of 1955. He has been active in the fields of playback singing and all since 1977 and is a 2 time National Award winner. Not only this; but he has also been awarded with Padma Shri by Government of India. Some of the famous songs that he delivered in his magnificent voice include Mere Dushman from Border and Tu Hi Re from Bombay.
23. A. R. Rahman
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There are very little chances that any Indian citizen who has even slight interest in the music would be unaware from his name. Rahman was born in the year 1967 on 6th of January in Madras of India. He is mostly famous amongst his fans asMozart of Madras. He has also been listed in the Time Magazine in 2009 in a list of most influential people. Not only that this man has been gifted with great voice and sense of music but he is also a renowned philanthropist who is known for his humble personality. Padma Shri from Indian Government being the prominent, other prestigious awards earned by this man include, 4 time national award winner, 15 Filmfare awards, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Academy Award, Grammy and he has also received a dinner invitation at White House and even a street is named after him in his honor in the Markham, Ontario region of Canada in 2013. Rahman’s famous songs include Khwaja Mere Khwaja, O Saaya, Maa Tujhe Salam etc.
22. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
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This man is quite a prestigious name in the contemporary cinema. Born on 4th June 1945 in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh; this man has an incredible singer whose voice is enchanting. Let us talk awards that this man has received; he hasrecorded more than 40000 songs for which he has also been given a place in Guinness Book of Records. Padmashri and Padma Bhushan are some of the civilian awards that have been given to him by Indian Government.Winner of national award for best male playback singer for 6 times and 25 times Nandi award winner in Telugu Cinema; this man has recorded too many songs to name a few but still some of his best songs includeTere Mere Beech Mein, Hum Aapke Hai Kaun title song etc.
21. Manna Dey
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This music icon was born in Calcutta on 1st May of 1919. 1953 to 1976 were the peak of his career and this man has sung songs in almost all major languages but majorly in Hindi and Bangla. Manna Dey received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan in 1971 and 2005 respectively by Indian Government and alsoDadasaheb Phalke award in 2007. Some of his famous songs include Ek Chatur Naar, Aaja Sanam, Aye Bhai Zara Dekh ke Chalo etc. It was a great loss for music industry when this great singer left the world in 2013 on 24th of October.
20. Himesh Reshamiya
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Himesh is famous amongst his fans for his trademark style of wearing a cap; holding mike in his own unique way and is often accused of a nasal singer. Born in Mumbai; this man is also a music director, lyricist, producer and an actor. He has a way of creating music that is a fusion of western and Indian classical with a hint of techno beats. Himesh has been introduced as a music director way too earlier from the 1998 released Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya. Like for many other struggling actors; Salman acted as the Godfather for Himesh too by giving him opportunities to give music in his films. Some of the famous songs by Himesh include Tera Suroor, Samjho Na, Aashiq Banaya Aapne etc.
19. Ankit Tiwari
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This young man was born in Kanpur district of India on 6th of March on 1986. This young man has struggled to be a singer in the mainstream movies and this struggle has started all the way from writing and singing jingles. Later on he received the offers for composing music for movies like Do Dooni Chaar and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster. He also sang some songs in the movie and thus his singing career took a start. In 2013; he sang the song Sun Raha Hai Na Tu in Aashiqui 2 and the song became the love anthem in the country overnight. Some of the famous songs of Ankit other than the above are Tu Hai Ki Nahi, Dil Darbadar, Teri Galliya etc.
18. Kunal Ganjawala
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It was 14th of March in 1972 and the city was Pune of India when this singing celebrity was born. The year 2004 was blissful for Kunal when he sang the songBheege Honth Tere which brought him to limelight. After that Kunal never looked back and has sung various songs for many movies in different languages. He is also quite popular in Kannada film industry. Some of his famous songs include Channa Vey, Salaam E Ishq, O Humdum Suniyo Re etc.
17. Abhijeet
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Melody and romantic songs are a specialty of this 57 year old man. He was born on 30th of October in 1958 and since then has given his voice to a lot of songs. This man is popular not only in Hindi songs but he has also sung songs in over 15 languages. Abhijeet like many other singers; has been effected by the style of singing of legendary singer Kishore Kumar. He stepped in the film industry in the era of 1990 when Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan were ruling the playback singing industry. Some of the famous songs by Abhijeet include Suno Na Suno Na, Chalne Lagi Hai Hawaayein etc.
16. Mika Singh
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If you need a song that is expected to be played in the discos and to be a chartbuster amongst the youths especially guys; Mika is your man. Mika has a manly voice and the way he sings a song makes it incredible. He is also a great stage performer, composer and song writer. A complete dude on and off stage; Mika was born on 10th of June in 1977 in West Bengal’s Durgapur. This singer has many great hits in his accounts which mainly include songs like Mauja Hi Mauja, Bas Ek King, Subah Hone Na De and Damadam Mast Kalandar.
15. Arijit Singh
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Yet another singer from the Singh Clan! Of course we are kidding there is no such thing; just a nice co incidence. This young singer is the newest singing sensation in India and there is no need to say that every song in which he renders his voice becomes a favorite of love birds. Blessed with a soulful voice in true sense; this guy was born in Murshidabad region of West Bengal and he somehow reflects that Bengalis have a great relation with music. Though his singing career dates back even earlier than Aashiqui 2; but by singing Tum Hi Ho in the movie he became the quite lovable and a household name in India. Some of his other famous songs include Suno Na Sangemarmar, Raabta, Kabhi Jo Badal Barse etc.
14. Shaan
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The full name of this singer is Shantanu Mukherjee and even at the age of 43; he is truly recognized amongst his fans as the Magician of Melody, The Voice of Youth, Great Voice of India etc. Shaan was born in 1972 on 30th September in Mumbai. This versatile singer has sung in almost all the important languages in India and has been singing since a very tender age of 17. Some of the famous songs by Shaan include Bhool Ja, Tanha Dil, Chaand Sifaarish etc.
13. Sukhwinder Singh
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It was the very famous song Chaiya Chaiya that made Sukhwinder a household name in India. This 44 year old singer was born on 18th of July in 1971 and is also known as Bablu and Sukhi amongst his friends and families. He has been gifted with an incredible voice and has sung as the play back singer for almost all of the heroes in the film fraternity. Though he got a rough start but this man toured to foreign countries to expand his musical horizons and his efforts definitely paid off to him. Some of the famous songs by Sukhwinder are Chak De! India’s title song, Dard E Disco, Haule Haule and of course the song Jai Ho which gave him international acclaim and appraise.
12. Shankar Mahadevan
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Many few would know that this 48 year old musician and singer was born and brought up in Mumbai; though people gets confused looking at his Tamil family background. He was born on 3rd March 1967 and to your surprise; you might be unfamiliar with the fact that Shankar was a software engineer who later chose to follow his dreams in the field of music. He is currently also giving music in the movies with his other 2 music composer friends Ehsaan and Loy. The trios have delivered some of the famous music albums for Bollywood and have been favorite of many big production houses. He showed his talents from his song Breathlesswhich is unique in its own way and since then has sung many great songs including Mitwa, Tere Naina, Noor E Khuda etc.
11. Sonu Nigam
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There cannot be enough that could be said about this man who has been often believed by his fans as the reincarnation of the legendary singer Mohammad Rafi. On this complement Sonu however politely says that this is too big a complement for him and he doesn’t consider himself as the worthy of this complement. Born on 30th July 1973 in Faridabad; this man has been blessed with Goddess Saraswati herself. He was a child prodigy who started singing the songs of Rafi from the age of 4 only. 1995 was the year that Sonu’s song Achcha Sila Diya was released and the singing potential of this guy was realized. His famous songs include Kal Ho Na Ho title song, Abhi Mujhme Kahi, Deewana, Ab Mujhe Raat Din etc.
10. Lucky Ali
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Lucky Ali is the son of famous Bollywood comedian Mehmood and was born in Mumbai on 19th of September 1958. He is the singer, musician, composer, song writer and actor who has been best known for his soulful singing voice. Lucky is a very complicated personality in his real life too and is known to have difference of opinions from his father. His first album Sunoh embarked his journey in the musical world, his songs won critical acclaims. Some of the famous songs by Lucky include Ek Pal Ka Jeena, O Sanam, Aa Bhi Ja, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum etc.
9. Mohit Chauhan
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Teenagers or those who were born after 2000 will remember this man as the singer of great songs from Movie Rockstar. But those who were born in late 80s or early 90s might remember him from his musical albums one of which was Guncha andDooba Dooba. This 49 year old singer was born in Nahan region of Himachal Pradesh on 11th of March 1966. The song which got him mainstream success wasTum Se Hi from Jab We Met. Some of the best songs by Mohit include Saada Haq, Tujhe Bhula Diya, Kun Faya Kun etc.
8. Kailash Kher
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It will not be wrong at all to say that this man is the most popular Sufi singer from India. His albums as well as his songs sung in the movie are received well by his fans all over the country. Kailash struggled a lot to make his entrance in the industry and even had to sing jingles in the starting of his career just in order to earn his bread and butter and to meet his basic requirements. This 42 year old singer was born in New Delhi on 7th of July 1973. He is inspired from many of the Indian classical singers and now has sung in about 20 languages for Indian films and albums. Some of the best songs sung by Kailash include Saiyyan, Teri Deewani, Allah ke Bande, Ya Rabba etc.
7. Udit Narayan
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The full name of this 60 year old singer is Udit Narayan Jha and he was born in Saptari region of Bihar on 1st December 1955. Winner of 3 National Film Awards and 5 Filmfare awards; he has also received Padma Shri by Indian Government. He was a prominent singer in the 90s and almost every movie had a song in his voice. He became quite famous as a playback singer and has given his voice for many Bollywood Heroes like Sanjay Dutt, SRK, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and many others. He has sung more than 25000 songs in over 34 languages to this date and is quite famous amongst his fans. Some of the popular songs of Udit include Pehla Nasha, Chaaha Hai Tujhko, Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna etc.
6. Kumar Sanu
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Udit’s voice was not the only rightful owner of the 90’s playback singing industry as it also witnessed the melodious voice of Kumar Sanu. Kumar Sanu who is also known as Kedarnath Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata on 20th October of 1957. He also holds the record of singing the maximum number of songs in a day which happened in the year 1993 when he sang 23 songs in a day. Not only this Kumar also got Filmfare Best male Playback Singer Award for 5 consecutive years and has also been awarded Padma Shri by Government of India. Some of the most popular songs sung by him include Tera Mera pyaar, Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiya, Do Dil Mil Rahe Hai etc.
5. Pankaj Udhaas
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Fans of Ghajals and slow songs cannot make a mistake of forgetting this legend. This 64 year old Ghajal singer was born in Jetpur region of Gujarat in 1951 on 17th of May. Like many other singers who turned to music even after having their degrees in almost completely different fields; Pankaj was also a student of science in his college days. He got his share of introduction and fame in the Bollywood industry from Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam in which he sang the incredible Chiththi Aayi Hai song. Awarded by Padma Shri; the singer has sung some famous songs like Chandi Jesa Rang Hai Tera, Fir Haath Me Sharaab Hai, Jeeye Toh Jeeye Kese etc.
4. Jagjit Singh
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Just listen to one of his songs and you will understand why he is regarded as theGhajal King in India. Jagjit Singh was married to Chitra Singh who is also a Ghajal Singer. His contribution to Indian music is so important that he was not only awarded Padma Bhushan by government of India but he also was honored by the government by issuing a postal stamp in his memoryand honor after he departed from the world in 2011 on 10th of August. It was an honor for the Royal Land of Rajasthan that he was born in Bikaner on 8th of Feb. in 1941. Some of his famous songs include Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh, Kagaj Ki Kashti, Hosh Walo etc.
3. Mukesh
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Raj Kapoor is known as the biggest showman of the industry till date and Mukesh’s voice played an important role in his movies too. Many of the songs for him were sung in the voice of this great singer. We can always remember Mukesh as the voice behind songs of the golden era of the film industry and there was no doubt that along with Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh was also a great singer of that era. Born on 22nd July 1923 in Delhi region of the British India; Mukesh died in the age of 53 only in Michigan of USA in 1976. Some of the most famous songs sung by him include Kisi ki Muskurahato Pe, Awaara Hoon, Mera Joota Hai Japani etc
2. Kishore Kumar
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Now we are talking about the first and the most versatile and multi talented man that the Hindi Film Industry has seen so far. This was the man who could tickle your funny bone, make you feel connected with the role he is portraying in the movie and to say something about his singing skills will be like showing a candle to sun. He still holds the record of winning Filmfare Best playback singer male award for 8 times, till date even almost decades after his death no one able to break this record. Born on 4th of August in 1929 in British India; this man said goodbye to his friends and families and this world on 13th of October in 1987. Some of the best songs sung by him include Ek Ladki Bheegi, Babu Samjho Ishaare, Dekha Na Haye Re etc.
1. Mohammad Rafi
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To understand what was the impact and the charisma of this man in the music field of Indian film industry; you may listen to the song Na Fankar Tujhsa Tere Baad Aaya, Mohammed Rafi Tu Bahut Aaya from the movie Kroadh enacted by Amitabh Bachchan. Rafi was also born in the India during the time when freedom was not achieved; on 24th December of 1924. Sadly it was the unfortunate day of 31st July of year 1980 when this legend said goodbye to the world. It was however a sad co incidence that all these 3 great singers (Mukesh, Kishore and Rafi) died while in their 50s leaving their fans in dismay from their sudden deaths. Some of the famous songs of Rafi include Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe, Aane Se Uske Aaye Bahaar, Kya Hua Tera Waada etc.
So these were the best and the most famous Indian singers who have gifted such an incredible gift of their beautiful and awesome songs to the fans of music. Now it is a fact that some of them have gone from the world and while each and every one is destined to depart from this world; these gems will always be remembered for their beautiful voices and will always find a place in the hearts of their fans.
