Kumar Sanu

Born in Calcutta, India, on 20 September 1957, Kumar Sanu — born Kedarnath Bhattacharya — developed his career as a playback singer for Indian cinema from the late 1980s. Coming from a musical family and trained in classical music and ghazals, he began singing under his birth name before adopting the stage name Kumar Sanu after relocating to Bombay, where he started recording for Hindi-language productions. Much of his career is built around Hindi film soundtracks, with heightened visibility in the early 1990s thanks to the music of Aashiqui (1990), followed by a string of Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer from 1991 to 1995 for songs from films such as Saajan, Deewana, Baazigar and 1942: A Love Story. Kumar Sanu went on to collaborate with leading Bollywood composers and sang in several Indian languages, performing romantic songs, melodic ballads and more rhythm-driven numbers intended for dancing. His vocal style is marked by very clear articulation, a preference for long, ornamented lines and an essentially melodic register. Alongside film recordings, he released non-film albums, toured internationally and frequently served as a judge on music television shows in India.