Sapna Awasthi

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sapna Awasthi, also known as Sapna Awasthi Singh, is an Indian playback singer who sings for Bollywood films. As a child she began studying classical music and earned the Sangeet Vishaarad diploma at the Bhatkhande Music Institute in Lucknow. At fifteen she sang on the radio, and then on stage as well. She got her first chance in the film world from the composer Sameer Sen.

Music and breakthrough

She comes from the Kumaon region in Uttarakhand and moved to Mumbai after singing songs for the 1994 film Krantiveer. There she worked for well-known film composers, including Nadeem Shravan, Anand Milind, Anu Malik and A. R. Rahman. Her best-known songs are Banno Teri Ankhiyan Soorme from Dushmani (1995), Pardesi Pardesi from Raja Hindustani (1996), Chaiyya Chaiyya from Dil Se (1998) and Angoori Badan from Jaanwar (1998). She sang Chaiyya Chaiyya together with Sukhvinder Singh for the music of Rahman. Pardesi Pardesi, a duet with Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik, is, according to the source, usually regarded as her biggest hit.

Influence

In Hindi film music the actor does not sing himself or herself; a playback singer, recorded in advance in the studio, does. Anyone who saw a Bollywood film in the 1990s has therefore probably heard her voice, even though her name was not on the poster.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• ?Ghaath (soundtrack)

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• The Dream Factory: Film Reel 6^NL Reader