Rekha Bhardwaj is an Indian playback singer. She has sung in multiple languages including Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi and Marathi.
Wiki/Biography
Rekha Bhardwaj was born in Delhi on Thursday, January 23, 1964 (age 60 years 2024). Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. She received her Bachelor of Music (Honours) from Hindu College, Delhi. She learned the basics of singing from her sister. She received formal musical training at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in Delhi. There she received training from Shri Vasant Thakar, Pandit Vinay Chandra Mudgal and Shri Madhup Mudgal. In November 1982, she began studying music with Guru Pandit Amarnath (“Shagirdh” of Ustäd Amir Khan Sahab of Indore Gharana), whom she calls her “eternal guru”. She learned “Gharana singing” from her guru Pandit Amarnath. After his death in 1996, she started learning music from his disciple Shushri Amarjeet Kaur.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′2″
Eye color: hazel
Hair color: black (sometimes dyed brown)
family, caste and husband
She was born into a family with a musical background. Rekha Bhardwaj has 5 sisters and 1 brother. She married Vishal Bharadwaj in 1991. The couple has a son named Aasmaan.
Rekha Bhardwaj with husband, Vishal and son Aasmaan
Profession
In 1997, she made her debut as a singer with the song “Ek Woh Din Bhi” from the movie “Chachi 420”.
Her breakthrough in Bollywood came with the song “Namak Ishq Ka” from the film “Omkara (2006)”.
Since then, she has sung several hit songs like “Humari Atariya Pe”, “Ek Ghadi”, “Darling”, “Sasural Genda Phool”, “Phir Le Aya Dil” and many more. In 2012, she released her first album “Ishqa Ishqa”, which contained Ghazals songs.
She made her Marathi debut with the song “Unn Matlabi” from the film “Kuni Mulgi Deta Ka Mulgi (2012)”. She made her Bengali debut with the song “Swapno Bheja Alo” from the film “Doshomi (2012)”.
She made her Malayalam debut with the song “Doore Doore” from the film Carbon (2018).
In 2013, she sang songs for the Pakistani TV series Humnasheen, for which she was nominated for the Hum Award for Best Original Score.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UWfjha1l8M
Awards
- She won the National Award for Best Female Singer in 2011 for the song “Badi Dheere Jali” from the movie “Ishqiya”
Rekha Bhardwaj wins National Award
Film Audience Award
- In 2009, she won the Best Female Singer Award for the song “Sasural Genda Phool” from the movie “Delhi-6”
- 2011 Best Female Singer Award (with Usha Uthup) for the song “Darling” from the movie “7 Khoon Maaf”
favorite thing
- Singers: Mehdi Hasan, Ustad Aamir Khan, Madhurani Faizabadi, Begum Akhtar, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , Girija Devi, Rasuram Bai
- Musician: Ustad Rashid Khan
fact
- She started singing at the age of three. Her parents had her rehearse regularly, which helped her shape her music.
- During her childhood, her father organized monthly musical gatherings for family and friends at their home. At parties, she always chooses to sing Hindustani classical music or ghazal music instead of mainstream Bollywood songs. Recalling this incident, she said:
I am a melancholy person. I think I must have been a heartbroken woman in my last life. How else do you explain such an early favoring of ghazal music, a genre based on longing? “
- When she was in college, she was a tomboy with short athletic hair. She is mischievous and has a group of three friends of whom she is the gang leader. Talking about her college days, she said –
Hum chaar ladkiyan apni special bus banwati thi kyunki humari music (honors) ki course ek baje shuru hoke 4.45-5pm khatm hoti thi. Puri Bus Harry Hotiti [phir bhi] hum footboard par baithke aate the (four of us used to take a special bus home after music lessons and even though the whole bus used to be empty, we still preferred to sit on the footboard). “
- She was born and brought up in Delhi and she misses her time there. She recalled her memories and said——
I like jo barishon ke waqt pedon se jamun girke puri Tuglaq Road, India Gate jamuni ho jata hai (The road near India Gate used to be covered with black plums that fell from the trees during the monsoon, I loved it). I miss the rustic roads near Feroz Shah Road ke wahan cote-chote int ke khokhe bane hote the, udhar taat dalte the aur sardiyon mei hum wahan baith ke chai peete the aur bread pakora khate the The little restaurant down the road where we used to have tea and bread). I miss that because I can’t see that anymore. Those places have been turned into cafes. Change ho gaya na sab (Everything has changed now); raat yeh bhi guzar jaayegi (This too shall pass). “
- Even though she was married to renowned film producer and music composer Vishal Bhardwaj, she initially faced difficulty in making ends meet in the industry.
- Rekha met her future husband Vishal Bhardwaj for the first time in 1984 at the college’s annual function. She and Vishal had met at a Hindu college. Interestingly, she is a year older than him.
Rekha Bhardwaj and husband Vishal Bharadwaj
- In 1991, Rekha and Vishal got married and moved to Mumbai, where Vishal was producing music for films and Rekha started assisting him. When composing music, Vishal would often ask her to sing just to know how the song would sound. In the process, she met Gulzar, who was impressed by her voice and agreed to write songs for her first album.
- In 1993, Vishal agreed to compose an album for Rekha. But he composed only one song called “Raat Ki Jogan” based on Bulleh Shah’s sonnets. The song is included in her album “Ishqa Ishqa”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ruX1Nu2m8
- In 1994, Gulzar promised Rekha that he would write lyrics for her first album. However, due to his busy schedule and other commitments, it took him nearly 10 years to write the lyrics for her debut album.
- During the years of struggle, she felt apathetic and sought spiritual development. She then took refuge for several months at Osho’s ashram in Pune, where she learned the arts of spin and zikra (a form of Islamic chanting). She now performs both on stage. Speaking of her pursuit of spiritualism, she said—
It brings a certain silence to me that I hope to impart to the audience every time I perform. That’s the nature of all music. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education