Saurav Kishan is an Indian singer who is popular for ‘Chhota Rafi’. He came into the limelight with his rendition of the Bollywood song ‘Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein Rakha Kya Hai’ from the Hindi film ‘Chirag’ (1969), which was originally sung by the legendary Indian singer Mohammed Rafi.
Wiki/Biography
Saurav Kishan was born in Kozhikode, Kerala in 1997 (24 years old in 2021). He went to school at Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Chevayur, Kerala. He studied medicine at Xinjiang Medical University, China.
Saurav Kishan’s childhood photo
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 6″
Eye color: Black
Hair color: Black
Family and caste
He was born into a Hindu family in South India.
Parents and siblings
His father is Sunil P Nedunghat and he has a younger brother, Vaibhav Kishan, 19, who is a medical student. His grandfather was a homeopath.
Saurav Kishan’s parents
Saurav Kishan with his parents and brothers
Saurav Kishan and his mother
Saurav Kishan and his grandfather
Saurav Kishan and his family
Profession
He started learning music at the age of 3. His grandfather often played songs by the legendary Indian singer Mohammed Rafi on a phonograph, and Sourav became interested in music through these songs.
Saurav Kishan in his childhood
Saurav gave his first concert on Indian television when he was three and a half years old. In 2008, when he participated in the TV singing reality show “Gandharva Sangeetam”, the late Indian music director Johnson listened to his singing and found that Saurav’s voice was very similar to that of the legendary Indian singer Mohammed Rafi, so he nicknamed him “Chhota Rafi”. Saurav said in an interview,
Music is my passion; I remember when I was 10 years old, I was singing in a music reality show and the late Master Johnson (a music composer who worked in Malayalam films) said that my singing sounded like listening to Chhota Rafi sa’ab! I happened to sing this song in a Gandharva Sangeetam and after hearing my song, Master Johnson asked me to focus only on Mohammad Rafi songs and nicknamed me Chhota Rafi.
He is a versatile singer who can sing a variety of songs like fast songs, patriotic songs, romantic songs, qawwali, bhajans and classical songs. He has been performing at events organized by the Mohammed Rafi Foundation at Tagore Hall, Kozhikode Beach since Class 12. He returned to India from China during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. While at home, he uploaded a video on his social media account in which he sang the Indian song “Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein Rakha Kya Hai” from the Indian film Chirag (1969).
His rendition of Mohammed Rafi’s songs was appreciated by several Indian celebrities including Anand Mahindra, Shankar Mahadevan and State Bank of India CEO and former Kozhikode Collector Amitabh Kant.
Shankar Mahadevan tweets for Saurav Kishan
Anand Mahindra tweeted to Saurav Kishan
Favorite things
- American singers: Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Kenny Rogers, Don Williams
- Song: Abhi Na Jao Chhodkar from Hum Dono (1961)
Facts/Trivia
- He was trained in various forms of music including Carnatic and Hindustani music. He learned Carnatic forms from his guru Pratapan and Hindustani music from his guru Bijai Sursain.
- Once, Shahid Rafi, the eldest son of Mohammed Rafi, heard his song and said:
You sound so much like my father!”
- Though he could not speak Hindi fluently, he had memorized the lyrics of 800 songs of the late Mohammad Rafi.
- He has won many awards for his singing career.
- He loves animals very much and has two pet dogs, one of which is named Brownie.
Saurav Kishan’s dog
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education