Shilpa Rao is an Indian singer. She is known for her work as a playback singer mainly in the Hindi film industry. In 2021, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best Global Music Album”. Some of her popular songs include “Khuda Jaane” from the movie “Bachna Ae Haseeno” (2008), “Ishq Shava” from the movie “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” (2012), “Subhanallah” from the movie “Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani” ” (2013), “Meherbaan” (2014) in the film Bang Bang! year), “Gungroo” in the movie “War” (2019), and more.
Wiki/Biography
Shilpa Rao was born on Wednesday, April 11, 1984 as Apeksha Rao (age 39; as of 2023) in Jamshedpur, Bihar (now Jharkhand, India). Her zodiac sign is Aries. Her father began teaching her singing as a child. She studied at Little Flower School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Later, she studied at Loyola School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, where she sang in the school’s choir.
Shilpa Rao’s childhood photos with her mother
In 1997, she came to Mumbai from Jamshedpur with her family to attend college. When she was 13 years old, she met Indian singer Hariharan. After meeting, she became interested in singing and began to receive singing training from Indian classical musician Ghulam Mustafa Khan. In 2001, she started performing at different events with Hariharan and later, she won a national-level talent search in New Delhi. She completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Statistics from St. Xavier’s College, University of Mumbai, Mumbai in 2004. Indian musician Shankar Mahadevan helped Shilpa get the opportunity to sing songs for television commercials. Later, she sang songs for advertisements for Cadbury Munch, Sunsilk, Anchor Gel, No Marks and other brands.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′2″
Weight (approximately): 55kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
She hails from a South Indian family in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.
Parents and siblings
Her father S. Venkat Rao is a music teacher. Her mother’s name is Rajanala Shyamala.
Shilpa Rao and her father
Shilpa Rao and her mother
She has a younger brother, Anurag Naidu, who is a jazz pianist and music composer.
Shilpa Rao and her brother
husband
Shilpa Rao had an intimate registry wedding with photographer Ritesh Krishnan at her home on January 25, 2021. In an interview, she talked about her wedding and said:
Our parents are both elderly so we opted to have a simple registered wedding at home. We kept it simple, decorated the house with flowers, and my brother’s wife made mehendi for me. We officially registered the wedding at around 5pm and all our friends and family from around the world watched the ceremony via video call. ”
Shilpa Rao and Ritesh Krishnan wedding day pictures
Relationships/Affairs
In 2018, Shilpa Rao met Ritesh Krishnan for the first time. In an interview, when talking about the first time she met Ritesh, she said:
We met on (music composer) Pritam’s US tour three years ago. Ritesh seemed to be an affectionate person and we started hanging out together. The first day I met him, I thought he was an aloof person, which was very attractive to me. We started traveling together in 2018 and did a lot of shows across India. ”
In an interview, when asked how Ritesh Krishnan proposed to her, she replied:
In October 2019, we were at a monastery on the top of a mountain in Ladakh. Ritesh said, “Let’s get married,” and I said, “Yes.” That was a really good place to have this conversation. So, it wasn’t putting a ring on my finger and proposing, it wasn’t getting down on one knee, it was just becoming one with the world. ”
Shilpa Rao and Ritesh Krishnan
Profession
Movie
She made her acting debut in 2007 with the song “Tose Naina” from the Hindi film “Anwar”.
2007 movie “Anwar” poster
In the same year, she sang the song “Woh Ajnabi” from the Bollywood movie “Train”. She lent her voice to the song “Aaja Nach Le” in the 2007 Hollywood movie “High School Musical 2”. In 2008, she sang the song “Khuda Jaane” from the movie “Bachna Ae Haseeno” which was a breakthrough song for her. In 2012, she dubbed for the song “English Vinglish” in the Bollywood movie “English Vinglish”. In 2013, she sang the song “Malang” from the hit Bollywood movie “Dhoom 3”. She sang the song “Bulleya” from the 2016 Bollywood romantic film “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil”. In 2019, she voiced the title song of the movie “Kalank”. In the same year, she sang the song “Gungroo” from the hit Bollywood action film “War”. In 2022, she recorded the song “Besharam Rang” from the Bollywood movie “Pathaan”.
2022 movie ‘Pathaan’ poster
television
In 2011, she lent her voice to the song “Bekaboo” in the StarPlus TV show “Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal”.
Poster of StarPlus TV show “Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal”
album
In 2020, she sang the song “Those Words” from the music album “Love Letters” by composer and sitarist Anoushka Shankar. The album was nominated for “Best Global Music Album” at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Shilpa Rao received a 2021 Grammy Award certificate for the nomination.
Shilpa Rao receives Grammy certificate
Awards
- 2009: Won the Indian International Film Academy Award for Best Female Singer for the song “Khuda Jaane” from the 2008 Bollywood film “Bachna Ae Haseeno”
- 2011: Won the Indian Television Academy Award for Best Singer for the song “Bekaboo” from the StarPlus TV show “Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal”
- 2014: The song ‘Dum Dum’ from MTV ‘Coke Studio’ Season 2 won the Global Indian Music Academy Award for Best Music Debut
- 2020: Won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Singer for the song “Gungroo” from the 2019 Bollywood film “War”
Shilpa Rao wins Filmfare Award 2020
- 2021: Anoushka Shankar receives Grammy nomination for album ‘Love Letters with Anoushka Shankar’
- 2024: Won the Best Playback Singer (Female) Award for the song “Besharam Rang” from the movie “Pathaan” at the 69th Filmfare Awards held at Gift City, Gujarat on January 28
Shilpa Rao won the Best Playback Singer (Female) at the 69th Filmfare Awards
- 2024: Won the Best Playback Singer (Female) Award for the song “Besharam Rang” at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Mumbai on February 20
Shilpa Rao won the Best Playback Singer Award (Female) at Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival 2024
- 2024: Won the Best Playback Singer – Female Singer for the song “Besharam Rang” at the Zee Cine Awards held in Mumbai on March 10
Shilpa Rao wins the Zee Cine Awards 2024 for Best Playback Singer (Female)
- 2024: Chaleya (Jawan) Best Playback Singer (Female)
Favorites
- Food: Gulab Jamun, Amritsari Kulcha, Chole Puri, Beera Chicken
- Beverages: Lassi, black coffee
- Web Series: Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
- Songs: “Train Song” by Raghu Dixit and Karsh Kale, “Ghar More Pardesiya” by Vaishali Mhade and Shreya Ghoshal, “Zara Zara” by Bombay Jayashree
- Travel destinations: Goa, Hampi, Bangalore, Coorg
Facts/Trivia
- Shilpa Rao revealed in an interview that her biggest critics in life have been her father, mother and brother.
- She is reportedly allergic to dust.
- She is very sensitive to smells and avoids fruits with strong smells.
- She follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- She revealed in an interview that she and her husband Ritesh enjoy celebrating the New Year in Amritsar, Punjab.
- She enjoys walking in nature and planting trees.
- In an interview, when asked how she practices singing in daily life, she replied:
This is an ongoing process until you die. You can’t stop. You can practice by listening to music and introduce yourself to all new types of music. There was a lot of experimentation with vocals, sound design and music. ”
- In March 2010, she supported NDTV’s Greenathon, an initiative to increase rural electricity access and promote eco-friendliness.
- In October 2011, she sang the song “Haseen Zindagi”, composed by Sonu Nigam, along with other singers including Teesha Nigam, Shruti Pathak, Shefali Alvares and Akriti Kakkar, to promote the project to help raise awareness about breast cancer .
- In March 2012, she performed live on the digital platform ArtistAloud.com to support independent music in India to celebrate Seagram’s Fuel Music Day.
- In February 2013, she supported Coca-Cola and NDTV’s “Support My School” campaign, a 12-hour telethon aimed at raising funds to relaunch 272 rural schools in India.
- On May 31, 2013, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, she performed at an event along with Aakriti Kakkar, Shweta Pandit, Mamta Sharma and others to create awareness about tobacco consumption and raise funds for cancer patients funds.
- In October 2014, she performed at a concert in Delhi to raise funds for people affected by floods in the Indian state of Assam.
- In 2015, Shilpa Rao performed at 100 Pipers Play for a Cause in Delhi to raise funds for those affected by the earthquake in Nepal.
- She likes to watch movies. In an interview, when talking about her hobby of watching movies, she said:
I’m a movie buff. I watch movies from all over the world. Language is not an issue. I often follow French and Polish movies. But that’s not to say I don’t like Bollywood and Hollywood. I can watch anything if the plot suits my taste. ”
- In 2016, she performed the song “Paar Channa De” in the ninth season of Pakistan’s “Coke Studio”.
Shilpa Rao performing at ‘Coca-Cola Studio Pakistan’ in 2016
- In an interview, when asked which musical artist she would like to perform on stage with, she replied:
I don’t know because I feel like I perform as much as I see other artists perform, and it’s great for an artist to be on stage doing their thing. I’d rather sit in the audience and watch them perform, but for a collaboration, it’s great. When you collaborate on something, it’s nice to be on stage together. That being said, I would love to work with Sting and share the stage with him. I also want to be on stage with Snarky Puppy and others. ”
- In 2020, she appeared on the cover of Filmfare magazine.
Filmfare cover, April 20 issue. Thanks @filmfare and @jiteshpillaai For honor🙏🏼.#cinemafare #award #govinda @ayushmannk @aliaa08 @RanveerOfficial @taapsee @bhumipednekar @SiddhantChturvD #annanyapandey pic.twitter.com/cJXyH4YNEb
— Shilpa Rao (@shilparao11) April 3, 2020
- In 2022, she appeared on the cover of LitGleam magazine.
Shilpa Rao appears on the cover of LitGleam magazine
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education