Shreya Ghoshal is an Indian singer. Noted for her wide vocal range and versatility, she is one of the most prolific and popular singers of India. She has recorded songs for films and albums in various Indian languages and received numerous accolades, including four National Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two BFJA Awards, seven Filmfare Awards and ten Filmfare Awards South.

Ghoshal began learning music at the age of four. At the age of six, she started her formal training in classical music. When she reached sixteen, she was noticed by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's mother after she won the television singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma. Following the success, she made her Bollywood playback singing debut with Bhansali's romantic drama Devdas (2002) for which she received a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, and a Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.

Apart from playback singing, Ghoshal has appeared as a judge on several television reality shows and in music videos. She has been honoured by the state of Ohio in the United States, where Governor Ted Strickland declared 26 June 2010 as "Shreya Ghoshal Day". In April 2013, she was honoured in London by the selected members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. She has been featured five times in the Forbes list of the top 100 celebrities from India. In 2017, Ghoshal became the first Indian singer to have her wax figure displayed in the Indian wing of Madame Tussauds Museum in Delhi.

Early Life

Shreya Ghoshal was born on 12 March 1984 to a Bengali Brahmin family in Berhampore, Murshidabad of West Bengal state. She grew up in Rawatbhata, a small town near Kota, Rajasthan. Her father, Bishwajit Ghoshal is an electrical engineer and works for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and her mother, Sarmistha Ghoshal, is a literature post-graduate. She has a younger brother, Soumyadeep Ghoshal. At the age of four, she started learning music.

Ghoshal completed her schooling up to eighth grade at the Atomic Energy Central School No.4 in Rawatbhata, where she was a classmate of the former CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal. In 1995, she won the All India Light Vocal Music Competition, New Delhi, organised by Sangam Kala Group, in Light Vocal group in sub-junior level. In 1997, when her father was transferred to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, she was relocated to Mumbai, with her family and studied at the Atomic Energy Central School in Anushakti Nagar. She joined the Atomic Energy Junior College to study science. She dropped out from the junior college and enrolled at the SIES College of Arts, Science, and Commerce in Mumbai, where she took up arts with English as her major.

Ghoshal's mother used to help her in rehearsals and accompany her on the Tanpura, starting with mostly Bengali songs. At the age of six, Ghoshal began receiving formal training in classical music. She trained with Late Kalyanji Bhai for 18 months and continued her classical music training with Late Mukta Bhide in Mumbai. Her first stage performance was at a club's annual function. When she turned six, she started her lessons in Hindustani classical music. In 2000, at the age of sixteen, she participated and won the television music reality show Sa Re Ga Ma (now Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) on the channel Zee TV.

Career

Ghoshal started the new decade by featuring in several Independent Singles. She released an independent single titled "Nah Woh Main" in which she was also credited as a songwriter and composer. Later she released a song titled "Apni Maati" which was released on the 73rd Independence Day of India as a tribute. The song was praised for its patriotic message and was also used to promote the "Save Soil" movement initiated by Sadhguru's Isha Foundation. Ghoshal was next featured on tracks titled, "Judaiyaan" a collaboration with Darshan Raval for his album named Judaiyaan (2020) which peaked at number-one on Billboard Top Triller Global chart, and "Muraliya" a collaboration with Salim–Sulaiman for their album named Bhoomi (2020). Additionally, Ghoshal also sang several Bollywood songs in 2020 including, "Maay Bhavani" from Tanhaji, "Ghar Bhara Sa Lage" from Shikara, "Taare Ginn" from Dil Bechara, "Paheli" from Shakuntala Devi, etc.

Ghoshal started 2021 with a ballad titled "Chal Wahin Chalein" from Saina for which she received praise. A critic based at Filmfare in his music review wrote, ‘‘Shreya Ghoshal sure knows how to tease out the nuances hidden in the lyrics and Amaal Mallik lets the singer take the lead in this melodious song, keeping the music in check’’. Ghoshal was next featured in a song titled "Param Sundari" from Mimi which became one of the biggest hits of the year, and peaked at No. 184 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. The song also garnered critical acclaim and a Filmfare Award nomination for Ghoshal. Ghoshal next sang a song titled "Zaalima Coca Cola" for the film Bhuj: The Pride of India. Ghoshal then featured in two tracks of Atrangi Re soundtrack, "Chaka Chak" and "Tere Rang", both of which garnered critical acclaim. The former also became an instant hit and went viral on Instagram Reels. It earned Ghoshal another Filmfare Award nomination. "Chaka Chak", "Param Sundari" and "Zaalima Coca Cola" were amongst the top twenty-five most viewed Hindi songs of 2021. Ghoshal also featured in several independent singles in 2021 including, "Oh Sanam" with Tony Kakkar, "Pyaar Ek Tarfaa" with Amaal Mallik, "Pyaar Karte Ho Na" with Javed–Mohsin, and "Angana Morey" which was a solo independent single of Ghoshal for which she was credited as a songwriter and composer. The song peaked at number-one on the Billboard Top Triller Global chart.

Ghoshal started 2022 with a Punjabi-language independent single titled "Uff". Ghoshal was next featured in a song titled "Jab Saiyaan" from Gangubai Kathiawadi for which she received critical acclaim. Lakshmi Govindrajan of Firstpost in her music review called it the best song on the album and wrote, ‘‘This love ballad opens with a harmonium and a sarangi, perfectly establishing the ornate kotha vibe. Yet in the setting of a courtesan, sounds a voice so sweet and embodying so much innocence that only a singer of Shreya Ghoshal’s calibre can pull off something so virginal in a whore house’’. The Indian Express and Pinkvilla listed "Jab Saiyaan" as one of the best songs of 2022, and it earned Ghoshal a IIFA Award nomination. Ghoshal next sang a song titled, "Heer Raanjhana" for the film Bachchhan Paandey. The billboard of the song was featured at New York's Times Square. Ghoshal was next featured in the soundtrack of a multilingual film Radhe Shyam in which she sang two songs, "Ninnele" in Telugu and "Unnaalae" in Tamil. Ghoshal then featured in the soundtrack of Ajay–Atul's Marathi-language musical, Chandramukhi. She sang two songs, a lavani titled "Chandra" and a ballad titled "To Chand Rati" both of which garnered critical acclaim. The former went viral on Instagram Reels and became a global hit. She next sang a song titled "Makhmali" for the film Samrat Prithviraj. Ghoshal then featured in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 soundtrack in which she recorded several versions of her 2007 classical song "Mere Dholna" or "Ami Je Tomar". Ghoshal next recorded a new rendition of her 2014 Tamil-language song, "Sundari Pennae" for Berklee Indian Ensemble's Grammy-nominated album, Shuruaat (2022). Ghoshal next featured in an independent single titled "Baarish Aayi Hain" which was a duet with Stebin Ben. Ghoshal then featured in the soundtrack of film Raksha Bandhan for which she recorded three songs, the title track "Raksha Bandhan", "Dhaagon Se Baandhaa", and the reprise version of the title track, all of them met with positive critical response and the former two were listed amongst the best songs to celebrate the festival of Raksha Bandhan. Ghoshal then leant her voice to the female version of song "Dil" from the film Ek Villain Returns which was titled, "Dil (Shreya's Version)". Ghoshal was next featured in a Punjabi-language independent single titled, "Tere Bajjon" which was composed by Jatinder Shah.

Ghoshal leant her voice to several A. R. Rahman compositions in 2022 across different languages starting with "Maayava Thooyava" for the Tamil-language film, Iravin Nizhal, which received positive critical response. She also sang the Telugu version of it titled, "Mayava Chayava". Ghoshal then sang a Tamil song titled "Unna Nenachadhum" for the film Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. She then recorded a song "Thumbi Thullal" for the soundtrack of a Tamil-language film, Cobra which garnered critical acclaim. Additionally, she also leant her voice to its Kannada ("Dumbi Dumbi"), Malayalam ("Thumbi Thullal"), and Telugu ("Choope Oohallo") versions. Ghoshal's final collaboration of 2022 with Rahman was a song titled "Ratchasa Maamaney" for the soundtrack of a Tamil-language film, Ponniyin Selvan: I. She also recorded the Telugu ("Raachasa Maavaya"), Kannada ("Rakshasa Maamane"), Hindi ("Rakshas Mama Re"), and Malayalam ("Rakshasa Maamane") version of the same song, and in addition to that she sang a song titled "Bol" for the Hindi-language soundtrack of the film. Ghoshal received critical acclaim for both the songs, Suanshu Khurana of The Indian Express in her music review noted the ‘‘extraordinary delicacy’’ in the way Ghoshal sang "Rakshas Mama Re" and further wrote that Ghoshal ‘‘excels’’ in conversational and charming "Bol". Ghoshal then sang a Garba song titled, "Boom Padi" for the film Maja Ma which received critical praise. Ghoshal next featured in the soundtrack of film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva in which she sang a song called "Rasiya", which earned her a IIFA Award nomination. She then featured on a track titled, "Laut Aa Mere Des" a collaboration with Salim–Sulaiman for their album Bhoomi (2022). Ghoshal next featured on a track titled, "Invincible" a collaboration with American a cappella group Pentatonix for their album Holidays Around the World (2022). Ghoshal then featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Ghazal album, Sukoon (2022) in which she leant her voice to two ghazals titled, "Tujhe Bhi Chand" and "Qaraar". Critic Subhash K. Jha in his review praised "Tujhe Bhi Chand" for having a playful lit and an evocative hook line and while praising "Qaraar" he wrote, ‘‘Shreya’s interpretation of Momin Khan Momin’s immortal Ghazal woh jo hum mein tum mein qaraar tha is laborious’’ Ghoshal finished 2022 with songs titled, "Jo Tum Saath Ho" (Duet and Lullaby version) from Salaam Venky, "Sun Zara" from Cirkus, and "Sukh Kalale" from Marathi-language film Ved,  which was met with positive critical response.

Artistry

Influences

One of Ghoshal's earliest musical memories is listening to her mother, Sarmistha Ghoshal, singing classical Bengali songs at clubs. As a very young child, she was introduced to music by her mother, whom she refers as her first "guru". She states that her mother is her best critic.

Ghoshal has acknowledged K S Chitra, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt as her inspirations. She has also named Jagjit Singh as her inspiration to perform songs in the genre of Ghazal.

Voice

Ghoshal has performed songs with a lower vocal range. However, Metro Times calls her voice a "sweet and smokey soprano". Her voice has been described as "sweet" with "slight huskiness". In an interview, Ghoshal noted that her voice has transformed from the "girlish tenor" of the earlier days to a more matured texture. Her voice is characterized in the media for being most suitable for higher-pitched renditions, although some critics have said that her voice tends to screech when she reaches a higher note of scale. Similarly, in the book Confession of a Coward – an Indian Adventure, it was stated that Ghoshal's high-pitched vocals are interesting and impressive, but "certainly take some time getting used to it". Ghoshal has voiced against correcting pitch with Auto-Tune. About her singing and rehearsing style, she has said, "I have a special way of writing the lyrics when it is dictated to me. No matter what the language of the song, even if it is Bengali, I write it in Hindi. I have certain notations and markings to indicate the way it should be pronounced. I feel the Devanagari script is the closest to the phonetics of the language. English letters are not very good for that purpose. Moreover, I listen carefully and try to grasp as much as possible when the lyrics are read to me".

Ghoshal is noted for her wide vocal range, and versatility. What makes Ghoshal remarkable among her contemporaries, according to The Indian Express is, the "serenity in her voice" and the "enviable range". Further complimenting her versatile vocal range, they noted: "The honey-dipped inflection of [her voice], which once put in the recording studio, can turn into naughty, sensuous, serious, sad, comic and pure classical, depending on the requirement of the job". Naming her as the "most versatile singer of this generation", India West remarked the smoothness of her voice when flowing from "lower registers to higher notes". According to The Times of India, Ghoshal maintains the "touch of versatility" with her music by singing different style of songs from classical to pure commercial music. In 2003, Ghoshal admitted that she modulates her voice well, hence “none of the music directors have yet been able to label me”.

Ghoshal took vocal lessons and did workshops with Kalyanji Virji Shah, where she learnt the technique about "throw of voice, straight notes, vibratos". She considers classical music training as an asset in playback since it "keeps one's voice fit and fresh". Music director Shekhar Ravjiani praised Ghoshal for her singing versatility. According to Sonu Nigam, the best quality about Ghoshal is that the expressions come perfectly along with mannerisms. Music director and singer M. Jayachandran praised Ghoshal by saying, "It is amazing how she writes down the lyrics in Hindi and then gives her signature nuanced expressions to Malayalam words". During her interviews, Ghoshal mentioned, "I cannot sing double meaning songs or the songs which have vulgar lyrics".

Awards and nominations

Ghoshal has won four National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singing: "Bairi Piya" for Devdas (2002), "Dheere Jalna" for Paheli (2005), "Yeh Ishq Haaye" for Jab We Met (2007), and one award for both songs "Pherari Mon" for the Bengali film Antaheen (2008) and "Jeev Rangla" for the Marathi film Jogwa (2008). She has won seven Filmfare Awards: one RD Burman Award for New Music Talent, and six awards in Best Female Playback Singer category for "Dola Re Dola" for Devdas (2003), "Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai" for Jism (2004), "Barso Re" for Guru (2008), "Teri Ore" for Singh Is Kinng (2009), "Deewani Mastani" for Bajirao Mastani (2016) and "Ghoomar" for Padmaavat (2019). Ghoshal has also won ten Filmfare Awards South for Best Female Playback Singer to date.