New singers give new dimension to music

Srivatsa Krishna — a name you wouldn’t have heard some days back. But it’s unforgettable impression that his voice paints on our minds in the chants of Vishnu Sahasranamam in the movie Shanghai, which has made him the talk of the town. But he’s not the only one.
The cross-genre singing and a string of new names is how Bollywood music can be described right now.A new wave of singers is rocking the silver screen. With voices of all textures and styles, B-Town no longer has few singers ruling the roost. Variety seems to be the call of the day. TOI brings you snapshots of some singers who are creating ripples and have brought a whole new dimension to the world of Indian music.
Arijit Singh:
Former music reality show contestant, Arijit made his debut with Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s album, High School Musical (the Hindi version of the Hollywood Musical’s album of the same name). But it’s his song Rabta from Agent Vinod that marks his arrival in the real sense. The only high point of the film, Arijit takes romance to another level with his mellifluous voice.
Shalmali Kholgade: Making her presence felt is Shalmali in the film Ishaqzaade. Rendering her silken voice in the song Main Pareshan, Shalmali does complete justice to the song which is a mix of rock and rustic. Composed by Amit Trivedi, Main Pareshan is the soother in the midst of violence and chaos.
Ayushmann Khurrana: Vicky Donor brought a pleasantly surprising package in Ayushmann, who not only impressed the audience with his power performance, but he also stirred hearts with his music (as a singer and co-composer). Pani Da Rang, which reportedly was also written by the actor in his college days, clearly remains the winner.
Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy: It’s not just the story, but the music of Kahaani has been an equally strong point of the film. Even long after you leave the dark theatre, the song Aami Shotti Bolchi tugs your heart for its powerful vocals and lyrics describing Kolkata that grip your imagination. And those vocals, with a tinge of rockstar impression, belongs to another fresh voice of B-Town —Vishwesh.
Yo Yo Honey Singh: Securing the position of the highest paid singer in the history of Bollywood, Singh has beaten all his contemporaries as far as the paychecks for singers are concerned (allegedly charging figures like `70 lakh per song). He’ll soon be heard in Angreji Beat in the upcoming film Cocktail. Honey Singh, having stayed in UK; and garnering a huge fan following for his pop numbers with an international feel, seems (or sounds) all set to rock the B-Town.
Mustafa Zahid Blood Money may not have set the ticket windows ringing, but a sure hit was the song of the film — Gunaah. Apart from the noteworthy unplugged version by Rana Mazumdar; it was Mustafa Zaid, the lead vocalist of Roxen (Pakistani band) who hit all the right chords with his textured voice in the rock version. Even though this was not his B-Town debut, this To Fir Aao fame singer has now won many hearts.
Ali Azmat: Another aspiring Pakistani singer is all set to make his debut with Jism 2. Ali Azmat of Junoon fame, recorded his songs from Lahore since he was not granted visa to come to India. Though the movie is yet to release, we can certainly count on this.
Nandini Srikar: Surprisingly, she had no aspirations of becoming a professional singer; but it was her hard-to-miss voice that got her the first break when Hariharan heard her sing. From releasing her debut album Beete Pal to her latest song Duaa in Shanghai, Nandini Srikar has never looked back since.
Compiled by Abhimanyu Mishra