Among the many talents that have flown over to the Sandalwood town, a few Bollywood singers have made permanent impressions
As with actors and technicians, the Kannada Film Industry has also attracted several singers from other regions over the years. Bollywood, especially, has been a strong companion in this regard as a number of accomplished singers have tasted tremendous success here and carved their own specific niches in their pursuits. With Sonu Nigam, the flag bearer of this category, celebrating his 48th birthday today, let's take the opportunity to list down the Bollywood singers who have made a big name for themselves in Kannada Cinema.
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Shreya Ghoshal
The singing nightingale from Rawatbhata in Rajasthan had risen to prominence with songs Dola re Dola, Jadoo hai nasha hai, and others in Hindi cinema, and thanks to her incredible talent, other Indian languages too beckoned her with wide-open arms. Her tryst with Kannada cinema would begin in 2003 with the song Krishna Nee Begane Baaro from 'Paris Pranaya' and this was only the beginning as she followed it up with one hit song after another. Be it through Ninna Nodalento from 'Mussanje Maathu' or Aalochane from 'Romeo', or the most recent Kannu Hodiyaka from 'Roberrt', Shreya Ghoshal's name is etched permanently om the minds and hearts of Kannada Cinema patrons.
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Kunal Ganjawala
Kunal Ganjawala was a niche name when he started out in Bollywood but that wasn't certainly the case when it came to Kannada Cinema. Much like Udit Narayan, Kunal too couldn't have asked for a better start as his maiden song, Neene Neene from 'Akash', became an overnight sensation, so to speak, with radio channels blasting out the song all day long during the coming months. He would follow the success up with songs like Onde Ondu Sari in 'Mungaru Male' and Aakasha Ishte Yakideyo from 'Gaalipata', along with soulful folk renditions in 'Sevanthi Sevanthi', to establish himself as one of the foremost voices of that generation. Today, more than a decade later, Kunal still enjoys the same fame and name as he continues to charm the audience with his mesmerizing voice.
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Udit Narayan
One of Hindi Cinema's foremost playback singers of the '80s and '90s, Udit Narayan never shied away from venturing into new territories. His foray into South Indian cinema was met with great praise and reception from the audience who took to his quirks and idiosyncrasies very kindly. And when it came to Kannada Cinema specifically, Udit Narayan was bang on the buck to start with arguably one of the most iconic Kannada songs of all time - MTV Subbalakshmige from 'Upendra'. As though there couldn't have been a better start, the singer became a trending voice in the coming years to forge a unique and highly successful career here.
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Kailash Kher
A unique voice in general, Kher's high-pitched tone can be seen as a game-changer in the mainstream music space in general. Be it through his non-film work or collaborations with the likes of A.R. Rahman, Kailash Kher's earthy voice became a major talking about around the time of its inception, and in the same spirit, the Kannada cinema audience too embraced this uniqueness with open arms. He began his tryst here with the Jaana O Jaana song in 'Sajni' and would go on to lend his voice to a number of songs that proved to define a film's specific soundscape.
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Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam's breaking out onto the scene here in Kannada Cinema isn't an ordinary moment by any means. It was as though the singer's melodious voice was destined to arrive big at a particular point and lend a new lease of life to an industry which, in many regards, had been out of sorts for some time. He had first sung the Yello Yaro Hego back in 1996 for composer Saluri Koteshwara Rao and had followed it up with songs like Titanic Heroine Nee Nanna Cheluve from the film 'Snehaloka' or the title track in 'Monalisa', but the song Anisuthide from 'Mungaru Male', in hindsight, had its own tryst with destiny. It opened the floodgates, so to speak, and ushered in a voice and melody that were to change the face of the Kannada Film Industry. As arguably the highest-paid singer here, Sonu Nigam became a must-have in every music album, and with this popularity, he has gone on to sing over 600 songs in Kannada alone!
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