Alka Yagnik
Alka Yagnik, born in Kolkata in 1966, rose to become the dominant female playback voice of 1990s Hindi cinema, her bright, agile soprano defining the decade's romantic ballads and dance numbers alike. Her breakout came with the frenetic 'Ek Do Teen' from Tezaab (1988), and through long partnerships with composers like Nadeem-Shravan and Anu Malik she amassed one of the most-awarded catalogs in Bollywood history. Her blend of melodic sweetness and rhythmic precision set the template that later playback singers, Sunidhi Chauhan among them, would build on.
Yagnik's melodic ballad style descends directly from Lata Mangeshkar, the standard-bearer of Hindi playback whose clear-toned, ornament-light phrasing she absorbed. On her softer numbers Yagnik favors the same purity of tone and unfussy delivery over showy embellishment.
listen forSet Lata's 'Lag Ja Gale' beside Yagnik's tender title track for 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and hear the same clear, vibrato-light soprano gliding cleanly between notes with almost no ornamentation.
Where Yagnik's dance numbers get their bounce, you can hear the tradition Asha Bhosle built — the playful, rhythmically nimble female playback voice that could carry a full-tilt production number without losing its lightness.
listen forCompare Bhosle's 'Piya Tu Ab To Aaja' with Yagnik's 'Ek Do Teen' and notice how both ride a driving beat with crisp, staccato syllables and a grin you can practically hear.
Yagnik's lighter, coquettish register sits in a line that runs back to Geeta Dutt, whose sultry-yet-sweet playback set an early template for the flirtatious film-song heroine.
listen forPlay Geeta Dutt's 'Babuji Dheere Chalna' before Yagnik's 'Taal Se Taal Mila' and listen for the same soft, swaying lilt and the gently teasing lift at the ends of phrases.