walking upstream…
Jubin Nautiyal
photo: bollywood hungama · cc by 3.0 ↗Jubin Nautiyal
Jubin Nautiyal was born in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, and built a classical foundation at Welham Boys' School before television exposure on The X Factor India led to a 2014 playback debut with Sonali Cable. Signed to T-Series, he became one of Hindi cinema's defining romantic voices across the 2010s and 2020s with hits like 'Humnava Mere,' 'Lut Gaye,' and 'Raataan Lambiyan,' a soft, unhurried tenor equally at home over acoustic ballads, EDM-tinged pop, and devotional bhajans.
the sound in question
2021
Lut GayeJubin Nautiyal
walk the tributaries ↓
Mohammed Rafi1960s · Playback singing / Filmi / Ghazal / Bhajan / Qawwali
Nautiyal has said flatly that 'Rafi sahib taught me to sing romantic numbers,' and it shows in his default register: an unforced, sweetly rounded tenor that never pushes for effect, letting a film ballad's melody carry the ache rather than reaching for vocal display.
listen: upstream & here
1960
Chaudhvin Ka Chand HoMohammed Rafi
2019
Tum Hi AanaJubin Nautiyal
listen forCue up Rafi's 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho' and then Nautiyal's 'Tum Hi Aana' — both float a long, held romantic line at conversational volume, the voice staying warm and centered even as the melody climbs, favoring tenderness over power.
Kishore Kumar1970s · Filmi / Bollywood playback / Indian pop
Nautiyal has called Kishore Kumar 'the voice of India,' and the influence surfaces as an easy, conversational warmth — a way of sliding between a hushed, almost spoken verse and an open-throated, emotionally unguarded hook without any strain showing in between.
listen: upstream & heresource: BrainyQuote — Jubin Nautiyal ↗
1969
Mere Sapnon Ki RaniKishore Kumar
2018
Humnava MereJubin Nautiyal
listen forPlay Kishore's carefree glide on 'Mere Sapno Ki Rani' against the quiet devastation of Nautiyal's 'Humnava Mere' — different moods, same trick: the melody does the emotional work while the voice stays natural and unforced, never over-singing the line.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan1980s–1990s · Qawwali / Sufi / Hindustani classical
Nautiyal has said Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's live recordings 'helped me prep for stage shows,' and years later he built a song, 'Dil Jisse Zinda Hain,' explicitly around qawwali phrasing — sustained, rising vocal lines and harmonium-and-tabla-driven builds borrowed from the qawwali tradition rather than the plainer film-ballad delivery he uses elsewhere.
listen: upstream & heresource: BrainyQuote — Jubin Nautiyal ↗
Allah HooNusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2022
Dil Jisse Zinda HainJubin Nautiyal
listen forListen to the surging, repeated vocal cresting of Nusrat's 'Allah Hoo' and then the qawwali-flavored build in 'Dil Jisse Zinda Hain' — both stack a simple phrase over mounting percussion until the voice is riding pure intensity rather than melody alone.