Sunidhi Chauhan
photo: gaiusaugustine · cc by 4.0 ↗Sunidhi Chauhan, born in Delhi in 1983, emerged as a child prodigy who won the televised singing competition Meri Awaz Suno in 1996 — taking home its Lata Mangeshkar Trophy — and made her Hindi-film playback debut at thirteen. Her breakthrough came with 'Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi' from Mast (1999), and across the 2000s and 2010s she became Bollywood's go-to voice for high-octane dance and item numbers, prized for a powerful, elastic instrument that could snap from a sultry growl to a full-throated belt. Hits like 'Beedi,' 'Sheila Ki Jawani,' and 'Dhoom Machale' made her one of the defining female playback singers of her generation.
Chauhan has repeatedly named Lata Mangeshkar as her greatest inspiration — she has called her 'a temple of music' and won the Lata Mangeshkar Trophy on Meri Awaz Suno as a child. Beneath Chauhan's better-known belting sits Lata's model of pure, unhurried melodic line, which surfaces whenever she pulls back into a tender ballad.
listen forPut Lata's 'Lag Ja Gale' next to Chauhan's 'Bhaage Re Mann' and listen to how each holds a long, aching note dead-center in pitch before letting it bloom — the same restrained, crystalline melodic control, four decades apart.
Wikipedia lists Asha Bhosle among Chauhan's formative influences, and critics have long framed Chauhan as heir to Bhosle's most distinctive lane — the versatile, sensuous cabaret and item number. Both singers treat the dance floor as a stage for vocal swagger rather than mere backing.
listen forThrow on Bhosle's cabaret classic 'Piya Tu Ab To Aaja' right before Chauhan's 'Sheila Ki Jawani' and hear the shared playbook: a teasing, breathy verse that suddenly detonates into a brassy, full-chested hook built to strut to.
Chauhan came up as Yagnik reigned over 1990s playback, and Wikipedia counts Yagnik among the singers who shaped her; Chauhan effectively inherited and amplified Yagnik's role as Bollywood's leading voice for the up-tempo dance number, trading some of Yagnik's sweetness for extra grit and power.
listen forLine up Yagnik's 'Taal Se Taal Mila' against Chauhan's 'Dhoom Machale' and follow the same bright, rhythmically snapped hook riding a big film-dance groove — Chauhan just leans harder into the chest voice.