Happy birthday, Shreya Ghoshal: Revisiting her career's best, earliest songs
The undisputed "queen of music," Shreya Ghoshal, has turned 39! The Barso Re singer has enjoyed a dream run in Bollywood, thanks to her mellifluous voice and versatile range, and has been ruling the Indian music scene for years now. What better day than her birthday to revisit some of the earliest songs that catapulted her fame and popularity? Dive in.
'Bairi Piya'
It's a famous story about how Sanjay Leela Bhansali gave a break to Ghoshal after watching her in a singing reality show. As luck would have it, Ghoshal went on to sing five songs for Devdas (2002)—with Bairi Piya being the first one. She was only 16 but had her name in the same album as Udit Narayan, KK, and Kavitha Krishnamurthy, among others.
'Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai'
Who can forget Ghoshal's honey-laced voice in Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai? Composed by Golden Globe-winning composer MM Keeravani, the sensuous song featured in John Abraham-Bipasha Basu starrer Jism (2003). It was penned by Neelesh Misra. The song was an instant hit and has stood the test of time. Unsurprisingly, even after two decades of its release, it is still a constant in several playlists.
'Soona Soona'
Ghoshal collaborated with composer-singer Anu Malik for Suna Suna, a wistful, haunting melody from the 2004 horror film Krishna Cottage. The film might not be a humungous success at the box office, but the song stood out, eventually even becoming the signature tune of the movie, for it fits extremely well into the narrative. Poet-writer Misra had penned the lyrics of this song, too.
'Pyaar Mein Tere'
When Ghoshal sang Pyaar Mein Tere for Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi!, she proved that her voice is not meant only to be straitjacketed into romantic or grief-filled songs, and there is a wide range of other genres she can tap into. Pyaar Mein Tere's core might be romantic, but it is also a foot-tapping party song. Sonu Nigam provided the male vocals.
