Alka Yagnik has sung 2,482 Hindi songs in 1,114 films making her the fifth most prolific playback singer in Bollywood. Whether they were iconic mainstream hits like Choli Ke Peeache and Taal or initiatives like Shikha Ki Suraj, a part of the National Literacy Mission of India, Alka Yagnik`s versatility as a singer speaks for itself.
| Bio | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Alka Yagnik |
| Profession | Playback Singer |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 163 cm |
| in meters- 1.63 m | |
| in feet inches- 5’ 4” | |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 65 kg |
| in pounds- 143 lbs | |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Dark Brown |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 1966-03-20 |
| Age (as in 2019) | 53 Years |
| Birth Place | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Pisces |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| School | Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Debut | Playback Singer:- Song- "Thirkat Ang," Film- "Payal Ki Jhankaar" |
| Family | Father- Dharmendra Shankar |
| Mother- Shubha Yagnik | |
| Brother- Samir Yagnik | |
| Sister- Not Known | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Hobbies | Singing, Reading & Travelling |
| Controversies | • More than 42 politicians opposed her song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" on the pretext of using vulgar words. The song was also banned to be played on Doordarshan and All India Radio. |
| • Once, Alka Yagnik accused Anuradha Paudwal of stealing her songs and dubbing them in her own voice. | |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Food(s) | Gujarati Cuisines, Maharastrian Cuisine, Italian & Chinese |
| Favourite Actor(s) | Salman Khan, Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan & Amir Khan |
| Favourite Actresses | Aishwarya Rai, Raveena Tandon, Rekha & Alia Bhatt |
| Favourite Singer(s) | Lata Mangeshkar, Sadhna Sargam, Sonu Nigam, Kumar Sanu & Shreya Ghoshal |
| Favourite TV Shows | Indian: Sa re ga ma pa Little Champs(Zee TV), Indian Idol (Sony TV) |
| Favourite Colour(s) | Black, Yellow, Pink & White |
| Boys, Affairs and More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Husband/Spouse | Neeraj Kapoor (Shillong-based businessman) |
| Marriage Date | Year 1989 |
| Children | Son- None |
| Daughter- Syesha Kapoor | |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | Range Rover (Black) |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary | 12 Lacs/Song (INR) |
| Net Worth(Approx) | $8 million |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Alka Yagnik
- Does Alka Yagnik Smoke?: Not Known
- Does Alka Yagnik drink Alcohol?: Yes
- Alka Yagnik Was born into a modest Gujarati Family.
- At the age of six, she started singing for Akashvani (All India Radio) Calcutta, and at the age of 10, her mother brought her to Mumbai to scale up her singing career. Initially, her voice was rejected on the pretext of being too soft and immature and was asked to wait for her voice getting matured.
- Her mother Shubha Yagnik is also trained in Indian classical music.
- She has worked with almost every popular and legendary music composers such as Kalyanji–Anandji, Rahul Dev Burman, Laxmikant–Pyarelal, Rajesh Roshan, Nadeem–Shravan, Jatin–Lalit, Anu Malik, A. R. Rahman, Anand–Milind, Himesh Reshammiya, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and many more.
- As per some rumors, it is said that hundreds of her song recordings were found at Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.
- She shares the title with Asha Bhosle for winning highest number (Seven) of Filmfare Awards as a playback singer.
- In 2012, on occasion of 100 years of Hindi Cinema, her song “Taal Se Taal Mila” from the movie ‘Taal’was voted as the best song of the century in a poll conducted by DesiMartini, Hindustan Times and Fever 104.
- Her song “Choli Ke Peeche” from the movie Khalnayak was voted as the hottest song of the century in a poll conducted by Sanona.
- She has also been involved in various projects pertaining to the empowerment of the girl child.
- Alka gave her first stage performance at Kala Mandir in Kolkata.
- Most of the Alka’s songs have been recorded at the Mehboob Studio.
- She has sung 2,486 Hindi songs in 1,114 films so far. She is considered the fifth most prolific Bollywood singer.
- Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun shared the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Female Singer for the song “Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai.” It was the first time that a Filmfare Award was shared between the two playback singers.
- She got her big break with the song “Ek Do Teen” from the film Tezaab (1988). The song won her first out of seven Filmfare Awards for the category of Best Female Playback Singer.
- On 15 February 2000, she was awarded the National Film Award, which she received from President K R Narayanan at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
- She has won two National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards, three Zee Cine Awards and many more.
- She also sang a song with her brother Samir Yagnik. Check out her video here.
- Her song ‘Chamma Chamma” from the film China Gate was featured in the 2001 Hollywood film Moulin Rogue in the category of “Hindi Sad Diamonds.”
- In an interview, Alka Yagnik revealed that she still regrets not singing the songs for the film Roza.
- Alka also revealed about her #MeToo moment when an anonymous film director fixed a meeting at her home and when he arrived, he tried to grab Alka Yagnik, but her mother was also there at her home and he had to leave the place.
