Babul Supriyo whose voice mesmerized you with 'Aati hai to chal...'
from Saat Rang Ke Sapne and then with Dil ne dil ko pukara... from Kaho
Na Pyaar Hai, 'sochta hun uska dil kabhi 'is one of the most sought
after playback singers in the indian film industry.
Born in Kolkata, his real name is Supriyo Baral, he hails from
Calcutta. his musical roots can be traced to his grandfather,
Banikantha N C Baral, who was a famous Bengali vocalist and composer,
and further to Rai Chand Boral, who is considered one of the most
acclaimed composers, the Bengali music scene has ever produced. Babul
got extensively trained in music from very early in his childhood. He
won a string of awards in singing all through his formative and
educative years in school, college and university and has also
performed regularly on radio and television since childhood.
Babul Supriyo had a lucrative job at the Standard Chartered bank, but
gave it up to pursue his first love – singing and migrated to Mumbai in
1992.He had a humble start to his career by rendering cover versions of
popular Kishore Kumar songs for T-Series. Kalyanji – Anandji gave him a
stage break in their foreign concert tour with Amitabh Bachchan and
others. This earned him recognition within the industry and he got his
solo break with Zindagi Chaar Din Ki for Rishi Kapoor in 1994 in Prem
Yog with music by Bappi Lahiri. He sang for movies like Ekka Raja Rani,
Gaddar, Jung, Kranti Shetra, Dadagiri, Shastra, Amanat and so on. He
has never been in the news although he's been belting out several
chartbusters such as O Piya Piya (Agnisakshi), Aaj meri zindagi mein
(Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi), Aati hai to chal (Saat Rang Ke Sapne), Ta ra
rampampum (Doli Sajake Rakhna) and Hata Sawan Ki Ghata (Hello Brother).
Today at the age of 30 he is being regarded as one of the most
promising talent around. He is the voice behind the nation's current
heartthrob (Hrithik Roshan). With superhit song -"Dil ne dil ko pukara"
from Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai which got Babul out of a straitjacket of being
labeled a Kishore Kumar clone. The song did for him what "Aati hai to
chal"(Saat Rang Ke Sapne) and "Hata saawan ki ghata" (Hello Brother)did
not. Babul Supriyo has come a long way in the film industry in a span
of six years. He has achieved recognition by virtue of hard work
supplemented by brilliant voice and a rich blend of melody and emotion.
"Sochta Hun...." was his debut solo album .He was earlier featured in
an album "Khoya Khoya Chand" with Alka Yagnik. "Sochta Hun..." in
short, is one of those orthodox indi-pop albums, no jazzy gimmicks, no
'hinglish' vocals, just good music, mostly slow, but occasionally fast.
The music was composed by a relatively new duo — Sami-Maroof, and the
lyrics are written by Faaiz Anwar.
Babul is grateful to all the people who encouraged him – especially
Nadeem (of Nadeem-Shravan) who has been his guiding light in the field
of playback singing. His idol is Kishore Kumar who he says sang with
feeling, sang like a hero and sang to suit any situation. He looks up
to great singers like Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi. He
admits that he probably has traces of Kishore Kumar's style in him too.
For a time Babul remained a one-off singer who was given a chance in a
couple of songs in a film album - "Shastra", "Himmatwar", "Nirnayak. He
got his big break with "Aati Hai To Chal" from "Saat Rang Ke Sapne" and
later with "Hata Saawan Ki Ghata" from "Hello Brother" and "Dil Ne Dil
Ko Pukara" from "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai". Though regarded as a Kumar
Sanu-clone, Supriyo does have a distinctive unique touch with regard to
his vocals, which have a typically Indi-Pop style.
Of late the songs have been pouring in – the title song of Jeena Sirf
Mere Liye (in which he had two more songs), "Meri tarah tum bhi kabhi"
(Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai), "Jabse dekha" and "Maine koi jadoo nahin
kiya"(Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai), the title songs of Chori Chori Chupke
Chupke and Dil Ka Rishta (the climactic version), "Dholi bajaaye dhol"
(Deewangee), "Aate aate aa gaye paas hum"(Chori Chori) and "Haye
re"(Kucch To Hai) along with Yeh Kya Ho Raha Hai, Ek Aur Ek Gyarah and
Andaaz.
Babul is happily married to Rhea, an Indian-Canadian and they often
visit Canada where Rhea's parents reside.Today Babul is hit on all the
major music directors list. Recently he did playback for big movies
like Dhai Akshar Prem, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Aagaz, Albela, Tera
Jaadu Chal Gaya. He will be singing in many forthcoming big banner
films and for top music directors like Anu Malik and Jatin Lalit. He is
also working on new albums with Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik.