Mohit Chauhan | |
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 Mohit Chauhan in an online concert in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1966-03-11)11 March 1966 (age 59) Nahan,Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Genres |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments | Harmonica, Guitar, Flute |
| Years active | 1998–Present |
Mohit Chauhan (born 11 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer, known for his work inHindi films. He was a part of theSilk Route band. Chauhan has received twoFilmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer and threeZee Cine Award For Best Male Playback Singer awards.[1] He has recorded several songs for films and albums many different languages, and is one of the most prominentIndipop singers.
Mohit Chauhan was born in the town ofNahan,Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, on 11 March 1966.[2] He has an elder brother and a younger sister. Because of his father's transferable job, he studied in various schools of Himachal Pradesh, including Our Lady of Snows Highschool inKullu, andSt. Luke's Senior Secondary School,Solan.[2] Chauhan earned a Master of Science in Geology from a government college atDharamshala affiliated toHimachal Pradesh University.[3] He has not received any formal training in music, but he often practiced singing with his brother. He got influenced by his grandfather who was a classical singer and played harmonium. He was also influenced by legendary singerKishore Kumar.[4] He wanted to become an actor before his debut in the music industry.[5]
Chauhan, Kem Trivedi, Atul Mittal and Kenny Puri formed the bandSilk Route.[6][7] Chauhan was the vocalist, while Kem played the keyboards, Atul Mittal was the lead guitarist and Kenny Puri played the drums. Their first album,Boondein, was released in 1998 and featured the popular songs "Dooba Dooba" and "Pehchan". The second album was released in 2000. After Silk Route was discontinued in 2008, he released another album "Fitoor" in 2009.[8]
Chauhan's film singing career began in 2002 when he sung "Pehli Nazar Mein Dari Thi" from the filmRoad. His songs "Khoon Chala" fromRang De Basanti and "Tum Se Hi" fromJab We Met are regarded as his most notable.[9][10] He won theFilmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer prize in 2010 for the songMasakali.[11]
In 2011, he was featured in the third episode ofThe Dewarists for his song "Maaya". He was also featured onMTV Unplugged in the same year.[12] In 2017, he made hisGujarati language debut with the song "Jaag Re Banda" from the movieLast Chance.[13] He sang for the firstHimachali movie "Puchhe Amma" and "Deva Mere" from the filmSaanjh.[14]
After the massive success of "Dooba Dooba" and "Boondein", which earned him awards and recognition, Chauhan was approached by composerSandesh Shandilya to sing in films. Chauhan made his debut with Shandilya's composition of the song "Pehli Nazar Me Dari Thi" from the 2002 filmRoad.[citation needed] The next year, he sang for the filmsMain Madhuri Dixit Banana Chahati Hoon andKyun, but didn't get any recognition.
This was followed by "Sabse Peeche Hum Khade" for the 2004 filmLet's Enjoy, "Paintra" and "Guncha Koi" for the 2005 filmMain Meri Patni aur Woh in which he also served as composer, and the song "Angna" and "Rowan Akhiya" for the filmAdharma.
A.R. Rahman, who had noticed Chauhan at the award win for Silk Route, called him to sing "Khoon Chala" for the filmRang De Basanti. The song proved to be a breakthrough for him, and in 2007, he followed this up with his first major hit song in thePritam-composed romantic ballad "Tum Se Hi" for the filmJab We Met, penned byIrshad Kamil; both Pritam and writer-directorImtiaz Ali wanted Chauhan to lend his voice for this romantic track.
Chauhan followed the success of "Tum Se Hi" with the song "Kuchh Khaas Hai" in 2008, composed bySalim–Sulaiman, forFashion. He reunited withPritam forKismat Konnection where he performed "Kahi na Lage Man (Is This Love)" along withShreya Ghoshal. "Ankhon Hi Ankhon Mein", a soft romantic number fromEMI, had him appear on screen for the first time in the song's music video. He also sang for his first animated filmBolt where he sang the Hindi version of "I Thought I Lost You".
2009 was the most successful year in Chauhan's career, as of the 8 songs he recorded, 4 of them — "Masakali" fromDelhi-6, "Yeh Dooriyan" fromLove Aaj Kal, "Pehli Baar Mohabbat" fromKaminey and "Tune Jo Na Kaha" fromNew York — were huge chartbusters, establishing him as an audience favourite among the younger generation. 2010 proved to be a moderately successful follow-up to Chauhan's success from the previous year, as his songs became popular. Among his 2010 songs, the romantic number "Pee Loon" fromOnce Upon A Time In Mumbaai, picturized onEmraan Hashmi, was a rage.
Chauhan had his biggest rise to national prominence in 2011 as he attracted mainstream attention for his contribution to the soundtrack ofRockstar, which reunited him with Ali and Rahman after almost half-a-decade; the 9 songs he recorded for the film as the voice of theprotagonist Jordan played byRanbir Kapoor were all massive chartbusters at the time of release, and continue to be treated as cult songs till date. Among other successful songs he recorded that year, "Abhi Kuch Dino Se" fromDil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and "Khwabon Ke Parinday" fromZindagi Na Milegi Dobara, "Acha Lagta Hai" fromAarakshan were highly popular.
In 2020, Chauhan sang "Dheere Dheere Se" for the film Guns of Banaras, composed bySohail Sen and written bySameer.[15] He sang "Yeh Dooriyaa" which is composed byPritam from the film Love Aaj Kal (2020).[16] This song is new version of "Yeh Dooriyaan" chartbuster from the film Love Aaj Kal (2009). Both the version are written byIrshad Kamil There is a remix version too which is released bySony Music India. He sang "Meethi Meethi Gallan", "Kisi Gair Ka Nahi", and "Salaam". Salaam is a tribute to corona warriors by Chauhan. He also features in a video of " Hum Haar Nahi Maanenge" composed byAR Rahman.
In 2019 Chauhan performed atKargil Vijay Diwas, he sung "Khoon Chala" his song fromRang De Basanti, as a tribute to the brave Indian Soldiers. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Defence MinisterRajnath Singh were present. The event held atIndira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.[17]
Chauhan married Prarthna Gehlot on 29 June 2012.[citation needed]
Mohit is an active participant in the not-for-profit public limited companiesNational Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which encourages young people to follow beneficial vocational training initiatives.[18][19][20][21]
Chauhan regularly feeds 250+ stray dogs in Delhi which started at the time ofLockdown in India due toCOVID-19 pandemic. "Before the Lockdown, there were people who would feed the strays. But now, they've stopped. The stray dogs in Delhi don't hunt and depend on humans to feed them. So, I've been going around giving them food and water", says Chauhan.[22]These efforts evolved into his own charity by the name of Animals Are People Too, registered under 80G & 12A.[23]
| Year | Name | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ankhon Hi Ankhon Mein | Himself | Appearance in a song titled "Ankhon Hi Ankhon Mein" from filmEMI | |
| 2009 | Kuchh ish Tarah | Himself | Appeared withTulsi Kumar in the song Kuchh Is Tarah from film8X10 Tasveer | |
| 2016 | Bolo Har Har | Himself | Appeared in song Bolo Har Har from movieShivaay it also featuresMithoon,Badshah | |
| 2012 | Main Hoon Shab | Himself | Appeared in the song Main Hoo Shab from filmTezz | |
| 2019 | Kyun Dil Mera | Himself | Appeared in the song "Kyun Dil Mera" from filmPaharganj | |
| 2024 | Baaja | Himself | Appeared in the song "Baaja" from the film Amar Singh Chamkila |
Chauhan has received twoFilmfare Awards, oneIIFA Award, threeZee Cine Awards, and oneScreen Award. He was listed in theForbes Celebrity 100 of 2012.
| International | |
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| Artists | |
