Kumar Sanu Tickets

Kumar Sanu: Hooray for Bollywood

Kumar Sanu is one of the best known Bollywood contributors in recent decades who doesn't have a Bollywood acting credit to his name. Audiences who flocked to see such Hindi hits as 1942: A Love Story, Aashiqui, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge may not have seen Sanu on the silver screen. They most certainly did hear him through the theatres' speakers, though. Kumar has gained a cult-like following in India as one of the nation's top male playback singers of the 1990s. In fact, he won that exact award five years in a row (1991 through 1995) from the popular Hindi entertainment magazine, Filmfare.

Schedule

Fans of the 57-year-old have been anxiously awaiting his return to the stage, as it has been a while since he last toured. For 2014, Sanu has teamed up with Alka Yagnik, a popular female Bollywood singer, for an extensive tour in North America and Europe.

Trivia

Band/Singer

Kedarnath Bhattacharya (aka Kumar Sanu) was born in 1957 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India to a couple that included a musician father. Growing up, Sanu received extensive vocal training and became an adept tabla player. Sanu reportedly tailored his musical style after an earlier successful Bollywood singer, Kishore Kumar.

Breakthrough

Like most part-time musicians, in the late 1970s and after graduation from Calcutta University, Sanu launched his singing career in a decidedly non-glamorous way: performing at restaurants and small venues around Calcutta. In the late 1980s, he decided to try his hand as a playback singer, essentially recording songs that actors and actresses would lip-sync on camera. On the surface, the practice may seem demeaning, but in India playback singers are célebrè (celebrities), who are idolised in much the same way that actors and actresses are.

The first film on which Sanu sang as a playback singer was the 1986 film, Tin Kanya. In 1987, he moved to Mumbai, home base for Bollywood. Once he relocated to the centre of Bollywood, his career skyrocketed and he worked steadily and earned widespread acclaim throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

Hit Albums

A prolific crooner, Sanu's songs appear on hundreds of albums, many of them compilations of various artists. His top albums include "Hits of Kumar Sanu" Volumes 1, 2, and 3 for obvious reasons (they're packed with fan favourites from his playback singer career). "Kumar Sanu in Love", "Amor", and "Best of Kumar Sanu" also were well received by Hindi audiences and fans worldwide. That one of his most recent albums, "Amor", was released in Spanish as well as Hindi proves his global appeal.

Show Experience

A Kumar Sanu show is sultry, sensuous, and romantic. Fans call Sanu "The Melody King" for a reason. What's unexpected to many fans, though, is to learn that Sanu also has a keen sense of humour. He infuses his intense heartfelt songs with lighthearted banter. An outspoken critic of crass and cheap lyrics, a Sanu show is refreshingly wholesome and family friendly. Expect no grandstanding or gimmicks. Instead look forward to genuine, time-honoured melodic vocal mastery. Pick up your Kumar Sanu tickets and have an excellent musical experience.