Daler Mehndi
Encyclopedia
Daler Mehndi born August 18, 1967, is an Indian Bhangra pop
singer.
Mehndi was a student of traditional Punjabi music and his first album broke sales records in India. Since 1995 he has recorded several highly successful albums in India, and also sung as a playback singer for several Hindi
movies. His international popularity has grown in recent years allowing him to tour the United States
. Mehndi is also well known as a philanthropist
, funding beautification projects in Delhi
and aiding earthquake victims.
, Bihar
to a Punjabi
Sikh
family. He began singing at age 6 and was taught the ragas and Shabads from the Guru Granth Sahib
by his parents. At age fourteen he spent three years refining his voice and learning how to play the tabla
, dholak/dhool
, harmonium
and tanpura from Late Ustad Raahat Ali Khan Saheb of Gorakhpur.
and Arjun Pundit. His success helped him negotiate a record-breaking deal with his record company Magnasound for 20.5 million rupees. He has also been a guest star on the new Indian version of Sesame Street
known as Galli Galli Sim Sim
. Currently he is mentor in the Zee TV
reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar
.
His album song "Tunak Tunak Tun
" (1998) is a worldwide Internet phenomenon. This cult following
was spurred by the music video
for Mehndi's song "Tunak Tunak Tun", often referred to simply as "Tunak", which gained its popularity due to Daler Mehndi's wild dancing and has led to many homages and parodies. Mehndi originally conceived of the music video, in which he dances with "clones" of himself, in response to media statements that he was popular only because of the models in his videos. "Tunak Tunak Tun" was the first music video to make use of bluescreen technology in India.
It would later be the inspiration behind the dance employed by the fictional Draenei race in the popular video game World of Warcraft
.
An Indian Islamic group called Raza Academy took Mehndi to court over some of the lyrics and the video of his album Nabi Buba Nabi to be offensive. Several of the words were changed, removing references to "prophet".
musical tradition. The sound is similar to that of Techno
, dance, and house music, with the folk sounds of an Indian tabla
being played in the background. His popularity and the concurrent revival of Bhangra music is thought to be driven by the ease of dancing to it and a national pride in the Indian people.
He has been trained under Girija Devi for a short span.
.
He has also donated 85 million rupees to the green drive, 12 million rupees to KARGIL charities, and built 16 houses in Gujarat after an earthquake there. He also did a concert series in Pakistan to raise funds for the quake victims. He has also helped rehabilitate victims of the Orissa cyclone and street children in Kenya.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer.
Mehndi was a student of traditional Punjabi music and his first album broke sales records in India. Since 1995 he has recorded several highly successful albums in India, and also sung as a playback singer for several Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
movies. His international popularity has grown in recent years allowing him to tour the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Mehndi is also well known as a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, funding beautification projects in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and aiding earthquake victims.
Early life and discovery
'Daler (Mr. Prince of Punjab) Mehndi' was born and raised in PatnaPatna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
to a Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
family. He began singing at age 6 and was taught the ragas and Shabads from the Guru Granth Sahib
Guru Granth Sahib
Sri Guru Granth Sahib , or Adi Granth, is the religious text of Sikhism. It is the final and eternal guru of the Sikhs. It is a voluminous text of 1430 angs, compiled and composed during the period of Sikh gurus, from 1469 to 1708...
by his parents. At age fourteen he spent three years refining his voice and learning how to play the tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
, dholak/dhool
Dholak
The Dholak is a North Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese double-headed hand-drum Madal. The name dholki may also refer to a slightly different instrument that uses high-pitch tabla style syahi masala on its treble skin. This instrument is also known as Naal or Dholki....
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
and tanpura from Late Ustad Raahat Ali Khan Saheb of Gorakhpur.
1995-present: Popularity
Daler Mehndi eventually switched from classical music to pop, and in 1995 his first album Bolo Ta Ra Ra, with tunes based on those given to him by his mother, sold half a million copies in four months and 20 million copies total, making him the best selling non-soundtrack album in Indian music history. He received the Award for Voice of Asia International Ethnic and Pop Music Contest in 1994. He earned Channel V's Best Male Pop Singer Award, which he received in 1996 for Dar Di Rab Rab and in 1997 for Ho Jayegi Bale Bale. He has appeared in the films MrityudataMrityudata
Mrityudata is a 1997 Bollywood film directed by Mehul Kumar with music by Anand Milind. The film is considered to be a comeback role for Amitabh Bachchan who temporarily left the industry in 1992...
and Arjun Pundit. His success helped him negotiate a record-breaking deal with his record company Magnasound for 20.5 million rupees. He has also been a guest star on the new Indian version of Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
known as Galli Galli Sim Sim
Galli Galli Sim Sim
Galli Galli Sim Sim is the Hindi language adaptation of the American children's television series Sesame Street , for India. It is co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Turner Broadcasting, through Miditech...
. Currently he is mentor in the Zee TV
Zee TV
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar
Hero Honda - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar is the 4th installment of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge series which premiered on August 13, 2010 on Zee TV. This series is hosted by Manish Paul, although the first shows were hosted by Purab Kohli...
.
His album song "Tunak Tunak Tun
Tunak Tunak Tun
"Tunak Tunak Tun" or "Tunak", is a bhangra/pop love song by Indian artist Daler Mehndi released in 1998. At the time, critics complained that Mehndi's music was only popular due to his videos that featured beautiful women dancing. Mehndi's response was to create a video that featured only himself...
" (1998) is a worldwide Internet phenomenon. This cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
was spurred by the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for Mehndi's song "Tunak Tunak Tun", often referred to simply as "Tunak", which gained its popularity due to Daler Mehndi's wild dancing and has led to many homages and parodies. Mehndi originally conceived of the music video, in which he dances with "clones" of himself, in response to media statements that he was popular only because of the models in his videos. "Tunak Tunak Tun" was the first music video to make use of bluescreen technology in India.
It would later be the inspiration behind the dance employed by the fictional Draenei race in the popular video game World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
.
Controversies
In 2003, Mehndi was accused of being a member of a scam bringing illegal immigrants to Canada by disguising them as musicians, a charge he denies. He was in hiding for a month before he surrendered to police in Patiala and was charged with 31 counts of immigration law violations. Punjab police director-general, A. A. Siddiqui, later stated Mehndi was innocent and insinuated that the confusion arose because Daler and his brother, who was the original target of the scandal, looked alike.An Indian Islamic group called Raza Academy took Mehndi to court over some of the lyrics and the video of his album Nabi Buba Nabi to be offensive. Several of the words were changed, removing references to "prophet".
Artistry
Daler Mehndi specializes in a type of Hindi-Pop that he infuses with Rababi singing, a SikhSikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
musical tradition. The sound is similar to that of Techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, dance, and house music, with the folk sounds of an Indian tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
being played in the background. His popularity and the concurrent revival of Bhangra music is thought to be driven by the ease of dancing to it and a national pride in the Indian people.
He has been trained under Girija Devi for a short span.
Philanthropy and other activities
Mehndi has established the Daler Mehndi Green Drive to help make a cleaner environment in DelhiDelhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
He has also donated 85 million rupees to the green drive, 12 million rupees to KARGIL charities, and built 16 houses in Gujarat after an earthquake there. He also did a concert series in Pakistan to raise funds for the quake victims. He has also helped rehabilitate victims of the Orissa cyclone and street children in Kenya.
Discography
- Bolo Ta Ra Ra - Music Album - 1995
- Dardi Rab Rab - Music Album - 1996
- Ho Jayegi Balle Balle - Music Album - 1997
- Tunak Tunak TunTunak Tunak Tun"Tunak Tunak Tun" or "Tunak", is a bhangra/pop love song by Indian artist Daler Mehndi released in 1998. At the time, critics complained that Mehndi's music was only popular due to his videos that featured beautiful women dancing. Mehndi's response was to create a video that featured only himself...
- Music Album - 1998 - Ek Dana - Music Album - 2000
- Nach Ni Shaam Kaure - Music Album - 2002
- Mojaan Laen Do - Music Album - 2003
- Shaa Ra Ra Ra - Music Album - 2004
- Single Nach le for Hindi film Lakeer - 2004
- Single Rang De Basanti for Hindi film Rang De BasantiRang De BasantiRang De Basanti is a 2006 Indian drama film written and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. It features an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan, Soha Ali Khan, Madhavan, Kunal Kapoor, Siddharth Narayan, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni and British actress Alice Patten in the lead roles...
- 2006 - Raula Pai Gaya - Music Album - 2007
- Aasman ko chukar dekha for Hindi film Hanuman Returns - 2007
- Bismillah - Religious Music Album - 2008
- Dhoom Punjabi - IPL Kings XI PunjabKings XI PunjabKings XI Punjab is a cricket franchise based in Mohali, Punjab in the Indian Premier League. For the IPL3, an additional venue has been chosen at Dharamsala.-Franchise History:...
Theme song - 2008 - Eh Lai 100 Rupaiya - 2008
- Bhootni ke- for Hindi film Singh is KinngSingh Is KinngSingh is Kinng is a 2008 Bollywood comedy film. The film is directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif, the film also featured a music video with Snoop Dogg. About 75% of the movie was shot in Australia, around the Gold Coast region and Brisbane using an Australian production...
-2008 - Mere Desh Ki Dharti for Hindi film Kissan - 2009
- Dulha Mil Gaya for Hindi film Dulha Mil GayaDulha Mil GayaThe soundtrack was composed by Lalit Pandit and released on December 14, 2009. The lyrics are written by Mudassar Aziz; songs are arranged by Richard Mithra and Kashinath Kashyap; and all songs are mixed and engineered by Abani Tanti...
- 2010 - Om Zaarare for Tamil film KuselanKuselanKuselan is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu, which was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu . Both remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, the film is directed by P. Vasu and produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages...
, along with K.S.Chitra and Sadhana SargamSadhana SargamSadhana Sargam is an acclaimed Indian playback singer. She is a recipient of the prestigious National Film Award and Filmfare Awards.Sargam has sung in many Indian languages for films, television serials and music albums. She is well known for her 90s Hindi songs and recent South Indian songs. She... - Karle Baby Dance Wance for Hindi Film Hello (2008) with Sunidhi Chauhan
- Punch Out!!Punch-Out!! (Wii)Punch-Out!! is a boxing video game for the Wii. It is the latest game in the Punch-Out!! series. It was developed by Canadian developer Next Level Games. Game designer Shigeru Miyamoto served as the game's producer. It was first revealed at Nintendo's conference on October 2, 2008...
, played and edited music for Great Tiger's Exhibition Matches - 2009 - Duet for Yamadonga, 2007 a Telugu hit film
- Jorsey for MAGADHEERA, 2009 a Telugu hit film
- Aila Re Aila for Hindi film Khatta Meetha (2010 film) - Akshay KumarAkshay KumarAkshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
- 2010 - Zor ka Jhatka for Action Replayy
- Chamki Jawaani For Yamla Pagla Deewana
- Single Teen Thay Bhai for Hindi film Teen Thay BhaiTeen Thay BhaiTeen Thay Bhai is a 2011 Hindi comedy film directed by Mrighdeep Lamba, produced by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Productions and PVR Pictures. The film stars Om Puri, Shreyas Talpade, Deepak Dobriyal, Ragini Khanna and Yograj Singh.-Plot:...
, 2011