For his contribution to Indian cinema and music, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 by the Government of India. Many of his tracks feature in BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time".[4]
Early life
Kumar Sanu's father, Pashupati Bhattacharya, was a vocalist and composer, his ancestral home and birth place was Vikrampur near Dhaka (now in Bangladesh). In search of a livelihood, he moved to Calcutta, where Kumar Sanu was born. The two and Sanu's elder sister lived in the Sinthee area of Calcutta (now Kolkata) near Biswanath Park. Kumar Sanu lived at Panchanantala at Gopal Bose Lane in Sinthi area at North Kolkata.[5]
Kumar Sanu started his playback career as Sanu Bhattacharya from 1983. In 1986, he was in the Bangladeshi film Teen Kanya,[6] directed by Shibli Sadiq. He had his first major Bollywood song in Hero Hiralal (1988).
In 1989, Jagjit Singh introduced Sanu to Kalyanji in Vimal Bunglow, Mumbai. On their suggestion, Sanu changed his early name from "Sanu Bhattacharya" to "Kumar Sanu" after his idol Kishore Kumar. Sanu then relocated to Mumbai, where Kalyanji-Anandji gave him a chance to sing in the film Jaadugar.[citation needed]
He rose to fame in the 1990s and became one of the most prominent voices in Bollywood, lending his vocals to countless hit songs. His collaboration with composers like Nadeem-Shravan, Anu Malik, and Jatin-Lalit resulted in numerous chart-topping tracks. Sanu's romantic ballads and soulful renditions have made him a favorite among music lovers, earning him several awards and accolades throughout his career.
Sanu has released albums of Kishore Kumar's songs including Kishore Ki Yaadein, a collection early in his career. Then came the Yaadein series where he sang many of the songs of Kishore Kumar along with singers Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Vinod Rathod.[7][8]
In 2017, Sanu along with Sadhna Sargam sung for the title track of 19s Story based TV Series "Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hain" and also appeared as a part for cameo in it.[9] In 2019, he made a little singing for the Star Plus's "Kulfi Kumarr Bajewala".[10]
Other than singing and composing music for films, he has also shown interest in producing films. In 2006, he produced his first Hindi film Utthaan. Currently, he is working with a fellow producer, Rakesh Bhhatia on a new project named Yeh Sunday Kyun Aata Hai. The film is based on the lives of four children who live in the streets of Mumbai and polish shoes at a train station in order to earn their livelihoods. The film will feature Mithun Chakraborty in a leading role. Recently, Sanu sang for a Bangladeshi Bengali film Hason Raja, which was directed by a UK-based filmmaker Ruhul Amin. This movie was never released. He also has composed for some Bengali movies; Amrita and Tobu Aporichito.
Recently he recorded an album named Hum aur Tum. He also recorded a Spanish song for an album. He has also the record for the most recordings of songs in a single day, 28 songs. He also made special appearances as an actor in the movies Sapne Sajan Ke (1992) Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999) and Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015).
Sanu is a trustee and Brand Ambassador of Bishwa Bandhan,[11] a foundation for cerebral palsy.
Sanu opened a primary school, Kumar Sanu Vidya Niketan,[12] for underprivileged children in Karol Bagh, Delhi. The students are given uniforms and books free of cost.[13]
In 2022 Sanu collaborated with music director Vaibhav Saxena and two young singers for "Mohabbat Mein tere sanam" which was released and distributed worldwide by new-age Record Label Vusic Records.[14]
In 2023 Sanu collaborated with Arijit Singh for an album.
Sanu is also credited with the highest number of version songs and male duet hits with the finest singers of (1980) and (1990). Some of the notable songs are as follows:
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004 in a ceremony headed by then Party President Venkaiah Naidu, but he later resigned to concentrate on singing.[16]
He rejoined BJP on 2 December 2014, inducted by Amit Shah.[17]
Comeback
Sanu returned to playback singing in 2012. He made a comeback at the urge of composers Sajid–Wajid. Sajid-Wajid gave him "Chhammak Chhallo Chhail Chhabili", a wedding song with Shreya Ghoshal for the film Rowdy Rathore (2012). In 2015, Sanu replaced Lata Mangeshkar as the background voice of Yash Raj Films logo for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha. This was the first time in YRF's 45-year history that the voice of Mangeshkar was replaced.[18]
In 2023 Sanu sang for Rajkummar Rao in Guns & Gulaabs. He also sang in Scar Movie and one song sang for Mahesh Bhatt Upcoming movie.
Recently Sanu sang 7 songs for an album called "Dua". And a single song sang under Arijit Singh composition.
In 2023 Sanu sang a song with Sunidhi Chauhan & Raftaar under Payal Dev composition.And sang in Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper Netflix series Release in 2024.
^Khole, Purva (23 September 2013). "Kumar Sanu, happy birthday". Bollywoodlife.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.