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From Bundelkhand to Hanuman Ansh: How Suneel Lodhi’s voice found Bollywood
Suneel Lodhi’s journey from singing devotional songs in rural MP to recording a new song for Hanuman Ansh began with one viral bhajan, More Sankat Ke Kataiya
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With a tambura for company and devotional songs as his calling, Suneel Lodhi had spent years singing in and around his home in Bundelkhand. He was initially known to people around him when he started posting songs on Bundeli Duniya, but the reach of his music remained largely local. Then filmmaker and music producer Pankaj VRK heard his voice in a simple recording ofMore Sankat Ke Kataiya. That song changed everything.
The traditional Hanuman bhajan, sung by the visually impaired Bundeli singer, has now amassed over 29 million views online, making him a pan-India viral sensation. It eventually took him to a Mumbai recording studio, paving the way for his voice inHanuman Ansh, the Hindi spiritual film that has emerged as an unexpected box-office success.
Lodhi’s new song,Maine Tere Hi Bharose, is getting massive recognition for its earthiness. “I am getting so many calls congratulating me for the songs. Log keh rahe hain ki viral ho gaya hai gana. Bahut acha lag raha hai... I want to thank God and all the people who helped me in my journey,” Lodhi tells us.
A voice that travelled beyond Bundelkhand
Lodhi’s relationship with music began when he was around 10 or 11. “I used to sing on the tambura,” he says, recalling how his musical journey began. He gradually made devotional and Bundeli folk songs part of his repertoire, singing for people around him before digital platforms gave his voice a much larger audience.
“I had been singing songs for the Bundeli Duniya page. That is where my Bundeli songs started getting noticed,” he says. One of those songs,Dula Ban Ke Aa Gai, crossed lakhs of views, but it wasMore Sankat Ke Kataiya that took his voice much further.
The song was recorded in the simplest way, with Lodhi singing and playing the tambura. Pankaj says it was that raw quality that made him stop and listen. “I have been working on YouTube for around three years.More Sankat Ke Kataiya sounded very good in his voice, so I wanted to contact him,” he recalls.
Finding Lodhi was not easy. Pankaj says he had to look “here and there” for his contact number before finally approaching him. The singer then travelled to Indore for the first time before the journey took him to Mumbai.
From one viral bhajan to a film song
When Lodhi received a call from Mumbai afterMore Sankat Ke Kataiya began travelling online, he could hardly have known where it would lead. Pankaj helped him reach Sai Baba Studio in Mumbai, where he recorded nearly eight songs, withMaine Tere Hi Bharose being the one released so far.
The song is a fresh composition built around traditional devotional lyrics, with Lodhi on vocals and music. The 25-year-old says the recording itself was straightforward. “I sang it on the tambura, recorded the vocals in the studio and came back,” he says. What makes the story more remarkable is that he did not know where the recording would eventually land. “I did not know that this song would be in a film,” he says.
For Lodhi, though, singing a Hanuman bhajan was familiar territory. “More Sankat Ke Kataiya is a traditional Hanuman bhajan. I keep singing these traditional bhajans.Maine Tere Hi Bharose is also traditional,” he says.
That film turned out to beHanuman Ansh, directed by Vishal Chaturvedi and inspired by the life and spiritual journey of Neem Karoli Baba, whose devotion to Lord Hanuman forms the heart of the story. Released in theatres on August 7, the film has surprised the trade with its strong performance after a modest start, giving its devotional music a wider audience.
Music, without barriers
Lodhi's journey has been shaped by people who helped his music travel. He credits the platform that first carried his songs and the people who helped him get to Mumbai. “Because I cannot see, the people around me keep telling me how to do things,” he says, referring to those who help him navigate unfamiliar situations.
But his story is not one of being defined by what he cannot see. It is about what people heard when he sang.
What comes next
His musical ambitions are also growing. “Till now, the publicity I have received has been for bhajans,” he says, adding, “I want to do more. I want to sing better songs.” He names Jubin Nautiyal and Arijit Singh among the singers he would like to work with.
“Jubin Nautiyal has sung many bhajans in Bollywood, so I feel connected to him,” he says. Arijit, too, has impressed him with his devotional work. For now, though, Lodhi is taking in the moment. He shares, “I am getting so many calls congratulating me. People are saying the song has gone viral. It feels very good.”
And after years of singing locally, the voice that travelled first through a tambura and then through a phone recording is now travelling through cinema.
“Bahut acha lag raha hai,” he ends.
