Happy birthday Arijit Singh: Fame Gurukul to rejected song in Saawariya, how he climbed the Bollywood ladder to success

As Arijit Singh turns 33, here is looking back at his incredible journey, from participating in a reality show to becoming one of the most successful singers in Bollywood.

With his smooth-as-butter voice and romantic ballads, Arijit Singh has been ruling Bollywood for a while now. Last year, the singer saw a high-point in his career, when he won the National Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Padmaavat song Binte Dil.

Arijit Singh in Fame Gurukul.

Though Arijit is at the top of his game right now, not everything was handed to him on a silver platter. Did you know he began his musical career with the reality show Fame Gurukul in 2005, where he could not even make the cut to the top five?

Arijit was just 18 when he participated in Fame Gurukul, which was judged by lyricist Javed Akhtar and singers Shankar Mahadevan and KK. He finished sixth on the show, which was won by Qazi Touqeer and Ruprekha Banerjee.

 

Arijit had to put in a lot of time before he found success. During his stint on Fame Gurukul, he caught the eye of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who promised to work with him. The singer was asked to record the song Yun Shabnami from Saawariya; however, his version never made it to the film.

Post Fame Gurukul, Arijit participated in yet another reality show, 10 Ke 10 Le Gaye Dil. The show was a musical face-off between contestants of Fame Gurukul and Indian Idol. He went on to win the show and set up his own studio with the prize money of ₹10 lakh.

In 2011, Arijit made his playback singing debut with the Murder 2 song Phir Mohabbat. However, he became an overnight sensation in 2013, with the smash-hit Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2. Since then, there has been no looking back for him.

Arijit is one of the most sought-after singers in Bollywood right now, with hits such as Dilliwali Girlfriend, Kabira, Samjhawan, Gerua, Channa Mereya, Nashe Si Chadh Gayi and Zaalima to his credit. According to Forbes, he is one of the highest paid singers in the industry, with earnings of ₹71.95 crore from films and concerts in 2019.

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