Malala Yousafzai's Biography

Malala Yousafzai (Pashto: ملاله یوسفزۍ‎; Urdu: ملالہ یوسف زئی‎ Malālah Yūsafzay, born 12 July 1997)^[1] is a Pakistani school pupil and education activist from the town of Mingora in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is known for her education and women's rights activism in the Swat Valley, where the Taliban had at times banned girls from attending school. In early 2009, at the age of 11–12, Yousafzai wrote a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC detailing her life under Taliban rule, their attempts to take control of the valley, and her views on promoting education for girls. The following summer, a New York Times documentary was filmed about her life as the Pakistani military intervened in the region, culminating in the Second Battle of Swat. Yousafzai rose in prominence, giving interviews in print and on television, and she was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by South African activist Desmond Tutu.
On 9 October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt by Taliban gunmen while returning home on a school bus. In the days immediately following the attack, she remained unconscious and in critical condition, but later her condition improved enough for her to be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, United Kingdom for intensive rehabilitation. On 12 October, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her, but the Taliban reiterated its intent to kill Yousafzai and her father.
The assassination attempt sparked a national and international outpouring of support for Yousafzai. Deutsche Welle wrote in January 2013 that Malala may have become "the most famous teenager in the world."^[2] United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown launched a UN petition in Yousafzai's name, using the slogan "I am Malala" and demanding that all children worldwide be in school by the end of 2015. Brown said he would hand the petition to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari in November. In the 29 April 2013 issue of Time magazine, Malala was featured on the magazine's front cover and as one of "The 100 Most Influential People In The World". Yousafzai was the winner of Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize and was nominated for the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. On 12 July 2013, Yousafzai spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education.

Early life and background

Malala Yousafzai was born into a Sunni Muslim family^[1] of Pashtun ethnicity in July 1997 and given her first name, Malala, meaning "grief stricken",^[3] after Malalai of Maiwand, a Pashtun poetess and warrior woman.^[4] Her last name, Yousafzai, is that of a large Pashtun tribal confederation that is predominant in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where she grew up. At her house in Mingora, she lived with her two younger brothers, her parents, and two pet chickens.^[1]
Yousafzai was educated in large part by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who is a poet, school owner and an educational activist himself, running a chain of schools known as the Khushal Public School.^[5] She once stated to an interviewer that she would like to become a doctor, though later her father encouraged her to become a politician instead.^[1] Ziauddin referred to his daughter as something entirely special, permitting her to stay up at night and talk about politics after her two brothers had been sent to bed.^[6]
Yousafzai started speaking about education rights as early as September 2008, when her father took her to Peshawar to speak at the local press club. "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?" Yousafzai asked her audience in a speech covered by newspapers and television channels throughout the region.^[7]

Personal details
Born	12 July 1997 (age 16) Mingora, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan
Citizenship	Pakistan
Political party	None
Occupation	Pupil, blogger, activist
Religion	Sunni Islam
Ethnicity	Pashtun
Relatives	Ziauddin Yousafzai (father)
Known for	Women's rights activism, educationism, Taliban assassination attempt
Organizations	Malala Education Fund
Awards	National Youth Peace Prize (2011) Simone de Beauvoir Prize (2013)

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Arfa Karim's Biography

Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa (Urdu: ارفع کریم رندهاوا‎‎, 2 February 1995 – 14 January 2012) was a Pakistani student and computer prodigy who in 2004 at the age of nine years became the youngest Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). She kept the title until 2008. Arfa represented Pakistan on various international forums including the TechEd Developers Conference. She also received the President’s Award for Pride of Performance. A science park in Lahore, the Arfa Software Technology Park, was named after her.^[2][3][4][5] She was invited by Bill Gates to visit the Microsoft Headquarters in the USA.^[6]

^{Early life and background}

 ^{Arfa was born into a family from the village of Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali in Faisalabad, Punjab. After returning to Pakistan from a visit to Microsoft headquarters, Arfa gave numerous television and newspaper interviews. S. Somasegar, the vice president of the Software Development Division, wrote about her in his blog.[5] On 2 August 2005, Arfa was presented the Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal in the field of Science and Technology by the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaukat Aziz on the occasion of 113th birth anniversary of Fatima Jinnah.[7] She also received the Salaam Pakistan Youth Award again in August 2005 from the President of Pakistan.[8] Arfa is also the recipient of the President's Award for Pride of Performance,[9] a civil award usually granted to people who have shown excellence in their respective fields over a long period of time. She is the youngest recipient of this award. Arfa was made brand ambassador for Pakistan Telecommunication Company's 3G Wireless Broadband service named EVO in January 2010.[10]}

Born	Arfa Abdul Karim Randhawa 2 February 1995 Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali, Faisalabad, Pakistan
Died	14 January 2012 (aged 16) Lahore, Pakistan
Resting place	Chak No. 4JB Ram Dewali, Faisalabad
Residence	Lahore
Nationality	Pakistani
Education	A-level (first year)
Alma mater	Lahore Grammar School
Occupation	Student
Known for	World's youngest Microsoft Certified Professional, 2004–2006[1]
Awards	Fatimah Jinnah Gold Medal Salaam Pakistan Youth Award President's Pride of Performance

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Shaan Shahid's Biography

Shaan (Punjabi: شان) (born April 27, 1971 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a Pakistani actor, writer and director. Upon making his debut in Javed Fazil's Bulandi alongside Reema Khan, Shaan has acted in numerous commercially successful films and has established himself as one of the critically acclaimed leading actors of Pakistan. Shaan has won many awards in Pakistan including 1 Pride of Performance, 4 National Film Awards, 15 Nigar Awards, 5 Lux Style Awards and 1 Pakistan Media Award.

Early life and background

Armaghan Shahid was born in Lahore to the well-known director Riaz Shahid and television, theater and film actress Neelo. His father was a Muslim whereas his mother was Christian. He himself is a practicing Muslim. His paternal uncle Fiaz Shahid was a cameraman and producer for PTV in Islamabad. He started out his early education at the prestigious Aitchison College. His first acting venture came out at a boy scouts bonfire. He won the best actor's award in a play called Alif Noon, playing a comedy character but never took acting seriously as a career. After leaving Aitchison, he left for New York, United States and joined Newtown High School. Dreaming of becoming a lawyer due to his extraordinary talent of convincing people, he always thought he had a talent to become a lawyer. He stayed in New York for 7 years and then returned to Pakistan for vacation where he took up the family business, Riaz Shahid Films. At the age of 17, he did his first film as a debutante in “Bulandi” which was released in 1990 & was a huge success.^[1]

 ^Career

Shaan started his career before coming in to films. His mother being the top most actress of 60’s & 70’s ruled the industry. His father Late Riaz Shahid was a writer, director, producer and journalist belonged to the literary society of big names like Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi and Faiz Ahmed Faiz. He later diversified his career in late 60’s and became one of the most successful man in the Pakistan film industry. He touched sensitive issues like Kashmir, Palestine and others. The whole family is involved in showbiz. Two of his uncles became the top most cameramen, one is working as chief cameraman in PTV Islamabad.

Shaan was born on 27th April 1971. Being a Taurian started out his early education at Aitchison College. His first acting venture came out at the Boy scout bonfire at Aitchison under the guidance of remarkable teachers Mrs. Abid and Mrs. Bukhari. Won the best actor award in a play called “Alif Noon” playing a comedy character but never took acting seriously as a career.

After leaving Aitchison, he left for New York and joined New Town High School. Dreaming of becoming a Lawyer due to his extraordinary talent of convincing people, he always thought he had a talent to become a Lawyer. Stayed in New York for 7 years and returned to Pakistan for a vacation and was asked to take up the family business, Riaz Shahid Films. At the age of 17, he had to do his first film due to the family pressure, his debut film “Bulandi” was released in 1990 & was a huge success.

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Sanam Baloch's Biography

Sanam Baloch (Urdu: صنم بلوچ‎) (born July 14, 1986) is a Pakistani actress and television host.^[1][2][3] Sanam was born in Karachi and started her career as a talk show anchor in the Sindhi television channel KTN. Sanam hosted two shows Sanam Ji Pasand and Diyoo on KTN. Sanam made her debut on Urdu television in Fahad Mustafa's long play Kalaq which turned out to be a hit.^[4] She has also performed in many Urdu and Sindhi language music videos.^[5] She is a graduate from the Karachi University, and has two brothers, Farhan Baloch and Abbas Baloch. She is the younger sister of Sabreen Hisbani, also a popular television actress. Her last talk show was Morning With Hum on Hum TV which she left in order to further pursue her acting career. She is currently hosting another morning show Subha Saveray Samaa ke saath on Samaa TV.^[6][7] In an interview she said that Fahad Mustafa introduced her to Showbiz.

Early life and background

Born	Sanam Baloch 14 July 1986 (age 27) Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Other names	Sam
Alma mater	Karachi University
Occupation	Actress, Morning Show Host
Religion	Islam
Relatives	Fahad Mustafa (introduced her to Showbiz)
Awards	Annual Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress (Terrestrial)

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A. R. Rahman's Biography

Allah-Rakha Rahman ( pronunciation (help·info) (born A. S. Dileep Kumar, 6 January 1966)) is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist.^[3] Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time,^[4] his works are notable for integrating Eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fifteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname "the Mozart of Madras" and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal (English: Music Storm).^[5] In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People.^[6] The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.^[7]
Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman's film scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman is one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists.^[8][9][10] In a notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry. He has also become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for beneficial causes and supporting charities.

Early life and background

A. R. Rahman was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India to a musically affluent Mudaliar Tamil family. His father R. K. Shekhar, was a film music composer and conductor for Tamil as well as Malayalam films. Rahman used to assist his father during recordings and play keyboard for the songs. Rahman lost his father at the age of 9 and his family had to rent out his father's musical equipment as their source of income.^[11] Rahman was raised by his mother Kareema (born Kashturi).^[12] During these formative years, Rahman served as a keyboard player and an arranger in bands such as "Roots", with childhood friend and percussionist Sivamani, John Anthony, Suresh Peters, JoJo and Raja.^[3] Rahman is the founder of the Chennai-based rock group, "Nemesis Avenue".^[13] He mastered various music instruments like Keyboard, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonium and Guitar. His curiosity in Synthesizer in particular, increased because, he says, it was the "ideal combination of music and technology".^{[citation needed]}
He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj.^[14][15] At the age of 11, he started playing musical instruments in the orchestra of Malayalam composer and a close friend of Rahman's father, M. K. Arjunan.^[16] Soon he started working with other composers such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti^[15] and also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship with Trinity College, London, board of the Trinity College of Music.^[12] Studying in Chennai, he graduated with graded examinations and a diploma in Western classical music via the college.^[17] He was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister fell severely ill in 1984. Subsequently, Rahman along with other members of his family converted to Islam, his mother's faith, in 1989, when he was 23 years old. He changed his name from R. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman (A. R. Rahman).^[12][18]

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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Biography

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Punjabi: نصرت فتح علی خان (13) October 1948 – 16 August 1997), a renowned Pakistani musician, was primarily a singer of Qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis. He possessed an extraordinary range of vocal abilities^[1][2] and could perform at a high level of intensity for several hours. Extending the 600-year old Qawwali tradition of his family, Khan is widely credited with introducing Qawwali music to international audiences.^[3][4] He is popularly known as "Shahenshah-e-Qawwali", meaning "The King of Kings of Qawwali".^[5]
Born in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Khan had his first public performance at age of 16, at his father's chelum. He became the head of the family qawwali party in 1971. He was signed by Oriental Star Agencies, Birmingham, England, in the early 1980s. Khan went on to release movie scores and albums in Europe, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the U.S.A. He engaged in collaborations and experiments with Western artists, becoming a well-known world music artist. He toured extensively, performing in over 40 countries.^[6]

^{Early life and background}

Khan was born on 13 October 1948 in the city of Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. He was the fifth child and first son of Fateh Ali Khan, a musicologist, vocalist, instrumentalist, and Qawwal. Khan's family, which included four older sisters and a younger brother, Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, grew up in central Faisalabad. Initially, his father did not want Khan to follow the family's vocation. He had his heart set on Khan choosing a much more respectable career path and becoming a doctor, because he felt Qawwali artists had low social status. However, Khan showed such an aptitude for, and interest in, Qawwali that his father finally relented.^[7] Khan began by learning to play tabla alongside his father before progressing to learn Raag Vidya and Bol Bandish. He then went on to learn to sing within the classical framework of khayal. Khan's training with his father was cut short when his father died in 1964, leaving Khan's paternal uncles, Mubarak Ali Khan and Salamat Ali Khan, to complete his training. His first performance was at a traditional graveside ceremony for his father, known as chehlum, which took place forty days after his father's death.
In 1971, after the death of Mubarak Ali Khan, Khan became the official leader of the family Qawwali party and the party became known as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Mujahid Mubarak Ali Khan & Party. Khan's first public performance as the leader of the Qawwali party was at a studio recording broadcast as part of an annual music festival organised by Radio Pakistan, known as Jashn-e-Baharan. Khan sang mainly in Urdu and Punjabi and occasionally in Persian, Braj Bhasha and Hindi. His first major hit in Pakistan was the song Haq Ali Ali, which was performed in a traditional style and with traditional instrumentation. The song featured restrained use of Khan's sargam improvisations.
In 1979, Khan married his first cousin, Naheed (the daughter of Fateh Ali Khan's brother, Salamat Ali Khan); they had one daughter, Nida.
Early in his career, Khan was signed up by Oriental Star Agencies in the U.K. to their Star Cassette Label. OSA sponsored regular concert tours by Khan to the U.K. from the early '80s onwards, and released much of this live material on cassette, CD, videotape and DVD.

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Rahat Fateh Ali Khan's Biography

Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (born 1974) (Urdu: راحت فتح علی خان‎)) is a Pakistani singer, primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis. He is the nephew of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and son of Ustad Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan and also the grandson of legendary Qawwali singer Fateh Ali Khan.^[1] In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and other light music. He is popular as a Bollywood and Lollywood playback singer.^[2]

^{Early life and background}

Rahat was born into a Punjabi family of Qawwals in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan^[1] into a family of traditional musicians. The son of Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, he was trained by his uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the art of classical music and Qawwali.^{[3][dead link]}

Career

Rahat was chosen by his uncle Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for tutoring in the traditions of Qawwali^[4] music and was preciously singing with his uncle and father by the age of three.^[5] At the age of seven he began formal training with his uncle & he performed first time in public at the age of nine at the death anniversary of his grandfather. From age fifteen, he was made an integral part of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's qawwali group which was famous throughout the world. He toured the U.K. with his uncle in 1985, and performed solo songs in addition to singing with the Qawwali group.^[6] At a concert in Birmingham on July 27, 1985, he performed the solo ghazal, Mukh Tera Sohneya Sharab Nalon Changa Ae. At a concert at the Harrow Leisure Centre in 1985, he performed the solo song, Gin Gin Taare Lang Gaiyaan Rattaan. He sang lollywood playback in the 90s and debuted as a playback singer in bollywood with the movie Paap (2004), featuring the hit song, Mann Ki Lagan. His recent works include Pakistani nationalistic songs such as Dharti Dharti and Hum Pakistan, and songs from Bollywood films. He has toured extensively and performed in Pakistan, India, United Kingdom and all around the world. In April 2012 Rahat toured in the UK, performing at Wembley Arena and the Manchester Arena, playing to a combined audience of over 20,000 people.^[7]

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Hadiqa Kiani's Biography

Hadiqa Kiani (Urdu: حدیقہ کیانی‎; born 11 August 1974) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and model.^[1][2]
Kiani released her first album, Raaz, in 1995. She was later nominated and won numerous awards in Pakistan and internationally.^{[citation needed]} She has released five subsequent albums. Kiani was named "Best Pop Female Singer" in Pakistan.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Kiani became a judge on the Pakistani reality television shows Pakistan Idol and LG, Awaaz Banay Star.^{[citation needed]} Recently,^[when?] she has collaborated with the singer Atif Aslam.

Early life and background

Kiani resides in England with her mother, Khawar, who has been paralysed since 2006. In 2005, she adopted a son from Edhi Home, whom she named Naad-E-Ali, which means the qualities of Hazrat Ali.^[3] "I need a child and the child (needs) a mother," she said when adopting the child.^[4] On the same day Kiani made an official announcement of the adoption on the Geo News political talk show, Capital Talk. Later in 2005, Kiani married a UK-based Afghani businessman, Syed Fareed Sarwary.^[5] Their Nikah was a private event and only very close family members were present at the occasion. However, the marriage did not work out and in 2008 Hadiqa filed for divorce.

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Atif Aslam's Biography

Atif Aslam (Urdu: عاطف اسلم‎; born in Wazirabad, Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan as Muhammad Atif Aslam) is a Pakistani pop singer and film actor, and makes cameo appearances in Bollywood (Indian) films. His debut as an actor was in the 2011 film Pakistani movie Bol. He has generated numerous chart-topping songs,^[1] and is known for his vocal belting technique.^[2] Atif is a recipient for the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's highest civilian decorations.

Early life and background

Atif was born into a Muslim, Arain family in Wazirabad, of Gujranwala District, Punjab, in Pakistan and educated in Larkana & Rawalpindi.^[3] Atif went to kindergarten at Kimberley Hall School, Larkana. In 1991 he moved to Rawalpindi where he continued his studies in St Paul's Cambridge School,Satellite Town Rawalpindi. Atif came back to Lahore in 1995 where he continued his studies in Divisional Public School, Lahore. He started his FSC in PAF Inter College Lahore. Atif is also a holder of a Bachelor's degree.^[4][5][6][7]

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Sunidhi Chauhan's Biography

Sunidhi Chauhan (born Nidhi Chauhan^[1] on 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi film songs in Bollywood. She has recorded songs for Urdu, Oriya, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati and Nepali films,which made her a leading singer in India and across the world. She has sung the remix track called "Heartbeat" with Enrique Iglesias.^[2]
Chauhan began to sing at the age of four^[3] and was discovered by a local TV anchor.^[4] She won recognition through a televised singing contest, Meri Awaz Suno, which she won, and made her entrance into playback singing with the Hindi film Shastra.^{[4][dead link]}
Her breakthrough was Ram Gopal Varma's film Mast, in which she sang the hit song "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi."^[4] She has been nominated for fourteen Filmfare Awards, winning it on two occasions as well as a Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. She has won two Star Screen Awards, two IIFA Awards and one Zee Cine Award.
== Early ca was born in New Delhi. She started her singing career as a child, giving her first performance at the age of four, in a local temple in Delhi.^[3] She did her early studies in Greenway Modern School, Dilshad Garden in Delhi. Thereafter, she began to participate in, and sing for, competitions and local gatherings. When the famous stage and TV anchor Tabassum spotted her talent, she made her sing live in her show Tabassum Hit Parade and asked her family to shift to Mumbai. Tabassum then introduced her to Kalyanji and Anandji Bhai. Her family shifted to Mumbai in a bid to further develop the young singer's skills, and Chauhan became the lead singer in Kalyanji's 'Little Wonders' troupe.^[4]
Recognition first met her in 1996, through the music show Meri Aawaz Suno — the first such televised contest in India — which was broadcast through the Indian national television channel, Doordarshan. She won the competition and bagged the top prize of recording an album, Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira, with HMV.^[4]
Unluckily for Chauhan, Aira Ghaira Nathu Khaira was promoted as a children's album and failed to get the recognition it deserved.^[4] In 2002, Chauhan observed this in an interview: "My first song and the contest did not help me much. Nothing happened for a while. But by then, I had made up my mind that I will pursue singing as a career."^[5]
Chauhan stepped into the world of playback singing with the 1996 Bollywood film, Shastra,^[2][4] after Aadesh Srivastava asked her to lend her voice to the song "Larki Deewaani Dekho, Ladka Deewaana."^[5] She followed it with work in films like Gang, Veergati, Dahek, Bade Dilwala, Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat and Samar. By the age of nineteen, Chauhan had lent her voice to over 350 songs.^[5]

^{Early life and background}

Chauhan was born in Delhi. Her father is a minor theatre personality who pushed her into the music industry from a young age. She has a younger sister, Suneha.^[14]
Chauhan, who believes herself to be "the most versatile singer today," attributes her success to her parents and Indian singer Sonu Nigam.^[2] She has cited Sadma (1983) as her favourite film; gymnastics and cricket as her favourite sports; and Akshaye Khanna and Madhuri Dixit as her favourite actors.^[15] Chauhan also loves western music and cites Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson as her inspirations. She has noted that one of her ambitions is to achieve global fame like they did.^[4] She is known for her admiration of international divas Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.
After entering the film industry, Chauhan upgraded her wardrobe and lost twelve kilos by jogging and working out.^[5] In an early interview, she revealed a "secret dream" of seeing herself as a Bollywood actress, saying, "I have many acting offers too, but I don't want to rush it. Frankly, I would like to do just one or two films to fulfill that secret dream of seeing myself as an actress. But my life is singing and my aim is to keep singing better."^[5]
In 2002, at the age of 18, Chauhan married director and choreographer Bobby Khan, after working on the music video for "Pehla Nasha."^[16] It was reported that the couple married in a secretly arranged ceremony, attended only by very close friends and vigilantly watched over by security.
Chauhan was initially happy with the marriage. In an interview, she said : "My in-laws don't make me feel I am 'married'. I don't feel I have stepped into a new house. I am so comfortable. And Bobby is a darling. I am very, very happy."^[5]
On the downside, the marriage caused a rift between the young singer and her parents, who considered the union unsuitable and consequently disowned her.^[17] However, Chauhan and Khan separated a year later, bringing about a reconciliation between the estranged parents and daughter.^[18] Chauhan, who lived with mentor, actor and TV anchor, Annu Kapoor and his wife Arunita during the separation, filed for divorce the same year, citing that she had realized she and Khan "wanted different things from life."
On April 27, 2012, Sunidhi Chauhan tied the knot with childhood friend and music composer Hitesh Sonik at a low profile wedding ceremony in Mumbai,^[19] but the reception the couple threw saw some colleagues from the industry in attendance. Asha Bhonsle, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Smita Thackeray, Alka Yagnik, Konkona Sen Sharma were spotted at the reception.^[20]

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Shaan's Biography

Shaan (born Shantanu Mukherjee, pronounced: Shantonu Mukharji, on 30 September 1972), is an Indian playback singer more active in Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Kannada films and a television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, Star Voice of India and STAR Voice of India 2. In Music Ka Maha Muqabla, his team, Shaan's Strikers, finished as the runners up to Shankar Mahadevan’s team. He has also sung many Pakistani songs. He is considered as the most popular voice for romantic as well as melodious songs and is one of the most versatile singers. He has sung songs of different genres like pop, hip-hop, rock, and many more. He is one of the frontline playback singers of the millennium.

Early life and background

Shaan was born into a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family on 30 September 1972 in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. His grandfather was the lyricist Jahar Mukherjee, his father was the late music director Manas Mukherjee, and his sister is the singer Sagarika.^[1] His father died when Shaan was 13, after which his mother found work as a singer and took care of the whole family. He is married to Radhika and has two sons, Soham and Shubh.

As a child, Shaan began his career singing jingles for advertisements. After giving it up for a brief period he returned and, along with jingles, began to sing remixes and cover versions. In the 1989 movie Parinda, aged only 17, Shaan sang a single line in the song, "Kitni Hai Pyari Pyari Dosti Hamari".
Shaan and his sister's career began when they signed up with Magnasound recording company and recorded a few successful albums, including the hit album Naujawan followed by Q - Funk, which sold a million copies. He entered the pop scene with sister Sagarika, singing Biddu’s melodies and doing re-mixes.Then came Roop Tera Mastana, a remix album of R.D. Burman's songs, that brought them further into the limelight.
Shaan launched Loveology after this, which was well received.^{[citation needed]} He wrote the lyrics of the ballad "Bhool Ja" on his second album Tanha Dil, which appeared in the charts within days of its release and was popular on radio.
In 2000 he won the MTV Asia Music Award for best solo album for his album Tanha Dil. Three years later Shaan launched his album Aksar which was successful and contained songs featuring international stars such as Blue, Mel C and Samira Said.
For both the albums Tanha Dil and Aksar, Shaan sang, composed and wrote the lyrics of all the songs, except the title track "Tanha Dil" which was composed by Ram Sampath, who is also famous for the Bhag DK Bose song from the movie, Delhi Belly.
In 2006, he released a song with MLTR, "Take me to your heart". The song appears on his album Tishnagi which is produced by Ranjit Barot and engineered by Ashish Manchanda. The song "Shuruat" on his album Tishnagi was made into a music video to promote the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.^{[citation needed]}
He released Tomar Aakash in 2004, a Bengali album, along with his sister and featuring his father's unreleased songs.^[2] He also plans to release an album remaking his father's compositions with his sister in Hindi. He recently sang one of his father's compositions on sets of STAR Plus's Music Ka Maha Muqqabla.

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Shreya Ghoshal's Biography

Shreya Ghoshal (born March 12, 1984) is an Indian singer. Best known as a playback singer in Hindi films, she also sings in other Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Odiya,^[3] Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.
Ghoshal's career began when she won the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest as an adult. Her Bollywood playback singing career began with Devdas, for which she received National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer along with Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent.^[4] Since then, she has received many other awards. Ghoshal was also honored from the U.S. state of Ohio, wherein governor Ted Strickland declared June 26 as "Shreya Ghoshal Day".^[5]

^{Early life and background}

Shreya Ghoshal was born on March 12, 1984, to a Bengali Hindu family in Baharampur, West Bengal. Thereafter, she spent the next three months in her birthplace in West Bengal.^[2] She grew up in Rawatbhata, a small town near Kota, Rajasthan, where her father was transferred. Her father, Mr Bishwajit Ghoshal is a nuclear power plant engineer and works for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and her mother, Mrs Sarmistha Ghoshal is a literature post-graduate.^[6] She lived there for thirteen years and completed her schooling up to Eighth Standard at Rawatbhata at the Atomic Energy Central School.
In 1997, when her father was transferred to Mumbai, Ghoshal had to shift to Mumbai with her family. In Mumbai, she studied at Atomic Energy Central School in Anushaktinagar. She joined the Atomic Energy Junior College for studying Science. However, she felt difficulty in studying Science as her musical career in Bollywood had already began by the time. So, she dropped out from there and enrolled at SIES College at Sion in Mumbai for graduation, where she took up Arts with English as Major.^[2][6]

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Sonu Nigam's Biography

Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973 in Faridabad, Haryana,to Agam Kumar Nigam and Shobha Nigam)^[1] is an Indian singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi and Kannada languages. He has also sung many songs in Urdu, Odia, Tamil, Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Malayalam, Marathi, Telugu and Nepali movies. He has released Indian pop albums and acted in a few movies. He had changed the spelling of his last name from 'Nigam' to 'Niigaam' in accordance with numerology, but later reverted to the original spelling.^[2]

^{Early life and background}

Sonu Nigam began his singing career at the age of four, when he joined his father Agam Kumar Nigam on stage to sing Mohammed Rafi's song "Kya Hua Tera Vaada, Wo Kasam Wo Irada". From then on, Sonu accompanied his father on his singing appearances at weddings and parties.^[3] In his teenage years, he successfully participated in music. He moved to Mumbai with his father to begin his Bollywood singing career at the age of 19.^[4] He was trained by classical singer Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.

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