| Alisha Chinai | |
| Birth Date: | 18 March 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Years Active: | 1985–present |
Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965)[1] is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as playback singing in Hindi cinema.[2] She began her singing career with the album Jadoo in 1985, and by the 1990s she had become known as the 'Queen of Indipop'.[3] Her best known songs were with producers Anu Malik and Biddu during the 1990s. Her best known song is Made in India.
Chinai's initial albums include Jaadoo, Babydoll, Aah... Alisha!, Madonna, Kamasutra, Alisha - Madonna of India and Made in India.[2] Alisha was introduced to Hindi film music by the veteran music director and composer Bappi Lahiri. They had many disco hits together in many films in the 1980s including Adventures of Tarzan, Dance Dance, Commando, Guru, Love Love Love, etc. When she started her career with him, she was playback singing for many leading actresses, such as Karisma Kapoor, Smita Patil, Mandakini, Sridevi, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Divya Bharti. In 1985, Alisha sang two songs with Remo Fernandes, in Konkani, for the album Old Goan Gold. She also recorded a song for Pankuj Parashar's film Jalwa (1987), composed by Anand–Milind. One of her biggest hits during the 1980s was "Kaate Nahin Katthe" (Mr. India), which she recorded in 1987 with Kishore Kumar under the music direction of Laxmikant–Pyarelal. Another successful track, in 1989, was "Raat Bhar Jaam Se" from the film Tridev, which had music by Kalyanji-Anandji and Viju Shah.[4]
In the 1990s, Chinai took on working in different films, collaborating with other music directors, such as Anu Malik, Anand–Milind, Rajesh Roshan and Nadeem-Shravan. Throughout these years, she had several Bollywood hit songs, including "Dhak Dhak Dhak" with Aditya Pancholi (Maha-Sangram), "Jalta Hai Badan" (Balwaan), "Tere Ishq Mein Nachenge" (Raja Hindustani), "Chaa Raha Hain Pyaar Ka Nasha" (Chandra Mukhi), "Roundhe" (Pyar Tune Kya Kiya), "Sona Sona Roop Hai" (Bollywood/Hollywood), "Mouje Mein" (Karobaar), "De Diya" (Keemat), "Ruk Ruk Ruk" (Vijaypath) and the controversial "Sexy Sexy Sexy Mujhe Log Bole" (Khuddar).
Chinai recorded an album with Lesle Lewis under the title Bombay Girl, which included the hit song "De De" released in 1994.Simultaneously, she recorded many songs as a pop singer, with accompanying album releases. Chinai was noted for her 1995 hit single and album, titled Made in India, which was composed by Biddu and went on to become one of the highest-selling pop albums of its time, making Alisha became a household name. It contains well-known songs such as "Aaja Mere Dil Mein", "Ek Baar Do Baar", "Sun O Meri Dhadkan", "Tu Kahan", "Ooh La La", "Tu Jo Mila", "Dhokha Diya Hai Re Tune Mere Dil" and "Lover Girl". With its success, Chinai announced her departure from playback singing and wanted to concentrate only on private pop albums. However, her follow-up releases were less successful. This was also the period when she got into a major controversy with the man who recorded several hit songs with her, Anu Malik. During the release of Made in India, Chinai had accused Anu Malik of molesting her. Anu Malik and Chinai did not work for several years, only to reunite in 2003 with Ishq Vishk.
Chinai's comeback to film music was with the song "Oh My Darling" in the Yash Raj film Mujhse Dosti Karoge!. From 2000 to 2009, she recorded primarily with Himesh Reshammiya, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and Pritam. After her controversy with Anu Malik in the 1990s, she patched up with him to record for a number of films, starting with Ishq Vishk, Fida, No Entry, Love Story 2050, Maan Gaye Mughle Azam, Ugly Aur Pagli, Chehraa and Kambakht Ishq.[5]
In 2005, Chinai's career reached a new high when she sang "Kajra Re" (Bunty Aur Babli). The song was a hit and won her a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She was also a judge on Indian Idol 3 and is a judge on Zee TV's Star Ya Rockstar with Anu Malik.
In 2021, Alisha Chinai was on Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show, where she talked about her childhood. She shared that her love for music began early, with school performances and her mother's influence, as her mom enjoyed Western pop music. Alisha also mentioned how she challenged the stereotype that Indian girls couldn’t sing pop music with her own work.[6]
Following are the list of awards and nominations in different categories.
| Year | Category | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Awards | ||||
| 1996 | Best Indian Pop Album | "Made in India" | ||
| Best Music Video | ||||
Chinai is a Gujarati.[9] She was married to her manager Rajesh Jhaveri and is now separated.[10]
See main article: Article and List of songs recorded by Alisha Chinoy.
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Jadoo | HMV |
| 1986 | Aah... Alisha! | |
| 1988 | Babydoll | |
| 1989 | Madonna | |
| 1990 | Kamasutra | |
| 1992 | Alisha - Madonna of India[11] | |
| 1994 | Bombay Girl | Magnasound |
| 1995 | Made in India | |
| 1998 | Om | HMV |
| 1999 | Dil Ki Rani | Music World |
| 2001 | Alisha | Tips |
| Year | Album | Record Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Best of Alisha Live | Unknown |
| Alisha Greatest Hits | ||
| 1995 | Born with a Wild Heart | Unknown |
| 1996 | Channel Hits | Magnasound |
| 1997 | Alisha Unleashed | HMV |
| Party Zone | Magnasound | |
| 1998 | The Ultimate Party Album | |
| The Best of Alisha | ||
| 1999 | Now That's What I Call Indipop | Sony Music |
| 2001 | Alisha: Singer Doll of India | Unknown |
| 2002 | Hitz Unlimited[12] | Zee Records |
| 2007 | Shutup N Kiss Me | Tips |
The following are sales of Bollywood soundtrack albums featuring songs by Alisha Chinai.
| Album | Year | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Phool Aur Kaante | 6,000,000 | [13] | |
| 1992 | Khiladi | 2,500,000 | ||
| 1995 | Haathkadi | 1,000,000 | ||
| 1994 | Main Khiladi Tu Anari | 3,000,000 | ||
| Khuddar | 2,800,000 | |||
| 1997 | Aflatoon | 2,500,000 | ||
| 2002 | Mujhse Dosti Karoge | 1,200,000 | [14] | |
| 2003 | Ishq Vishk | 1,200,000 | ||
| 2004 | Murder | 2,200,000 | ||
| Fida | 1,400,000 | |||
| 2005 | Bunty Aur Babli | 1,900,000 | ||
| 2006 | Dhoom 2 | 2,000,000 | ||
| Don: The Chase Begins Again | 1,500,000 | |||
| 2007 | Jhoom Barabar Jhoom | 1,700,000 | ||
| Namastey London | 1,400,000 | |||
| Total sales | 30,800,000 |
| Year | Album | Language | Record Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Santiago Fiesta Latina: Bollywood Goes Latino (As a singer) | Hindi | EMI Virgin Records |
| 2002 | Bandhoi (As a backing vocals) | Assamese | Raj Music |
| 2009 | Caminho das Índias (As a singer) | Portuguese | Som Livre |