5 Bollywood celebrities you might not know could sing – from Priyanka Chopra to Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan

Nov 30 , 2020

Songbirds Alia Bhatt, Ayushmann Khurrana, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit. Photos: @aliaabhatt; @ayushmannk; @priyankachopra; @amitabhbachchan; @madhuridixitnene/Instagram

They may be expected to lip sync for their lives on set, but that doesn’t mean these Bollywood actors and actresses can’t hold a tune – quite the opposite in the case of this talented bunch

When India’s first film with sound, Alam Ara, was released back in 1931 – along with its seven featured songs – it was billed as the “All Talking, Singing, Dancing” movie fans had been waiting for, and paved the way for the global phenomenon that is now Bollywood.

While it is traditional in the West for musical film directors to demand its actors sing live on camera, Indian celebrities are known to lip-synch through their scenes. As a result, many Bollywood stars’ musical talents remain hidden. However, these five actors can in fact sing beautifully, but only got the chance to show off their skills much later than they might have hoped.

Priyanka Chopra

A trained classical singer, beauty-queen-turned-actor Chopra has released two international smash singles: In My City (2012) featuring the mighty Will.i.am, and Exotic (2013) featuring American rapper Pitbull. Back in Bollywood, Chopra has also lent her voice to a number of films, starting with Ullathai Killathe in her debut Thamizhan (2002), followed by Chaoro in Mary Kom (2014), and the title song in Dil Dhadakne Do (2015). In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chopra credited her late father as her main vocal influence

Madhuri Dixit

The 90s superstar is often dubbed “India’s dancing queen”, but she broadened her horizons with the release of her first single Candle earlier this year. While she has recorded the famous verses in cult classics Kaahe Chhed Mohe (for Devdas in 2001) and Rangi Sari Gulabi Chunariya (for Gulaab Gang in 2014), Dixit says she feels professional singing is a tad trickier, “It’s like dancing with your voice,” she said in an interview quoted in First Post.

Ayushmann Khurrana