Female Playback Singers
| Name | Languages | Years active | Major awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akriti Kakkar | Hindi, Bengali | 2006 – present | |
| Alisha Chinai | Hindi, Telugu, Kannada | 1988–Present | Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Kajra Re" from the film Bunty Aur Babli |
| Alka Yagnik | Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Oriya, Gujarati, Nepali, Assamese | 1979–present | Two National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards, two IIFA Awards, four Bollywood Movie Awards, two BJFA Award, one Sansui Award, three Zee Cine Awards, three Screen Awards, one GIFA Award, one MTV Immies, one Videocon Award, BBC- Asia Pacific nomination |
| Alka Ajith | Malayalam, Tamil | 2011 – present | |
| Amirbai Karnataki | Hindi, Urdu | 1945–1961 | |
| Andrea Jeremiah | Tamil, English | 2007–present | |
| Antara Mitra | Hindi, Bengali, English | 2007–present | |
| Anupama | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, French | 1992–present | |
| Anupama Deshpande | Hindi, Telugu, English, Tamil, Oriya | 1984–2002 | One Filmfare Award |
| Anuradha Paudwal | Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, Nepali | 1973–present | four Filmfare Awards, one National Award |
| Anuradha Sriram | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam | 1993–present | ITFA for the Best Playback Singer for the movie Gemini (2002) |
| Anushka Manchanda | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil | 2006–present | |
| Aarti Mukherji | Benagli, Hindi etc. | ||
| Asha Bhosle | Telugu, Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay, Malayalam, Konkani, Oriya and other languages | 1943–present. in 2011 October Guinness World Records has included her name for having maximum number of song recordings. | Padma Vibhushan, two National Awards, seven Filmfare Award (plus Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award), two MTV Awards, Dada Saheb Phalke Award |
| Banumathi | Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada | 1941–2006 | Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan |
| Bhavatharini | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada | 1995–present | National Award in 2001 for the song "Mayil Pola" from Bharathi |
| B. R. Chaya | Kannada | 1977–present | two Karnataka State Awards |
| Bela Shende | Marathi, Hindi, Tamil and Urdu | 1999–present | RAPA National Award, Raja Mantri Smruti Award, Nargis Dutt Award |
| Bombay Jayashri | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada | 1982–present | Sangeeta Kalasarathy Award, Tamil Nadu State Award, Kalaimamani Award, M. S. Subbulakshmi Puraskar Award, Sangeeta Choodamani Award, Yuva Kala Bharathi Award |
| Chaitra H. G. | Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, Konkani, English | 2002–present | State Award, Udaya Award, Rotary Young Achiever Award |
| Charulatha Mani | Tamil, Kannada | 2002–present | |
| Chinmayi | Telugu, Tamil, Hindi | 2002–present | Two Tamil Nadu State Awards, two Filmfare South Awards, two Vijay Awards, South Indian International Movie Awards, two Thirai Isai Viruthugal awards, The Times Film Award |
| Chitra Singh | Hindi-Urdu, Bengali | 1965–present | |
| Chitra Sivaraman (Chitra Iyer) | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada | 2000–present | |
| Deepa Miriam | Tamil, Malayalam | 2005–present | Filmfare Award for "Kangal Irandaal" from Subramaniapuram |
| Dominique Cerejo | Hindi, Tamil | 2000–present | |
| Falguni Pathak | Hindi-Urdu, Gujarati | 1988–present | |
| Gayatri Asokan | Malayalam | 1998–present | Kerala State Film Award for Enthe Nee Kanna from 'Sasneham Sumithra' |
| Gayatri Iyer (Gayatri Ganjawala) | Hindi, Telugu | 1996–present | |
| Geeta Dutt | Hindi, Bengali | 1946–1971 | |
| Geeta Madhuri | Telugu, Tamil | 2006 –present | Nandi Award, Maa TV Award, South Scope Award |
| Gopika Poornima | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada | 1998–present | |
| Hamdhan | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 1999–present | |
| Harshdeep Kaur | Hindi, Punjabi, English | 2001– present | Winner of Junoon Kuchh Kar Dikhane Ka, Mtv Video GaGa Contest and Big Star IMA Awards. Nominated for Gima Awards, Stardust Awards, AV Max Awards, Big Star IMA Awards |
| Hard Kaur | Hindi | 1995–present | |
| Harini | Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi | 1995–present | Two Tamil Nadu State Awards |
| Harini Ravi | Tamil | 2009–present | |
| Hema Sardesai | Hindi | 1989–present | |
| Hemlata | Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Haryanvi, Rajasthani, Marwari, Brij Bhasha, Gujarati, Marathi, Sindhi, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani, Goanese, Dogri, Multani, Saraiki, Garhwali, Bundeli, Nepali, Arabi, Farsi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Prakrit, English, French, Mauritius, African, Italian, Zulu, Dutch,Hindi | 1968–present | Filmfare Award |
| Ila Arun | Hindi, Tamil, Telugu | 1993–present | Filmfare Award |
| Inchara | Kannada | ||
| Jaspinder Narula | Hindi, Punjabi | Filmfare Award, Star Screen Award | |
| Jency Anthony | Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada | 1966–present | |
| Jikki | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada | 1964–2000 | |
| Jyotsna Radhakrishnan | Malayalam | 1998–present | Lux-Asianet Film Award |
| Kalpana | Telugu | ||
| Kavita Subramaniam (Kavita Krishnamurthy) | Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Nepali, Gujarati | 1980–present | Padma Shri, four Filmfare Awards, Yesudas Award, Priyadarshini Award, Kishore Kumar Award, two Bollywood Awards, two Zee Cine Awards, one Star Screen Award |
| K. S. Chithra (referred to as Chitra) | Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Bengali, English, Russian, German, Arabic, Tulu, Sinhalese, Assamese, Punjabi, Nepali | 1983–present. Won highest national awards by any female playback singer. |
|
| Lata Mangeshkar | Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Oriya, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannad, Gujrati, Panjabi, Assamese, Konkani, Urdu, Sanskrit, Rajsthani, Bhojpuri, English | 1941–current | Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Knight of the Legion of Honour, three National Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalist Association Awards, seven Filmfare Awards, three Maharashtra State Awards, Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra Ratna Award, Swarbharti Award, Noor Jahan Award, Hakim Khan Sur Award, NTR National Award, ANR Award, Forever Indian Award, Best Playback Singer of the Millennium Award, Raj Lakshmi Award, Pride of India – Kala Sarswati Award, Avadh Sanmaan, Lifetime Achievement Awards |
| L. R. Eswari | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi | 1959–present | Six Tamil Nadu State Awards, six Andhra Pradesh State Awards, four Karnataka state awards |
| Madhushree | Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali | 2001–present | |
| Mahalaxmi Iyer | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, English, Assamese, French, Marathi and other languages | 1997–present | |
| Mahathi | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada | 2003–present | Kerala State Award for Classical Singing in Youth Festival; "Bala Bhaskara" Award from VDS Arts Academy, Chennai |
| Malgudi Subha | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi | 1988–present | |
| Mamta Sharma | Hindi | 2010–present | Two Annual Start Screen Award, one Apsara Award |
| Manjari | Malayalam, Tamil | 2004–present | Kerala State Award |
| Minmini | Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi | 1988–present | |
| Mubarak Begum | Hindi, Urdu | 1955–1968 | |
| Nandita Das | Kannada, Oriya, Hindi | ||
| Nagachandrika | Kannada | ||
| Neha Kakkar | 2006–present | Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada | |
| Neha Rajpal (Nehha Rajpal) née 'Chandna' . | Hindi, Marathi, Gujrati, Sindhi, Chattisgadi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, | 1995–present | Reality Show winner of highly acclaimed Zee TV Saregamapa 'Popular Choice series'- 2004. Winner of prestigious award 'Zee Gaurav Puraskar' as 'Best Playback Singer – Female' for song 'Phulnara Mausam tu' from film 'Mukkam post london' – year 2008. Reality TV Judge for first season of musical singing competition show “Gaurav Maharashtracha” on ETV Marathi |
| Nihira Joshi | Hindi, Marathi | 2004–present | |
| Nithyasree Mahadevan | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Sinhalese, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Marathi | 1997–present | Yuva Kala Bharathi Award, Kalaimamani Award, Innisai Maamani Award by Tamil Nadu Government |
| Noor Jehan | Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi | 1930–1998 | Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Malika-e-Tarannum |
| Pratima Banerjee | Bengali, Hindi, Urdu etc. | ||
| P. Leela | Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Sinhalese | 1949–2000 | Kerala State Award; Kalaimamani title by Tamil Nadu government |
| P. Madhuri | Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil | 1965–present | Two Kerala State Awards |
| Supriya | Kannada | ||
| P. Susheela | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Marathi, Sinhalese, Tulu, Sanskrit | 1951–present |
|
| Pop Shalini (Shalini Singh) | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi | 1995–present | |
| Prashanthini | Tamil, Telugu | 2007–present | |
| Priya Himesh | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada | 2007 – present | Filmfare Award for "Ringa Ringa" from Arya 2 |
| Priyadarshini | Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit | 2003–present | |
| Rajesh Krishnan | Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and in about 15 languages | State award of Andhra Pradesh, Nandi Award, Karnataka State awards in 1999, 2000, 2002, Aryabhata award | |
| Rajkumari | Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi | 1949–1977 | |
| Ramakrishna V. | Telugu | 1960–1980 | |
| Reena Bhardwaj | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 2003–present | |
| Rekha Bhardwaj | Hindi | 1997–present | Filmfare Award for "Gendha Phool" from Delhi-6. Wife of composer and film maker Vishal Bhardwaj |
| Richa Sharma | Hindi | 2000–present | Bollywood Movie Award |
| Rimy Tomy | Malayalam, Telugu | 2000–present | |
| Ruma Guha Thakurta | Bengali, Hindi | 1944–present | Bharat Nirman, Soviet Land Nehru Peace Award. |
| S. Janaki | Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Oriya, Tulu, Saurashtra, English, Japanese, Baduga, German, Simhala, Bengali, Sanskrit, others | 1957–present | Four National Awards, 13 Kerala State Awards, 14 Andhra Pradesh State Awards, seven Tamil Nadu State Awards, four Karnataka State Awards, one Orissa State Award. Doctorate from Mysore University. Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for morethan 6 times, silver lotus award, Sur Singer fellowship, Kalaimaamani Award from Tamil Nadu, Cinema Achiever Award from Karnataka, Sangeetha Ganga Gayana Award, Sangeetha Rathna by Sangeetha Kalavedika, Singer of the Century Award, Bharathidas Award, Madhavapeddi Sathyam Award, Special Jury Swaralaya K J Yesudas Award, Geeta Dutt Award from Andhra Pradesh, Lifetime Achievement Award from Kerala, Vijay award (2007) |
| S. P. Sailaja | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam | 1968–2002 | |
| Sadhana Sargam | Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Oriya, Urdu, Nepali | 1991–present | National Award, two Maharashtra State Awards, three Filmfare South Awards, one Zee Cine Award, one Star Screen Award, one Chitrapati V.Shantaram Award, three Maharashtra Times Sanman, one Zee Marathi Gaurav, one Vitusco Award, one Dinakaran Award, two Sanskruti KalaDarpan Awards, |
| Sandhya Mukherjee | Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, etc. | 1931–present | Banga-Vibhushan, the highest civilian honour in West Bengal in 2011. |
| Santha P. Nair | Malayalam | 1951–1967 | |
| Saindhavi | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada | 2001–present | |
| Shohail Chinai | Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Nepali, Oriya | 1985–present | one Filmfare Award |
| Sanjeevani Bhelande | Hindi | 1999–present | Nominated for Filmfare award in 1999 |
| Shamshad Begum | Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi | 1941–1968 | |
| Sapna Mukherjee | Hindi | 1985–present | 1 Filmfare Award |
| Shamshad Begum | Hindi, Urdu, Panjabi | 1941–1968 | |
| Sharda Rajan Iyengar | Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarathi | 1965–1986 | Two Filmfare Awards, one Gujarat State Award |
| Shilpa Rao | Hindi, Tamil | 2003–present | Star Screen Award (2008) |
| Sharda Sinha | Hindi, Bhojpuri, Mithila, Angika | 1952–present | Recipient of the Padma Shri for her contribution to music |
| Shreya Ghoshal | Hindi, Angika, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, Oriya, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Assamese, Nepali, Gujarati, Konkani | 2002–present | Four National Awards
Six Filmfare Awards Seven Filmfare South Award Four Zee Cine Awards Five IIFA Awards Two Tamil Nadu State Awards Five Kerala State Awards One South Indian International Movie Awards Five Screen Awards Four Apsara Awards Five Mirchi Music Awards South One Global Indian Film Awards One BIG Star Entertainment Awards Two Asianet Film Awards Two Swaralaya Yesudas Award One Vijay Awards One Vijay Music Awards Others 2003 - Sansui Award for Best Female Playback Singer – "Dola Re" (Devdas) 2003 - Stardust Award – New Musical Sensation (Female) – (Devdas) 2004 - Indian Telly Awards – Best Title Singer for a TV Show (Ye Meri Life Hai) 2005 - Anandalok Puraskar – Best Playback Singer – (Manik) 2005 - ETV Bangla Film Awards – Best Playback Singer (Female) 2006 - Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Female Playback Award – Shubho Drishti 2009 - Suvarna Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer – "Naa Naguva Modalene" (Manasaare) 2010 - BIG Bangla Music Award – BIG Bangla Singer of the Year (Female) 2010 - Gulf Malayalam Music Award for Best Female Playback Singer – "Anuragavilochananayi" (Neelathamara) 2010 - Star Anando Sera Bengali Award 2011 - Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Playback Singer (Female) - "Manju Mazha" (Aagathan) 2011 - Asiavision Award for Best Female Playback Singer - "Kannodu Kannoram" (Veeraputhran) 2012 - Asiavision Award for Best Female Playback Singer - "Cham Cham" (Mallu Singh) and "Nilave Nilave" (Chattakaari) The Times Film Awards The Bangalore Times Film Awards 2011 - Best Singer Female - "Sanju Mattu Geetha" - (Sanju Weds Geetha) The Kochi Times Film Awards 2011 - Best Singer Female - "Paattil Ee Paattil" (Pranayam) The Hyderabad Times Film Awards 2011 - Best Singer Female - "Chali Chaliga" (Mr. Perfect) |
| Shruti Pathak | Hindi, Urdu | 2004–present | Nominated for Filmfare Awards and Star Screen Awards |
| Shubha Mudgal | Hindi, Tamil | 1996–present | |
| Shweta Mohan | Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada | 1999–present | Kerala State Award, Filmfare Award, Asianet Film Award, Vanitha Film Award, Film Critics Award, Sunfeast Isai Aruvi Award |
| Shweta Pandit | Hindi | 1999–present | |
| Sonu Kakkar | Hindi, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, | 2002–present | MTV IMMIES Award for her song Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo |
| Sowmya Raoh | Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 1993–present | |
| Srilekha Parthasarathy | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam | 2002–present | |
| Sudha Malhotra | Hindi | 1954–1982 | |
| Sujatha | Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada | 1977–present | Three Tamil Nadu State Awards, three Kerala State Awards, Swaralaya Yesudas Award (2009), Film Critics Award 11 times, two Asianet Film Awards, Dinakaran Award, Cinema Express Award, Vanitha Award, Mathrubhoomi Award, Raju Pilakkad Film Award, Best female singer award in Gulf Malayalam Music Awards (2008) |
| Sulakshana Pandit | Hindi | 1967–1998 | Filmfare Award |
| Suman Kalyanpur | Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi, Urdu | 1954–1981 | |
| Sushma Shrestha | Hindi, Nepali, Marathi | 1971–present | |
| Sumangali | Telugu, Tamil | ||
| Sunita | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada | 1995–present | Six Andhra Pradesh State Awards, one Filmfare Award South |
| Sunitha Sarathy | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 2002–present | |
| Sunidhi Chauhan | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya | 2000–present | Two Filmfare Awards, one Filmfare R. D. Burman Award, one Zee Cine Award, two IIFA Awards, two Star Screen Awards, Bigstar Entertainment Singer of the Decade Award, Global Indian Music Award |
| Suraiya | Hindi, Urdu | about 1942–1965 | |
| Suvi Suresh | Tamil, Hindi, Kannada | ||
| Suzanne D'Mello | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 1994–present | |
| Swarnalatha | Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, Oriya, Nepali, Marathi | 1987–2010 | One National Award, two Tamil Nadu state Awards, six Filmfare Awards, one Andhra Pradesh Nandhi Award, Tamil Nadu Government Kalaimamani Award, Cinema Express Awards, Dinakaran Awards, Vijay TV Awards |
| Tanvi Shah | Tamil, Telugu, Hindi | 2004–present | Grammy Award winner for the soundtrack Jai Ho |
| Tulsi Kumar | Hindi | ||
| Uma Devi | Hindi | 1923–2003 | |
| Usha | Telugu | 1999–present | Three Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Awards |
| Usha Khanna | Hindi, Urdu, Oriya | 1960–present | |
| Usha Mangeshkar | Marathi, Hindi, Assamese, Gujrati, Bengali, Nepali, Oriya | 1954–present | Maharashtra State Award, Bengal Film Journalist Association Award |
| Usha Uthup | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Assamese, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya | 1966–present | Padma Shri, Rajiv Gandhi Purashkar Award, Mahila Shiromoni Purashkar Award, Channel V Award, The People's Support Award |
| Vaishali Samant | Marathi, Hindi | 2000–present | Rapa Award for Aika Dajiba, MTV Asia Music Awards (Singapore), Sangeetkar Ram Kadam Award (2005), Alpha Gaurav Puraskar, Kalabhushan Puraskar, Mata Sanmaan Puraskar (2007 and 2008), Zee Talkies Award (2009) |
| Vani Jairam | Hindi/Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Hariyanvi, Oriya, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada | 1971–1999 | Sursingar Samsad Tansen Award, three National Awards, one Filmfare Award (for Meeraa), Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa state awards, Tamil Nadu government Life Time Achievement Award and Kalaimamani Award |
| Vasundhara Das | Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada | 1994–present |
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