Singing Divas of Bollywood: Setting the screen on fire

The new age Divas of Bollywood are not only more confident but also more competent than their counterparts of yesteryears and are proving their versatility every coming day.

One of the pleasant revelations of our times has been their musical side as they have started showing that they can sing as well as act their roles.

Leading the pack surprisingly is a not-so-young Madhuri Dixit Nene who recently turned 52. After vowing viewers as a judge of dance reality shows, Madhuri is all set to launch an English pop album by the end of the year. Confirming the news, Madhuri told journalists, “This is the first time I am exploring singing on a professional level. We will release the first single this year.”

The Dhak Dhak heroine who had taken a break after marriage is now on a come-back trail since returning to India and is re-inventing her multi-faceted personality to surprise us.

What is not much known is that like Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi was also blessed with a melodious voice who had shown her promise by her singing in Chandni starring her, Vinod Khanna and Rishi Kapoor in that haunting number O Meri Chandni.

If we ignore the heroine singers or singer heroines of the era of Suraiya and Noorjehan who set the trend, the heart-throbs of the current generation like Alia Bhatt, Shradha Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha and the international icon Priyanka Chopra have also shown their singing prowess. These gutsy girls are proving a sensation by revealing yet another facet of their talent for which recording studios must be desperately chasing them.

Topping the block-buster list is the young power-house of talent Alia Bhatt who has won accolades for her roles much beyond her age but when she sung Sooha Saaha in Highway she showed another side of her personality. The 24-year-old has also won over audiences with her songs Samjhawan Unplugged in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Ikk Kudi in Udta Punjab and Humsafar in Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

Next in the popularity chart should be Shraddha Kapoor who is so talented that her father Shakti Kapoor cannot thank God enough.

The exceptionally-talented Shraddha Kapoor debuted as singer with the romantic thriller Ek Villain where she sung Galliyan – Unplugged. She has also lent her voice in the song Do Jahaan in dHaider and Bezubaan Fir Se Unplugged in ABCD 2.

Parineeti Chopra made her singing debut with the song Maana Ke Hum Yaar Nahi in her movie Meri Pyaari Bindu, she proved she could spring some more surprises.

Her better-known sister Priyanka Chopra is one of those actresses who does everything on a grand scale and leaves a mark, be it Bollywood, Hollywood, marriage or as a singer. She is a thorough professional and as of now she has come out with not just one but three super-hit singles: In my city, Exotic, Can’t make you Love me.

As far as her Bollywood song is concerned, she sang for her biopic Mary Kom and the title song in Dil Dhadakne Do and knowing her this could just be the beginning of another zooming career.

Yet another contemporary of these youngsters, Sonakshi Sinha, daughter of Shatrughan and Poonam Sinha, sang on stage with none other than Mika during an award show. Later, she debuted as a professional with her movie Tevar.

The initiative of Madhuri could also give ideas to her contemporary Juhi Chawla, known for her infectious smile and super-chirpy voice, who had the guts to belch out a number with none other than the legendary Amitabh Bachchan in the movie Bhoothnath with her soulful rendering of the song Chalo jane do ab chhodo bhi.

Down South, a certain Shruti Haasan, daughter of super-star Kamal Hassan also happens to be a trained and professional singer but not much is known about her talent this side because she has mostly been singing for movies in the South.

But she has also debuted in Bollywood as a singer in the movie D-Day and given the propensity for taking risks like her father, no one will be surprised if Shruti becomes a challenger to her contemporaries from Bollywood in this new competition.