Sowmya Raoh is an Indian playback singer who has performed in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages.
Early life and career
Sowmya was born in a Kannada speaking family to veteran singer B. K. Sumitra and Sudhakar in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Sowmya has a brother named Sunil Raoh, who is an actor in the Kannada film industry. Her mother is popular playback and devotional singer in Kannada. As a child, Sowmya would accompany her mother to the studios for recording. She then slowly graduated to become a child singer. Sowmya's father worked in Reserve Bank of India.
Sowmya started singing at the age of seven. She took a break from singing while she was in school as she thought that would affect her studies. After a period of five to six years, she gradually turned her attention towards singing by learning Carnatic music. However, she ended up becoming a voice actor before venturing into films. She claims that, "I wanted to train for singing for heroines, not children".
Musical career
Sowmya started her career as a singer in south Indian films in 1993, and got a break in Bollywood nine years later. Her major break happened when composer Sandeep Chowta was looking for a singer who could sing well in Hindi. He chose Sowmya for a song ("Greekuveerudu") in the Telugu film Ninne Pelladata. The song gave her a much needed break. She went on to record the song in the Tamil and Hindi versions too.
Sowmya started her career in Bollywood in 2000. Her first assignment was for the song "Soul of Jungle", followed by a background track for the film Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Company was her first as a singer in Hindi. By this time she also sang for other Hindi films such as Dum and Bunty Aur Babli. In 2012, her item number 'Dreamum Wakeupum' for Sachin Kundalkar's Aiyyaa emerged a chartbuster and the song was also appreciated for its dance performance by Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Having worked with composers such as Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman, she recorded over 200 songs in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, as of 2006.
Selected discography
Year Film Language Song Co-singers 1996 Ninne PelladataTelugu"Greeku Veerudu" 1998 Kaadhal Kavithai Tamil "Aalana Naal Mudhala" 1999 Suriya Paarvai Tamil "Boom Blast It" 2000Kushi Tamil “Macerina Macerina”Devan Ekambaram 2001FriendsTamil"Rukku Rukku"Yuvan Shankar Raja, Vijay Yesudas 2001Pyaar Tune Kya KiyaHindi"Roundhe" 2002CompanyHindi"Ankhon Mein" 2002Bollywood HollywoodHindi 2002DhoolTamil"Ithunundu Muthatthile"Udit Narayan, Premgi Amaren 2003DumHindi"Dil Hi Dil Mein"Sonu Nigam 2003Raktha KanneeruKannada"Baa baaro rasika " 2003 Samay: When Time Strikes Hindi "Zindagi" 2004DhoomHindi"Dilbara"Abhijeet Bhattacharya 2003Ek Aur Ek GyaarahHindi"O Dushmana"Sonu Nigam 2005Bunty Aur BabliHindi"Nach Baliye"Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa 2005SuperTelugu"Gichhi Gichhi"Sandeep Chowta 2006Khosla Ka GhoslaHindi"Intezaar Aitbaar Tumse Pyar"Qadar Niazi Qawwal 2006Varalaru - History of GodfatherTamil"Kama Karaiyil"Naresh Iyer 2006Vettaiyaadu VilaiyaaduTamil"Nerupae"Franko, Solar Sai 2006Suntara gaaliKannada"Shame shame" 2006FamilyHindi"Qatra qatra" 2006FamilyHindi"Janam Janam" 2007GuruHindi"Shauk Hai" 2007Tara Rum PumHindi"◦Nach le ve" 2007WelcomeHindi"Welcome"Shaan, Wajid 2007BheemaTamil"Enadhuyire"Nikhil Mathew, Chinmayi, Sadhana Sargam 2007Pachaikili MuthucharamTamil"Un Sirippinil"Raphi 2008Krazzy 4Hindi"O re lakad " 2008BindaasKannada"Gubbachi goodinalli"Udit Narayan 2009RaamKannada"Nanna Tutiyalli"Udit Narayan 2009VamananTamil"Aedho Saigirai"Javed Ali 2009WantedHindi"Le le mazaa le"Hrishikesh Lamrekar, Nikita Nigam, Suzanne D'Mello 2009Do Knot DisturbHindi"Beautiful Woman"Neeraj Shridhar 2009JungleeKannada"Hale Patre"Kailash Kher 2009JoshTelugu"Awara Hawa"Sandeep Chowta 2011VishnuvardhanaKannada"Yede olage" Tippu 2012AiyyaaHindi"Dreamum wakeupumm"Amit Trivedi 2013BaadshahTelugu"Welcome Kanakam"Thaman 2013Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster ReturnsHindi"Idhar Gire" 2013Simple Agi Ondh Love StoryKannada"Karagida Baaninalli"
Accolades Filmfare Awards 2013 – Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Kannada for "Karagida Baaninalli" from Simple Agi Ondh Love Story
Stardust Awards Stardust Award for Best New Singer for " Laila Laila" from Samay: When Time Strikes (2003).
References