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.
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.
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]
Awards
Chinai received the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for the song "Kajra Re", from Bunty Aur Babli (2005).[7]
Previously, she received the International Billboard Award in 1995, around the time Made in India came out,[8] and also won the Freddie Mercury Award for Artistic Excellence.
Following are the list of awards and nominations in different categories.
Chinai is a Gujarati.[9] She was married to her manager Rajesh Jhaveri and is now separated.[10] Chinai has been in a relationship with Furkat Azamov, a native of Tajikistan, since 2020.[11]
^Asha Kasbekar Pop Culture India!: Media, Arts, and Lifestyle 2006 1851096361 page 34 "Alisha Chinai (1972– ) is the pioneer and undisputed Queen of Indipop—that's the verdict of the music industry. Her first major hit album was Jadoo (Magic). Further platinum albums included Aah... Alisha!, Babydoll, Madonna and Kamasutra, but it was her most successful and popular album Made in India, released in 1995, that established Indipop as a discrete genre and Chinai its prime proponent."
^India Today International - Volume 2, Issues 27-34 - Page 56 2003 Indipop Rock 'n' Rule 1 QO r It has been in arrival mode ever since Alisha -L-/0 J Chinai's Jaadu hit platinum. Ten years on, her Made in India sparked the music video boom. India believed it had found a Madonna clone, while in Daler Mehndi's energetic warbling, they thought folk – or a reasonable simulacrum – had achieved record-busting status. But film music remains indomitable, accounting for 65-75 per cent of sales
