B-Town veteran singers going down south

Thanks to an influx of newer talent in Bollywood, some of its veteran singers have now migrated to South cinema

There was an era, not so long ago, when a handful of singers unabashedly ruled the roost in the Hindi film industry. With the emergence of newer talent in the music department, the competition has increased manifolds. Incidentally taking it in their stride, some of the senior playback singers have now moved on to South cinema.

Sonu Nigam
Popular for his silky voice, Sonu is also known for his choosiness. Over the years, his Bollywood numbers have gradually reduced. However, he has sung over 700 Kannada songs so far.

Shuttling between Mumbai and Bangalore, the 39-year-old is reportedly also the highest paid playback singer in Karnataka today. He recently ventured into Malayalam films too.

Last Bollywood outing: Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013)

Udit Narayan
The three-time National Award-winning crooner has always believed in juggling Hindi films with regional cinema. But in the past few years, his commitment to latter has clearly overtaken his numbers in the former category.



So far, he has sung for more than 70 south Indian films -- with more than half of them being in Tamil. 2013 also marked his entry into Oriya films.

Last Bollywood outing: Gippi (2013)

Adnan Sami
In the recent past, Adnan has lost more than just weight. Personal turmoil played a part in his professional decline. Nevertheless, he shifted attention to South cinema and has been quite active in Telugu films.


Interestingly, he recently sung in Punjabi -- his mother tongue -- long after dabbling in Southern regional languages like Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

Last Bollywood outing: My Name is Khan (2010) Kunal Ganjawala
This Mumbai-based crooner entered the scene with the energetic Humdum Suniyo Re in Saathiya (2002) followed by Bheege Honth in Murder (2004). He had a similar debut in Kannada cinema with Neene Neene in Akash (2005).


As of now, Kunal seems more occupied with South cinema with the increasing number of offers he receives, especially from Kannada films.

Last Bollywood outing: Listen. . . Amaya (2013)

Javed Ali
Javed Ali had several songs to his credit in 2012 but this year around, only the recently-released Tum Tak figures on his Bollywood list.


Remembered for soulful numbers like Jashn-e-Bahaaran and Kun Faya Kun, this particular singer has been very active in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films.

Last Bollywood outing: Raanjhanaa (2013)

The balancing act
Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Goshal have chosen to be active in Hindi films as well as in their regional counterparts.


Both the songstresses have sung in varied film industries and in different languages with considerable success.