A Filmfare-winning playback voice moving from Bollywood ballads to Tamil and Telugu chart-toppers with classical roots.
MOODS · soulful · classical-tinged · versatile · romantic · high-energy · introspective · cross-cultural · cinematic
BIOGRAPHY
Shilpa Rao, born Apeksha Rao in 1984 and raised in Jamshedpur, trained in Hindustani classical music under her father S. Venkat Rao and later under Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Before her film career she spent years singing jingles, building studio experience that preceded her 2007 Bollywood debut with "Tose Naina."
She broke through with "Khuda Jaane" from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), earning a Filmfare nomination, and later won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for "Ghungroo" (War, 2019). Her catalog spans Hindi, Telugu and Tamil hits including "Besharam Rang," "Kaavaalaa," "Chaleya" and "Chuttamalle," alongside a 2020 feature on Anoushka Shankar's Grammy-nominated album Love Letter.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
Shilpa Rao's career reflects a rare range: classically trained yet comfortable across genres, she has moved fluidly between soulful ballads and high-energy dance numbers without losing her distinct tone. Critics have noted her willingness to break from her own "closed" vocal signature into fuller, more expressive delivery. Her status as the last Indian singer to appear on Coke Studio Pakistan, paired with a Grammy-nominated collaboration with Anoushka Shankar, underscores a career built on crossing borders, both stylistic and geographic, while remaining anchored in Hindustani classical training.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
