Sona Mohapatra launched her singing career by performing jingles for TV commercials, then transformed herself into an award-nominated playback singer and Indian pop star during the mid-2010s. Born in India on June 17, 1976, she made her Bollywood debut on the soundtrack of 2006's Family, then released her first solo album, Sona, in 2007. The record mixed rock and R&B influences with multi-cultural genres like Hindustani classical music, Romani music, and flamenco. Sona Mohapatra followed its release by releasing a well-received cover of the INXS song "Afterglow," then continued recording songs for the Bollywood film industry throughout the following decade. She hit a new peak with "Ambarsariya," her contribution to the 2013 film Fukrey. A showcase for her expressive voice, the song earned her a nomination for "Best Female Playback Singer" at the BIG Star Entertainment Awards in 2013, as well as the Screen Awards and Star Guild Awards in 2014. An in-demand duet partner, she collaborated with Indian singer Arijit Singh on 2015's "Chori Chori," then teamed up with Yash Divecha for 2016's "Qatle-E-Aam." Although she continued evolving her musical style with songs like 2020's "Re Bawree (Jahan Lost in Love)," "Ambarsariya" proved to be her most enduring hit, with the song even returning to India's Top 200: Inde chart in 2021, nearly a decade after its initial release.
