Suresh Wadkar

Suresh Wadkar is a veteran Indian playback singer who has worked in Hindi, Marathi, Odia, Bhojpuri, and Konkani films. Born in Kolhapur on August 7, 1955, he studied Indian classical music during his adolescence and initially worked as a music teacher in Mumbai. His career took a turn in 1976, when he won the Best Male Singer Award at the Sur-Singar competition and earned the attention of influential film composers like Jaidev. Two years later, Jaidev hired Suresh Wadkar to sing "Seene Mein Jalan" in the 1978 Bollywood film Gaman. Suresh Wadkar's career blossomed from there, with more than 20 films featuring his vocals throughout the 1980s. Highlights from that decade include "Chal Chameli Bagh Mein" (his duet with Lata from 1981's Krodhi), "Main Hoon Prem Rogi" (from 1982's box office smash Prem Rog), and "Tum Se Milke" (from 1989's National Film Award-winning Parinda). Suresh Wadkar remained active by singing in more than 30 films during the 1990s, followed by contributions to twenty-first century productions like 2002's Indra, 2006's Vivah, and 2011's 7 Khoon Maaf. He also won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for "Hey Bhaskara Kshitijavari Ya," which appeared in the 2011 historical drama Mee Sindhutai Sapkal, and released a string of devotional songs during the decade's latter half, including "Maha Mritunjaya Mantra" and "Shree Navnath Mantra."