Aarti Mukherji (also known as Aarti Mukherjee or Arati Mukhopadhyay) is a Bengali playback singer who has also sung in Hindi films such as Geet Gata Chal (1975), Tapasya (1976), Manokamana and Masoom (1983).
Born into a musical family with a rich, cultural and musical heritage, she was initiated into music at a very early age by her mother. Subsequently, her melodious voice and abundant musical talent were honed under the tutelage of Shri Susheel Banerjee, Ustaad Mohammed Sagiruddin Khan, Pandit Chinmoy Lahiri, Pandit Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale and Pandit Ramesh Nadkarni, who helped her develop a wide repertoire of light as well as classical music. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Early life
Aarti Mukherji was born in West Bengal, India. She belongs to a Bengali speaking family. In a Bangla TV show called "Dadagiri" she recollected memories of her early days. She stated there that she once got an opportunity to sing in the "All India Music Talent Programme" in 1955, when she was merely a 14 or 15 years old teenage girl who had streams of dreams to go to Bombay and match the height of fame as Lataji. Arati Mukhopadhyay was trained in Indian Classical Music from a young age. She sang primarily for Bengali films. She won the music contest, "Metro-Murphy Contest", where the judges were music directors like Anil Biswas, Naushad, Vasant Desai and C. Ramchandra. This paved way for a career as a playback singer. she got her first break in 1958 Hindi film sahara starring Meena Kumari, but the music of that film was not so successful. After a string of flop films like girl friend(which starred Waheeda Rehman), she decided to examine herself to Bengali films. She played back for the first time in a Bengali film called "kanya" in 1962. Her outstanding versatility and nice-pitched voice infatuated people so much that they started losing attention to erstwhile leading singer Sandhya Mukherjee. Her voice and singing style was not only different from Sandhya, but also was better than her. In the late 1960s, her voice was used to be on-screen voice of leading actress Suchitra Sen, instead of Sandhya Mukherji. In 1966, she sang in the film "Golpo Holeo Sotyi", which earned her BFJA Award for Best Female Playback Singer. In 1976, she restored the award for the film "Chhutir Phande". She lent her voice for the leading actresses of the late sixties till eighties such as Madhabi Mukherji, Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen, Debashri Roy, Tanuja etc. She along with Asha Bhosle took leading spot in the 1970s, gradually replacing Sandhya. It is considered to be the cause behind the decline of a flamboyant career of sandhyaji. she sang two songs in the rakhee starrer film tapasya in 1976. The first song being 'bacche ho tum khel khilone' and a duet with kishore kumar entitled 'do panchi do tinke', which was popular. She is rumoured to have sung 15000 songs in Bengali as well as Hindi songs to her credit. She continued success in the seventies that inspired her to try her fate in Bollywood once again. It was R. D. Burman, who was the mentor of Bengali singers who would later give Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet and Andrew Kishore their first breaks in Bollywood. In 1983, He gave her to sing the melodious song "Do naina aur ek kahani" in the film Masoom as the voice of Shabana Azmi. The song was a chartbuster and even lilted today. It earned her Filmfare award for best female playback singer in 1983. Her popular repertoires include 'Radha banshi chara janena','Ek boishakhe dekha holo dujonar','Ei mon jochonay pa dubiye','ja ja behaya pakhi jana','na de de da, tu na tum','tokhon tomar ekush bochor bodhoy'. She also has a number of famous non-film songs to her credit. She lent her voice to a number of Hindi compositions as well.
Career
In the year 1957, while still in school, she bagged the first prize in the All-India Murphy Metro Music contest held in Mumbai having been adjudged the best singer by leading music directors of that time such as Anil Biswas, Naushad Ali, Vasant Desai, C. Ramchandra and Madan Mohan.
Arati commenced her musical journey in films with the Bengali film ‘Subarna Rekha’ and Hindi film ‘Angulimaal’ and has, since then, sung thousands of songs in Bengali, Oriya, Manipuri, Assamese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and other languages. She was first awarded the prestigious Bengal Film Journalists Association Award in 1965 for Best Female Singer and went on to receive it several times over the following years. Among other reputed awards and titles, she received the Miyan Tansen award of Sur Singar Samsad for her songs in the films ‘Geet Gata Chal’ and the Gujarat State Government Awards for three consecutive years for her Gujarati film songs. She has also received a Filmfare award for her song in the film ‘Masoom.’
Apart from films, Arati has bewitched audiences with numerous records, discs, albums and live performances on television and stage of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti. Her versatility as an artist can be seen in diverse genres of music like Thumri, Bhajan, Tappa, Tarana and Ghazal. She has performed widely and extensively in India and throughout the world in renowned places like Royal Albert Hall in 1977 and Madison Square Garden in 2004. She recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Orissa Government in 2015 and from Times of India Group in 2016.
Discography
Year Film Language Notes
1985 Lallu Ram Hindi
1985 Rusvai Hindi
1985 Ram Tere Kitne Nam Hindi
1984 Shatru Bengali
1983 Indira Bengali
1983 Rang Birangi Hindi
1983 Amar Geeti Bengali
1983 Aashar Akash Oriya
1983 Desire Oriya
1983 Masoom Hindi Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer
1982 Rajbabhu Bengali
1981 Surya Sakshi Bengali
1981 Tike Hasa Tike Luha Oriya
1981 Ulka Oriya
1980 Dadar Kirti Bengali
1980 Ek Baar Kaho Hindi
1976 Geet Gaata Chal Hindi
1980 Manokaamnaa Hindi
1980 Baata Abaata Oriya
1980 Megha Mukti Oriya
1979 Tarana Hindi
1979 Ganadevata Bengali
1979 Ashaati Beej Gujrati
1979 Nagin Aur Suhagan Hindi
1978 Saajan Bina Suhagan Hindi
1978 Ganga Ki Saugand Hindi
1977 Baba Taraknath Bengali
1977 Anand Ashram Bengali
1977 Janam Janam Na Saath Gujrati
1977 Solah Shukrawar Hindi
1976 Nidhiram Sardar Bengali
1976 Hangsaraj Bengali
1976 Harmonium Bengali
1976 Tapasya Hindi
1975 Chhutir Phande Bengali
1974 Bikele Bhorer Phul Bengali
1974 Alor Thikana Bengali
1973 Basanata Bilap Bengali
1973 Sriman Prithviraj Bengali
1972 Andha Atit Bengali
1972 Ajker Nayak Bengali
1972 Bhaiti Assamese
1972 Brojendrogi Luhongba Manipuri
1971 Dhanyee Meye Bengali
1971 Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli Hindi
1971 Aranya Assamese
1970 Manjari Opera Bengali
1970 Samantaral Bengali
1970 Bilambita Lay Bengali
1969 Khamoshi Hindi
1969 Teen Bhubaner Pare Bengali
1969 The Fiancee Bengali
1968 Gar Nasimpur Bengali
1967 Badhu Bharan Bengali
1966 Joradighir Chowdhury Paribar Bengali
1965 Abhaya O Srikanta Bengali
1965 Do Dil Hindi
1965 Subernarekha Bengali
1963 Deya Neya Bengali
1962 Kanna Bengali
1961 Boy Friend Hindi
1960 Angulimaal Hindi
1958 Sahara Hindi
Popular Songs:
"Do Panchhi Do Tinke"
"Kabhi Kuchch Pal Jeevan Ke"
"Do Naina, Ek Kahani"
"Bolo Na Bolo Na Soi"
"Prajapati Sethay Ghore"
"Kon Kule Aaj Bhirlo Tari"
"Swapna Niye"
"Sujyi Alo De"
"Anugatajane Keno Karo Eto"
"Tokhon Tomar Ekush Bosor"
"Ei Mom Jochonay Ongo Vijiye"
"Sara Mora Kajra Churaya Tu Ne" ( with Rafi -Do Dil - 1965)
Awards
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Do naina" in Shekhar Kapur's Masoom.
Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Female Playback Award- 1976 for the film "Chhutir Phande"
Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Female Playback Award- 1967 for the film "Golpo Holeo Satyi"
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