Bollywood playback singer, Monali Thakur crooned the most beautiful song, Sawaar Loon, from Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha's film, Lootera. The singer was performing at a music concert in West Bengal when she felt breathless and was immediately rushed to a hospital. Monali, known for her power-packed voice, was at the Dinhata Festival, Cooch Behar, in West Bengal when she struggled for breath.
The singer, in distress, told the audience that she was unwell to keep the concert going. Even a clip from the event went viral, where Monali halted the programme and told the crowd that she was sorry that she was feeling terrible. Well, amid all this here's what you need to know about Monali.
Monali is an Indian award-winning playback singer who is best known for her songs Sawaar Loon (Lottera), Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Dum Laga Ke Haisha) to name a few. For Moh Moh Ke Dhaage song, she also won a National Film Award under the category of Best Female Playback Singer. Monali has sung songs in multiple languages, including Hindi, Bengali, and many more. She is recognised for her versatile singing skills.
Monali was also the judge on Zee TV's famous singing reality programme, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, back in 2014 and was also one of the jury members of Color's show, Rising Star, for two years.
The singer has been in the industry for 17 years. Monali, once in an interview with The Week, remembered how 2008 was her first release; it was the same year she was in Mumbai. She felt old and recollected how it has been very challenging, exciting, rewarding and surprising as well. At times when she thought nothing was going to happen, (things) happened. Monali shared there were many revelations, many beautiful moments as well as many disappointing moments. In her words:
"These shaped me into the person that I am. It gave me the scope to travel the world and educate myself and hopefully make myself mentally more aware. I still look forward to many many more years. The thing that excites me is that I still haven't reached the peak of my career, so I am waiting for that. Maybe, the next 12 years will decide that. Let us see."
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She comes from a musical family in Kolkata and was born to Shakti and Mehuli Thakur. Monali's dad was a famous Bengali singer; she learnt music when she was a kid. Her big break came in 2005 when she took part in Indian Idol Season 2. She did not win the singing reality show but became a lead Bollywood playback singer. In the interview with the same publication, Monali shared that before coming to Mumbai, it was extremely tough because her family was in debt and she was bankrupt. She was suddenly forced to figure out a source of income as she was an undergraduate who had come to Mumbai. She recollected running away with Arijit Singh and said:
"I got my first song in the first year when we didn't have money to live. I ran away from Mumbai with my mother and Arijit (Singh) was also there. We ran away, literally in a train with another of Arijit's friend. Those were actual struggling days, at least for me."
Monali ran as she didn't have money to pay the rent. They had to basically go back to Kolkata. There was no money, so she could not eat or live on the street. Monali had to sell off her Kolkata home due to lack of money. However, her first song, Zara Zara Touch Me, became a hit, and it was a big launch for her. In her personal life, Monali is married to Maik Richter, who is a restauranteur from Switzerland.
Monali got married to Maik in 2017. The singer, who keeps her personal life private, shared earlier in an interview with HT the reason why they never announced their wedding. She said no wedding had taken place. They married in front of their close family and friends. The pair started dating in 2016 and he proposed to her under the same Christmas tree where they had first met. She said:
"It was all very lovely, and so very cold. So I had to say yes to him, because it was so cold and I was shivering."
What do you think of Monali Thakur's journey and struggles as a singer in Bollywood?
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