Daler Mehndi Biography

Daler Mehndi – A Hindi and Punjabi Singer and Songwriter

Popularly known as Daler Mehndi, Daler Singh is not only a professional Hindi and Punjabi singer but has also penned lyrics of many songs. He hails from a family of musicians. In fact, another popular Indian singer, Mika Singh, is his brother. Patiala Gharana style of music has had a lot of influence on Daler Mehndi. Credit also goes to Daler for making Punjabi dance Bhangra popular all over the world. Moreover, he did his best to popularise Indian pop music in other countries. His energetic songs, flashy clothes and matching turbans mesmerise the audience. Daler’s distinctive voice and foot tapping numbers compel people to immediately hit the dance floor to ‘dance to his tune’.

Early life

Daler Mehndi was born in Patna on August 18, 1967. It seems he was a born singer. He started singing at the age of six, ever since his parents gave him the first lesson of ragas and shabads from the holy Guru Granth Saheb. Gradually he polished his singing skills, and his first stage show was held at Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, when he was just 13. Incidentally, at this programme, a crowd of 20,000 people gathered to listen to him.

This motivated young Daler to perform better and accumulate more accolades in this field. When he turned 14, Daler spent three years to improve his singing and learn to play some musical instruments under the guidance of Late Ustaad Rahat Ali Khan Saheb at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Later, Daler went to the US and took to driving a taxi there to earn a living. But driven by his musical zeal, he returned to India in 1991 and formed a musical band. Inspired by the poetry of noted poet Firaq Gorakhpuri, he started singing ghazals. In 1995, he moved from classical and semi-classical to pop music. Soon, his album ‘Bolo Ta Ra Ra’ turned a mega hit with 20 million copies sold. It is undeniable that this album really changed the fortunes of Daler Mehndi.

In 2013, Daler joined the Congress party. At present, he is attached with the BJP, which he joined in 2019.

Awards

There has been no dearth of awards for this talented singer. It seems awards have been chasing Daler Mehndi. He got the award of Voice of Asia International Ethnic and Pop Music Contest in 1994. Apart from this, in 1996 he was awarded for his song ‘Dar Di Rab Rab’. One of his other famous hit songs was ‘Ho Jayegi Balle Balle’ which was released in 1997. Daler also worked in some films like Mrityudata and Arjun Pundit. His ‘Mohe Tu Rang De Basanti’ from ‘Rang De Basanti’ is an all-time favourite patriotic song.

Controversies

Daler Mehndi was once mired in controversy when he was accused of bringing illegal immigrants to Canada by getting them to pose as musicians. He was absconding for a month but later surrendered before the police in Patiala. Subsequently, he was declared innocent.