Did You Know Arijit Singh's First Film Song Was For Nagarjuna Akkineni?

In a decision that music fans are still finding hard to digest, Arijit Singh has announced his retirement from playback singing. Ever since Arijit burst onto the scene, with his notable romantic tracks in Murder 2 (Phir Mohabbat) and Aashiqui 2 (Tum Hi Ho), he has been delivering hits after hits. His decision to step away from playback singing comes at the peak of his career as one of the most popular and in-demand voices in Hindi cinema.

Arijit started his musical journey by participating in the singing reality show Fame Gurukul in 2005. Even though he did not win the show, he got noticed by musicians and composers. In later interviews, Arijit would reveal that he "moulded" his voice to gain the texture he is famous for today.  

Also read: Netizens Blame Salman Khan For Arijit Singh's Retirement, Know Why

Many believe that Arijit made his singing debut in films in Bollywood in Murder 2. However, that is not true. Before this, he sang vocals for Nagarjuna Akkineni the Tollywood film in Kedi (2010). Arijit and Neha Kakkar sang the popular romantic track Neeve Na Neeve Na, which was picturised on Nagarjuna and Mamata Mohandas. In the music album of the film, popular Hindi singers like Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Kakkar have also lent their vocals to different tracks.

Also read: How Arijit Rose From Fame Gurukul Singer To Voice Of Romance, Heartbreak

While Neeve Na Neeve Na was the first film song that Arijit recorded, his first break in mainstream singing business was in Shankar Ehsaan Loy's All For One for the High School Musical 2 (Vol1) album. Arijit sung All for One (Aaja Nachle) in the album which was released in 2007. Fans revisiting these song will notice how Arijit's voice was very different back then.

About "sculpting" his voice over the years with practice, the Raabta singer said in an old interview, “Meine toh apne voice ko toda hai, mera voice thodi aisa tha pehle. Mera voice alag he tha. Who voice ko wapas karne ke liye mujhe 2-3 mahina saab chor dena parega, but people hated that voice (I have broken my voice. It was not like this. To get my original voice back, I'll have to work on it for 2-3 months. But people hated that voice)."