Sowmya Raoh


Sowmya Raoh is an Indian playback singer who has performed in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages.

Early life and career

Sowmya was born in a Kannada speaking family to veteran singer B. K. Sumitra and Sudhakar in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Sowmya has a brother named Sunil Raoh, who is an actor in the Kannada film industry. Her mother is popular playback and devotional singer in Kannada. As a child, Sowmya would accompany her mother to the studios for recording. She then slowly graduated to become a child singer. Sowmya's father worked in Reserve Bank of India.
Sowmya started singing at the age of seven. She took a break from singing while she was in school as she thought that would affect her studies. After a period of five to six years, she gradually turned her attention towards singing by learning Carnatic music. However, she ended up becoming a voice actor before venturing into films. She claims that, "I wanted to train for singing for heroines, not children".

Musical career

Sowmya started her career as a singer in south Indian films in 1993, and got a break in Bollywood nine years later. Her major break happened when composer Sandeep Chowta was looking for a singer who could sing well in Hindi. He chose Sowmya for a song in the Telugu film Ninne Pelladata. The song gave her a much needed break. She went on to record the song in the Tamil and Hindi versions too.
Sowmya started her career in Bollywood in 2000. Her first assignment was for the song "Soul of Jungle", followed by a background track for the film Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya. Company was her first as a singer in Hindi. By this time she also sang for other Hindi films such as Dum and Bunty Aur Babli. In 2012, her item number 'Dreamum Wakeupum' for Sachin Kundalkar's Aiyyaa emerged a chartbuster and the song was also appreciated for its dance performance by Rani Mukerji and Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Having worked with composers such as Ilaiyaraaja and A. R. Rahman, she recorded over 200 songs in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, as of 2006.

Selected Discography

YearFilmLanguageSongCo-singers
1996Ninne PelladataTelugu"Greeku Veerudu"
1999Suriya PaarvaiTamil"Boom Blast It"
2001FriendsTamil"Rukku Rukku"Yuvan Shankar Raja, Vijay Yesudas
2001Pyaar Tune Kya KiyaHindi"Roundhe"
2002CompanyHindi"Ankhon Mein"
2002Bollywood HollywoodHindi
2002DhoolTamil"Ithunundu Muthatthile"Udit Narayan, Premgi Amaren
2003DumHindi"Dil Hi Dil Mein"Sonu Nigam
2003Raktha KanneeruKannada"Baa baaro rasika "
2003Hindi"Zindagi"
2003Ek Aur Ek GyaarahHindi"O Dushmana"Sonu Nigam
2005Bunty Aur BabliHindi"Nach Baliye"Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa
2005SuperTelugu"Gichhi Gichhi"Sandeep Chowta
2006Khosla Ka GhoslaHindi"Intezaar Aitbaar Tumse Pyar"Qadar Niazi Qawwal
2006Varalaru - History of GodfatherTamil"Kama Karaiyil"Naresh Iyer
2006Vettaiyaadu VilaiyaaduTamil"Nerupae"Franko, Solar Sai
2006Suntara gaaliKannada"Shame shame"
2006FamilyHindi"Qatra qatra"
2006FamilyHindi"Janam Janam"
2007GuruHindi"Shauk Hai"
2007Tara Rum PumHindi"◦Nach le ve"
2007WelcomeHindi"Welcome"Shaan, Wajid
2007BheemaTamil"Enadhuyire"Nikhil Mathew, Chinmayi, Sadhana Sargam
2007Pachaikili MuthucharamTamil"Un Sirippinil"Raphi
2008Krazzy 4Hindi"O re lakad "
2008BindaasKannada"Gubbachi goodinalli"Udit Narayan
2009RaamKannada"Nanna Tutiyalli"Udit Narayan
2009VamananTamil"Aedho Saigirai"Javed Ali
2009WantedHindi"Le le mazaa le"Hrishikesh Lamrekar, Nikita Nigam, Suzanne D'Mello
2009Junglee Kannada"Hale Patre"Kailash Kher
2009JoshTelugu"Awara Hawa"Sandeep Chowta
2011VishnuvardhanaKannada"Yede olage"
2012AiyyaaHindi"Dreamum wakeupumm"Amit Trivedi
2013BaadshahTelugu"Welcome Kanakam"Thaman
2013Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster ReturnsHindi"Idhar Gire"
2013Simple Agi Ondh Love StoryKannada"Karagida Baaninalli"

Accolades

Filmfare Awards