Shilpa Rao

Profile Overview

Shilpa Rao (born Apeksha Rao; 11 April 1984) is an Indian playback singer known for her versatile and unconventional vocal style, deeply rooted in Hindustani classical music. She primarily records in the Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil languages. Raised in Jamshedpur, Rao completed her postgraduate studies in applied statistics in Mumbai before embarking on a professional career in music. After initial training under her father, S. Venkat Rao, and the renowned classical musician Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, she made her Bollywood debut in 2007 with the song "Tose Naina" (also known as "Javeda Zindagi") from the film Anwar, composed by Mithoon.
Rao rose to widespread prominence with the release of "Woh Ajnabee" from The Train (2007) and "Khuda Jaane" from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), the latter of which earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. The following year, she collaborated with Ilaiyaraaja for Paa (2009), where she performed the song "Mudi Mudi Ittefaq Se" which earned her a second Filmfare nomination in the same category. In 2012, Rao teamed up with A. R. Rahman for the song "Ishq Shava" for Yash Chopra's swan song Jab Tak Hai Jaan, followed by Pritam's "Malang" from Dhoom 3 (2013) and Vishal–Shekhar's "Meherbaan" from Bang Bang! (2014). Rao's collaborations with Amit Trivedi were also acclaimed with songs such as "Manmarziyaan" from Lootera (2013) receiving particular praise. She was the final Indian singer to perform in Coke Studio Pakistan with the song "Paar Chanaa De" (2016) and received praise for singing the song "Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo" from the deluxe edition of the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil soundtrack (2016)."Ghungroo" from War (2019; Hindi), "Besharam Rang" from Pathaan (2023; Hindi), "Kaavaalaa" from Jailer (2023; Tamil), "Chaleya" from Jawan (2023; Hindi) and "Chuttamalle" from Devara: Part 1 (2024; Telugu) were her most commercially successful songs.Rao is particularly known in the media for trying new styles in her songs and singing for different genres. Rao, who considers her father as her biggest inspiration in the music career, has supported charitable organisations for a number of causes.