Kumar Sanu (b. October 20th 1957) is one of the most popular and prolific singers in Bollywood history. With approximately 21,000 songs sung in 28 languages for 1000+ movies under his belt, Sanu (nicknamed Tiger) has time and again proved that his skills are unmatched. Sanu broke the Guinness World Record for the largest number of songs recoded in a single day with 28. Sanu also holds the record for the most consecutive FilmFare awards for Best Playback Singer with five. Despite his father being a classical vocalist and composer, Sanu never received training as a singer. Sanu began performing at the age of 15 on stage and eventually began his journey in Bombay by singing in bars and restaurants in 1986. He made a living by recording Kishore Kumar covers (Called ‘Kishore Ki Yaaden’ - 35 volumes) for a newbie label, Super Cassettes (known today as T-Series). Sanu was discovered by Jagjit Singh who gave him a chance to sing in ‘Andhiyan’. Jagjit Singh took Sanu to meet Kalyanji-Anandji (who gave him the name Kumar Sanu) where Sanu sang for ‘Jadoogar’ starring Amitabh Bachchan. In 1989, Kumar Sanu recorded an original album for Gulshan Kumar called ‘Chaahat’. Director Mahesh Bhatt decided to make a movie around the songs aka ‘Aashiqui’ which put Sanu at the top of the playback world. His awards include the prestigious Padma Shri award (the fourth highest civilian award of India). In 2001, then- Dayton, Ohio, mayor Michael R. Turner declared March 31st as Kumar Sanu Day.
