Vishal Dadlani

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Vishal Dadlani
Dadlani at the Indian Idol Junior, in 2015
Born	(1973-06-28) 28 June 1973 (age 51) Bombay (present–day Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Education	Hill Grange High School
Alma mater	Jai Hind College, MU HR College, HSNC University
Occupations	Music composer film score composer playback singer lyricist actor screenwriter TV judge (Indian Idol)
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Priyali ​ ​ (m. 1999; div. 2017)​ [1][2]

Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter, music composer and occasional actor. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, and frontman and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands Pentagram.

As a great singer, he has sung various hit songs for various genres notably Dhoom Again, Kurban Hua, Jee le Zara, Marjaiyann, I feel Good, Jab Mila Tu, Tu Meri, Swag Se Swagat, Bala, Har funn Maula, and Khuda Hafiz. As a vocalist of band Pentagram, notable works are Voice, Tomorrow's Decided, Must I, Love Drug Climbdown and more to go. As a music director, he has composed songs for films such as Om Shanti Om, Anjaana Anjaani, Dostana, I Hate Luv Storys, Bang Bang!, Sultan, Student of the Year, Befikre and War.

Dadlani has been in collaboration with many international artists like Imogen Heap, Diplo, The Vamps and Akon.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Dadlani was born and raised in a Sindhi Hindu family in Bandra, West Bombay.^[9] He went to Hill Grange High School in Pedder Road, Cumbala Hill, South Bombay and subsequently attended Jai Hind College, University of Mumbai for two years (1989–90), after which he went to H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, HSNC University, both in Churchgate, South Bombay. He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in commerce.

Dadlani's musical journey started in 1994 with the Mumbai-based electronica/indie-rock band Pentagram, which he fronted. Pentagram has gained recognition as one of the pioneers of Indian independent music.^[10][11]

While active with the band, he found fame as a Bollywood music composer, singer, and lyricist, with movies like Jhankaar Beats (2003), Bluffmaster! (2005), and Salaam Namaste (2005).

In 1999, Vishal–Shekhar, the Bollywood composing/producing and performing music duo, was formed.^[12] Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani have worked together on Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi films. Their notable works include Jhankaar Beats (2003), Dus (2005), Bluffmaster (2005), I See You (2006), Om Shanti Om (2007), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Dostana (2008), Anjaana Anjaani (2010), Ra.One (2011), Student of the Year (2012), Chennai Express (2013), Bang Bang! (2014), Happy New Year (2014), Sultan (2016), and Befikre (2016).^{[citation needed]} The duo has gained nationwide recognition, and today are credited with being amongst the architects of the modern Bollywood sound, having composed music for over 60 films, released over 300 songs, and performed over 1,000 shows worldwide. The two rose to prominence in 2003 when they wrote the score for the film Jhankaar Beats, which included the song "Tu Aashiqui Hai". They won the Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for their work on the film.^{[citation needed]}

In the aftermath of the Panama Paper leaks, the names of Dadlani and some of his family members surfaced due to investments they made through his company Sunny Blessing Holding Inc. in the British Virgin Islands. Some of these transactions are currently under investigation by the enforcement directorate.^[13]

In 2016, he received strong opposition for criticizing the Jain monk Muni Tarun Sagar in a tweet.^[14] He was accused of hurting religious sentiments and several First information reports were filed against him, though the monk is said to not have taken the issue seriously. Dadlani later wrote an open letter, saying that the tweets had been his biggest mistake.^[15] He was reprimanded and fined by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the tweet.^[16]

In 2024, Dadlani again faced criticism following his reaction to an incident at Chandigarh Airport, where actress Kangana Ranaut was assaulted by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable. Dadlani publicly praised the constable and offered her a job.^[17] Subsequently, singer Sona Mohapatra criticized Dadlani in response to a tweet that referred to him as a "rare gem of Bollywood" for his actions. Mohapatra questioned his integrity, citing his association with Anu Malik, who had been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in 2018.^[18]

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Dadlani got his first break as a playback singer for other music directors when Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy asked him to sing "Kiss Of Love" for the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007).^{[citation needed]} His first released track was "Dhoom Again" for Dhoom 2 (2006) by music director Pritam, as asked by Aditya Chopra.^{[citation needed]}

Partial list of films Dadlani has recorded vocals for:

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Pentagram

• We're Not Listening (1996)
• Up (2002)
• It's OK, It's All Good (2007)
• Bloodywood (2011)

• Om Shanti Om (2007) as a director
• Tees Maar Khan (2010) as a director in the song "Sheila Ki Jawani"
• Happy New Year (2014) as a Judge

The following is a list of awards and nominations received by Vishal Dadlani alone. A list of awards and nominations received by Vishal–Shekhar can be seen here.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vishal Dadlani.

• Vishal Dadlani at IMDb