Daulat Rahman/Guwahati

Born in a traditional Muslim family Rani Hazarika of Assam where Music was not appreciated, Rani Hazarika started singing at the age of 3 years.When she was studying in the sixth standard she started to sing professionally. In two years, she had already become a popular singer in Assam.

Since then Rani has not looked back; she has sung songs in Bollywood movies, Bengali movies, movies in Assamese, and languages like Maithili, Oriya, Kanada, Malayalam, Telegu, and Kashmiri. 

Rani has received several national and international awards including the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for being a versatile singer in 2018.

In an interview with Awaz-The Voice, Rani Hazarika spoke about her interest in music, her works, her inspiration, her struggle, and her upcoming projects.

“I belong to a musical family and my father Late Rose Hazarika was also a singer. He worked in the Information Broadcasting Songs and Drama Division as an artist. So music is in my blood, and I have been associated with music ever since I first opened my eyes to this world. The music has always been there within me,” Rani Hazarika said.

Rani Hazarika in different moods

Rani Hazarika did her graduation in music from the prestigious Bhatkhande Sangit Vidyapith in Vocals in Lucknow Uttar Pradesh. She learned professional music under the guidance of the talented sangeet guru Santhosh Pandit and the Bollywood playback singer Jaspinder Narula.

When Rani arrived in Mumbai she was a stranger to the city. For three months she was just sitting, offering prayers and praying for getting a chance to show her talent.

She sent her CDs (compact discs) of songs to different music companies. One day she received a call from a musical company saying that she has a good voice and that they would like to meet her.

“The company offered me to do some shows which I honestly was not interested in. I had already done lots of shows in Assam and I did not come to Mumbai to do shows to earn money. I was in Mumbai with a good amount of my hard-earned money. I had gone to Mumbai to become a playback singer. I auditioned for the singing reality show “Indian Idol” and I got selected, and was in the Top 30. Then I got my first break for the movie Jab We Met in which I was to be the backing vocalist for the playback voice of Kareena Kapoor Khan and this is how I began my journey in Bollywood. After this movie I got a lot of offers from various industries including Tollywood,” Rani Hazarika said.

Even when Rani Hazarika started singing in movies, she still participated in reality shows and singing competitions. She was part of the music show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar, Voice of India Mumbai, Bollywood Club of ZOOM TV, Rock The Dhun, and many more shows. She was one of the finalists in Voice of India and a Meg Finalist in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in the year 2010.

Rani Hazarika in an album

Rani Hazarika has worked as a playback singer for the Bollywood movies Choo le Aasmaan, EK – The Power of One, Memsaab, Yeh Kaisa Karz Hai, Kranti – The Revolutionary, Shudra – The Rising. She has also performed as a playback singer in many regional movies from Assamese, Chhattisgarhi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Malayalam, Maithili, and other industries. She has lent her voice also in TV commercials and title tracks.

Asked how difficult it was for her to sing in several regional languages Rani Hazarika said “Of course, it is difficult. But I have found the Kashmiri language to be the most difficult one to sing. But being an artist, we must be comfortable with every language, it is what we do.”

Married to the renowned Kashmiri musician Jaan Nissar Lone, Rani Hazarika has sung Kashmiri hit songs like Salaam e Wazwane, which is a tribute to Wazwan cuisine. 

She said Wazwan is not just a cuisine but something synonymous with Kashmir and Kashmiri culture. It is something that is preserved and promoted in Kashmir. Her other songs are Maenzi Raath, Katyu Chukh Nundbaane, etc.

“I am now running a music channel to promote and encourage young Kashmiris to join the music industry. We are especially encouraging talented Kashmiri girls to start their careers in music. Many youths who initially worked with our channel are now doing extremely well in the Bollywood music industry,” Rani Hazarika said.

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Rani Hazarika is currently working as a music composer and music director in Bollywood. She has many more projects in the pipeline. She is also busy with music projects in Dubai. Despite her hectic work schedule and professional life, Rani has not forgotten her roots in Assam. Whenever gets a chance Rani tries to promote Assamese music and culture in different parts of India and abroad.