Alka Yagnik is one of Bollywood’s most iconic playback singers. She started singing at a very young age and made her way into the film industry in the 1980s. Her first major breakthrough was with the song ‘Ek Do Teen’ from the 1988 film ‘Tezaab,’ which became a massive hit. Over the years, she has sung numerous popular songs for films like ‘Baazigar,’ ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke,’ ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,’ ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham,’ and ‘Tamasha.’ Her voice became a defining element of Bollywood music during the 1990s and early 2000s, and naturally, she had a massive fan following around the world, and reports suggest that Osama Bin Laden was one of her biggest fans.
When the CIA raided Bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottabad in May 2011, they found many Bollywood hit songs on his computer. These included tracks sung by Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, and Alka Yagnik.
When Alka was told that Bin Laden had her songs in his collection, she was surprised. Speaking to Anu Ranjan in an interview, reacting to him being her ‘No. 1 fan,’ the singer said, “Is it my fault?” She then added, “Osama Bin Laden jo bhi hai jaisa bhi hai, uske andar ek chota sa kalakaar hoga kahin… pasand hai toh phir, accha hai na” (Whoever or however Osama Bin Laden was, he must have had an artistic side. If he liked my songs, that’s good.
The songs discovered in Bin Laden’s collection included hits like ‘Ajnabee Mujhko Itna Bata’ from the film ‘Pyar Toh Hona Hi Tha,’ the title track from ‘Dil Tera Aashiq,’ and Udit Narayan’s ‘Tu Chand Hai Poonam Ka’ from the 1994 film ‘Jaane Tamanna.’ These songs are part of the rich musical legacy that Alka Yagnik has contributed to Bollywood.
In the same interview, Alka spoke about losing several songs due to industry politics. She shared, “Politics exists in every line of work. A lot of songs were taken away from me. One of my contemporaries played very dirty politics with me. Like I’d rehearse a song only to know that a senior singer had eventually sung it.”
She added, “I’d say koi baat nahin. I didn’t bother who was doing what, saying what… I was a homebody and only too happy to return home after work. I sang from my heart. I was self-analytical, self-critical… Even if today a song of mine is playing on the radio, and I find something wrong with it, I ask the driver to switch the station.”
