The 90s and early 2000s was a great time to grow up in India. Everything new came and struck us like a fresh wave. There were just too many Popstars with one-hit wonders and catchy tunes, who bewitched us with their unique music sense. There was Made In India, and the foot-tapping Sukhbir songs. It is next to impossible to not feel nostalgic while listening to those songs again. But have you ever wondered what really happened to all those gems we used to record in our music cassettes?
They got all the limelight and disappeared like a fad, but they all have been up to something. Here is what they have been doing:
1. Alisha Chinai
The singer is now 50. She sings once in a while and in an interview to The Tribune , she said that she is ‘companion-less’ and misses love in life! She also sang for Krrish 3.
2. Anamika Grover
She is the voice behind ‘ kahin karta hoga vo mera intezaar ‘ and now she performs at live-events, like Navratri festival celebrations and at various restaurants.
3. Aryans
Remember ‘ Aankhon mein tera hi chehra ‘ which had a young Shahid Kapoor in it? The band has sung for several Bollywood movies and has been a part of over 850 concerts all over the world.
4. Bali Brahmbhatt
Known for hits like ‘ Amma dekh tera munda bigda jaye ‘, the singer has been touring all over the world. He also performed at Trafalgar Square in 2013.
5. Baba Sehgal
We all have witnessed the rocking ‘going to the gym’ song from him. He is such a mass- entertainer that his songs can’t seem to be enough, so he tweets, and when he does, it is very entertaining.
6. Bally Sagoo
He became the first Indian artist to be play-listed on BBC Radio 1. He gave us remixes of songs like ‘ Chura Liya ‘ . In 2012, he launched his own studio in Mumbai, and his album Future Shock was launched in 2013. His company is engaged in projects which include feature film production, TV shows, live performances, and technology developments.
7. VIVA
Coke V Popstars band VIVA had five members. Seema Ramchandani left the group to join The Art Of Living Foundation. Mahua Kamat is happily married to a musician. Anushka Manchanda and Neha Bhasin tried their luck in Bollywood music industry, whereas Pratichee Mohapatra tried her hand at modelling and live shows. Anushka Manchanda will also be seen in Angry Indian Goddesses which looks very promising.
8. Sukhbir
Sukhbir Singh is also referred as the Prince Of Bhangra. His superhit song ‘ Ishq Tera Tadpaave ‘ is still considered to be one of the best Punjabi songs. When not touring, he works on his originals. His recent album was Tere Naal Nachna. He was also in news recently when he disappeared from the Lahore Airport, where he was detained.
9. Shweta Shetty
The husky voice behind albums like ‘ Johnny Joker ‘ and ‘ Deewane To Deewane Hain ‘ now lives in Hamburg , Germany with her husband. She says that in Germany, she is really free, unlike in Mumbai where she is watched every second. However, the singer still considers India to be her home.
10. Anaida
Anaida was one of the first popstars of India, who sings in 11 languages. Her famous songs include ‘ Oova Oova’ and ‘ Hoo Halla Hoo’ and they were a huge hit in the 90s. She is currently working on a number of charity projects, her new music material, TV shows as well as consulting for a number of entertainment companies. She is also a consultant with an online gaming and animation company.
11. Falguni Pathak
She is one of the most famous performing artists from the 90s. In August 2013, it was reported that she allegedly makes ₹2 crores just during the year’s Navratri festivities.
12. Suneeta Rao
She is the person behind the groovy number ‘ Paree hoon main ‘. Her last album was in 2008 called Waqt . Being a woman popstar in the era where women were still ‘expected to be in plaits’, she now wants to change things. She is the spokesperson of an initiative called “Laadli” which has a mission of saving the Girl Child and population control.
13. A Band Of Boys
Remember A Band Of Boys which gave us songs like ‘ meri neend udd gayi hai ‘? They were lost until in 2013, they came up with the Ungli Song for a campaign around voting. Karan Oberoi even starred in a few TV shows.
14. Colonial Cousins
Colonial Cousins was formed by Hariharan and Lesle Lewis. Their last album was in 2012 called Once More. The band is officially still present.
15. Aslam and Shibani
The duo sang ‘ Ho gayi hai mohobbat ‘. They won the Channel V award for the same. Shibani from the team sings at festivals and concerts, and in 2014, she also announced her association with Bhartiya Janta Party on Twitter.
16. JoJo
Singer Jojo was known for his peppy numbers like ‘ Woh Kaun Thi’ . Even though he has been away from active singing, but has been singing for movies like Bhaagam Bhag, Kya love story hai and Khanna and Iyyer.
17. Kamal Khan
His debut production song, ” O O jaane jaana ” was an undisputed hit which brought him to the limelight. He was also seen in Jo Bole So Nihaal as Romeo. He is friends with Salman Khan and was with him during the night of his car accident.
18. Devang Patel
The very famous comic singer Devang Patel was known for his wacky numbers and was long gone, until early this year, when he was in news again for bringing his new parody solo.
19. Biddu
He gave us memorable beats and he collaborated with artists like Alisha Chinai and Shweta Shetty. He lives in Spain where he has a publishing house called SueBiddu Music. He also returned on doing live shows.
20. Bombay Vikings
‘ Woh Chali Woh Chali ‘ and ‘Kya soorat hai ‘ fame star Neeraj Sridhar was never out of the music scene, even though his band Bombay Vikings faded. The music star now performs at various music fests and college fests. He also sang for Bollywood movies like Krrish 3 and Bobby Jasoos.
We have opened up a box of nostalgia.
