Shilpa Rao Wiki, Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Shilpa Rao is an Indian singer. She is known for working as a playback singer predominantly in the Hindi film industry. In 2021, she received a ‘Best Global Music Album’ nomination at the Grammy Awards. Some of her popular songs are ‘Khuda Jaane’ from the film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), ‘Ishq Shava’ from the film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ (2012), ‘Subhanallah’ from the film ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013), ‘Meherbaan’ from the film ‘Bang Bang!’ (2014), ‘Ghungroo’ from the film ‘War’ (2019), and many more.

Wiki/Biography

Shilpa Rao was born as Apeksha Rao ^[1]The Times of India on Wednesday, 11 April 1984 (age 39 years; as of 2023) in Jamshedpur, Bihar, India (now Jharkhand, India). Her zodiac sign is Aries. In childhood, her father began teaching and instructing her how to sing. She studied at Little Flower School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. Later, she studied at Loyola School in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, where she used to sing in the choir group in school. ^[2]Rediff

In 1997, she came from Jamshedpur to Mumbai, along with her family, for studying in college. At the age of 13, she met Hariharan, an Indian singer, and after meeting him, she developed an interest in singing and began her singing training under Ghulam Mustafa Khan, an Indian classical musician. In 2001, she started to perform at different events with Hariharan and later, she won a national-level talent hunt in New Delhi. In 2004, she completed a postgraduate diploma in applied statistics at St. Xavier’s College, the University of Mumbai in Mumbai. Shankar Mahadevan, an Indian musician, helped Shilpa get opportunities to sing jingles for TV commercials. Later, she sang jingles for advertisements of brands including Cadbury’s Munch, Sunsilk, Anchor Gel, No Marks, and more.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 2″

Weight (approx.): 55 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

She belongs to a South Indian family in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. ^[3]YouTube – Bollywood Hungama

Parents & Siblings

Her father, S. Venkat Rao, is a music teacher. Her mother’s name is Rajanala Shyamala.

She has a younger brother named Anurag Naidu, who is a jazz pianist and a music composer.

Husband

On 25 January 2021, Shilpa Rao got married to Ritesh Krishnan, a photographer, in an intimate registered wedding at her home. In an interview, she talked about her wedding ceremony and said,

Our parents are senior citizens and therefore we chose to do a simple registered wedding at home. We kept it simple, decorated the house with flowers and my brother’s wife did my mehendi. We formally registered the wedding at around 5 pm, and all my friends and family members from across the world joined in on a video call to see the ceremony.” ^[4]The Times of India

A wedding day image of Shilpa Rao and Ritesh Krishnan

Relationships/Affairs

In 2018, Shilpa Rao met Ritesh Krishnan for the first time. In an interview, while talking about how she met Ritesh for the first time, she said,

We met three years ago on (music composer) Pritam’s USA tour. Ritesh seemed to be an affectionate person, and we started hanging out together. On the first day that I met him, I felt that he was a chilled-out guy, which was very attractive for me. We started travelling together in 2018, and did many shows across India.” ^[5]The Times of India

In an interview, on being asked about how Ritesh Krishnan proposed to her for marriage, she replied,

In October 2019, we were at a monastery at the top of the mountains in Ladakh. Ritesh said, ‘Let’s get married’ and I said, ‘Yeah.’ That was really a beautiful place to have this conversation. So, it wasn’t slipping a ring on my finger kind of a proposal or going down on one knee, but it was just being one with the world.” ^[6]The Times of India

Shilpa Rao with Ritesh Krishnan

Career

Film

In 2007, she debuted with the song ‘Tose Naina’ from the Hindi film ‘Anwar.’

In the same year, she sang the song ‘Woh Ajnabi’ from the Bollywood film ‘The Train.’ She lent her voice to the song ‘Aaja Nach Le’ from the 2007 Hollywood film ‘High School Musical 2.’ In 2008, she sang the song ‘Khuda Jaane’ from the film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno,’ which turned out to be a breakthrough song for her. In 2012, she lent her voice to the song ‘English Vinglish’ from the Bollywood film ‘English Vinglish.’ In 2013, she sang the song ‘Malang’ from the popular Bollywood film ‘Dhoom 3.’ She sang the song ‘Bulleya’ from the 2016 Bollywood romantic film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.’ In 2019, she lent her voice to the title track of the film ‘Kalank.’ In the same year, she sang the song ‘Ghungroo’ from the popular Bollywood action film ‘War.’ In 2022, she recorded the song ‘Besharam Rang’ from the Bollywood film ‘Pathaan.’

Television

In 2011, she let her voice to the song ‘Bekaboo’ from StarPlus’ TV show ‘Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal.’

Albums

In 2020, she sang the song ‘Those Words’ from the music album ‘Love Letters’ by composer and sitarist Anoushka Shankar. The album was nominated for the ‘Best Global Music Album’ nomination at the Grammy Awards 2021. Shilpa Rao received the Grammy certificate for the nomination in 2021. ^[7]The Times of India

Awards

• 2009: Won Best Female Playback Singer for the song ‘Khuda Jaane’ from the 2008 Bollywood film ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ at the International Indian Film Academy Awards

• 2011: Won Best Singer Award for the song ‘Bekaboo’ from StarPlus’ TV show ‘Navya..Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal’ at the Indian Television Academy Awards

• 2014: Won Best Music Debut for the song ‘Dum Dum’ from MTV’s ‘Coke Studio’ season 2 at Global Indian Music Academy Awards

• 2020: Won Best Female Playback Singer Award for the song ‘Ghungroo’ from the 2019 Bollywood film ‘War’ at the Filmfare Awards
  

  Shilpa Rao after winning the Filmfare Award in 2020

• 2021: Nominated for the album ‘Love Letters with Anoushka Shankar’ by Anoushka Shankar at the Grammy Awards

• 2024: Won Best Playback Singer (Female) award for the song ‘Besharam Rang’ from the film ‘Pathaan’ at the 69th Filmfare Awards, held at the GIFT City in Gujarat on 28 January
  

  Shilpa Rao after winning the 69th Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer (Female)

• 2024: Won Best Playback Singer (Female) award for the song ‘Besharam Rang’ at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards, held in Mumbai on 20 February
  

  Shilpa Rao after winning the 2024 Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award for Best Playback Singer (Female)

• 2024: Won Best Playback Singer – Female award for the song ‘Besharam Rang’ at the Zee Cine Awards held in Mumbai on 10 March
  

  Shilpa Rao after winning the 2024 Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer (Female)

Favourites

• Food: Gulab Jamun, Amritsari Kulcha, Chole Puri, Beera Chicken

• Drink(s): Lassi, black coffee

• Web series: Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

• Song(s): ‘Train Song’ by Raghu Dixit and Karsh Kale, ‘Ghar More Pardesiya’ by Vaishali Mhade and Shreya Ghoshal, ‘Zara Zara’ by Bombay Jayashree

• Musician(s): Amir Khan, Kishore Kumar, Eddie Vedder, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sting

• Travel Destination(s): Goa, Hampi, Bengaluru, Coorg

Facts/Trivia

• In an interview, Shilpa Rao revealed that the biggest critics in her life are her father, her mother, and her brother.

• According to Shilpa Rao, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, and her father are her source of inspiration.

• Reportedly, she is allergic to dust.

• She is quite sensitive to odours and avoids eating fruits that have a strong smell.

• Her singer crush is Sukhwinder Singh.

• She follows a non-vegetarian diet. ^[8]YouTube – SHOWSHA

• In an interview, she revealed that she and her husband, Ritesh, likes to celebrate the new year in Amritsar, Punjab. ^[9]YouTube – SHOWSHA

• She likes to take a stroll in nature, and she also likes to plant trees.

• In an interview, on being asked about how she practices singing in a daily routine, she replied,
  

  That is an ongoing process till you die. You cannot stop. You can practice by listening to music, keeping yourself updated with all the new kinds of music. There is a lot of experimentation with the vocals, sound design and music.” ^[10]Rediff

• In March 2010, she supported NDTV’s Greenathon, which was an initiative to increase electricity supplies in rural villages and promote eco-friendliness.

• In October 2011, she promoted the project in aid of breast cancer awareness by singing the song ‘Haseen Zindagi’ along with other singers including Teesha Nigam, Shruti Pathak, Shefali Alvares, and Akriti Kakkar, composed by Sonu Nigam. ^[11]The Times of India

• In March 2012, she performed live on ArtistAloud.com, a digital platform, to support independent music in India on the occasion of Seagram’s Fuel Music Day.

• In February 2013, she supported Coca-Cola and NDTV’s campaign, ‘Support My School,’ a 12-hour-long telethon, to raise funds to reactivate 272 rural schools in India.

• On 31 May 2013, she performed at an event along with Aakriti Kakkar, Shweta Pandit, Mamta Sharma and many more on the occasion of ‘World No Tobacco Day’ to raise awareness about the consumption of tobacco and raise funds for cancer patients.

• In October 2014, she performed at a musical concert in Delhi to raise funds for the people affected by the flood in Assam, India. ^[12]The Times of India

• In 2015, Shilpa Rao performed at the ‘100 Pipers Play for a Cause’ in Delhi to raise funds for the people who were affected by the Nepal earthquake.

• She loves to watch movies. In an interview, while talking about her hobby of watching movies, she said,
  

  I am a movie buff. I watch films from all over the world. Language is not an issue. I follow French, Polish films a lot. But it’s not like I am not into Bollywood and Hollywood. If the plot clicks my fancy, I can watch anything.” ^[13]Deccan Herald

• In 2016, she performed the song ‘Paar Channa De’ in the 9th season of ‘Coke Studio’ Pakistan.
  

  Shilpa Rao performing at the ‘Coke Studio Pakistan’ in 2016

• In an interview, on being asked about any music artist she would like to perform on stage with, she replied,
  

  I don’t know because I feel as much as I perform and I see other artists perform, it’s great for an artiste to do their thing on the stage. I’d rather sit in the audience and watch them perform, but yeah for collaborations, it is great. When you are collaborating on something, it’s great to be on stage together. That being said, I would love to collaborate with Sting and share the stage with him. I would also like to be on stage with Snarky Puppy, among others.” ^[14]Travel + Leisure

• In 2020, she appeared on the cover of Filmfare magazine.

Filmfare Cover, April ‘20 Issue. Thank you @filmfare and @jiteshpillaai for the honour 🙏🏼.#filmfare #award #govinda @ayushmannk @aliaa08 @RanveerOfficial @taapsee @bhumipednekar @SiddhantChturvD #annanyapandey pic.twitter.com/cJXyH4YNEb

— Shilpa Rao (@shilparao11) April 3, 2020

• In 2022, she was featured on the cover of LitGleam magazine.
  

  Shilpa Rao on the cover of LitGleam magazine