10 Indian Female Pop Stars We Miss

Remember the music video days of the 90s? It was a time when Bollywood songs had not taken over the world of

television and non-filmi songs ruled the roost! A few names that ring a bell instantly are Alisha, Anaida, Sharon Prabhakar and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. At a time when male singers were also popular in the same arena, we think their female counterparts equally succeeded in making us get groovy. That’s why we went nostalgic while compiling this list of the 10 best female pop stars of the 90s. Take a look!

Alisha Chinai:

We remember her best for ‘Baby Doll’, but it was her 1995 hit single ‘Made in India’ which made her a household name! The music video featuring Milind Soman became an instant hit and the highest selling pop album of its time. A decade later, Alisha shifted to playback singing delivering some of the biggest hits such as 'Kaatein Nahin' (Mr India), 'Kajra re' (Bunty Aur Babli), 'Chot Dil Pe Lagi' (Ishq Vishq), 'Aaj ki Raat' (Don) among others.

Raageshwari:

You got to remember her for the perky song 'Duniya' and its music video which was shot in the Maldives. Raageshwari shot to fame instantly for not just the track, but also for the video which was considered fresh and innovative in its time. Her songs 'Oye Shava' and 'Pyar ke Rang' also became popular tracks and her albums went on to break records.

Sharon Prabhakar

She was a pop diva in the 80s and 90s till she moved to playback singing in Bollywood like most of her contemporaries. With a number of albums to her credit which were popular music videos too, Sharon Prabhakar became a big name in the Indipop industry with albums like 'Yeh Mera Dil', 'Shabaash Sharon', 'Shararat', 'Burning' and 'Dilruba'.

Anaida

She can sing in 11 languages and she is one of the pioneers in the Indipop music scene! Her songs such as 'Oova ova', 'Hoo Halla Hoo' and 'Kaachi Kali' to name a few were probably some of the hottest selling items on the music charts. A trained and excellent dancer, her music videos were offbeat and full of spunk for that time!

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi

Unlike her Bollywood career, her stint in the Indipop industry had its highs with albums like 'Dole Dole', 'Dum Tara', 'Aha' and 'Zindagi'. 'Dum Tara' became a chartbuster and the music video was a rage among the young generation. Other songs like 'Jab Se Dekha' and 'Zindagi' featured her ex-husband Shekhar Kapoor in the videos and are remembered for their melodious tunes.

Suneeta Rao

As a school girl, we totally loved the song 'Paree Hoon Mein' by Suneeta Rao! And if you remember the music video, you will exactly know why. This versatile pop singer gave us some of the best songs in the early 90s with hits like 'Dehka Dehka' and 'Kesariya' which went on to become extremely popular music videos in those times.

Sagarika

Sister of Bollywood playback singer Shaan, Sagarika’s stint in the Indipop scene was for a short period of time. Before going solo with 'Maa', Sagarika performed duets with her brother and also released quite a few albums such as 'Q Funk', 'Naujawan' and 'Roop Tera Mastana' which was a remix of music maestro RD Burman’s composition. However, we remember Sagarika for the song 'Aisa Hota Hain' which saw the brother-sister duo sing about their differences as siblings!

Vasundhara Das

The actress, who is remembered for films like Hey Raam and Monsoon Wedding, is a popular singer too. Her song 'Meri Jaan' which featured actor Shiney Ahuja was one of the top-selling albums in those times. Vasundhara Das is also popular for the number 'Shakalaka Baby' from a Tamil film.

Shweta Shetty

Shweta Shetty started her career by singing jingles for commercials. In 1993, her album 'Johnny Joker' became a success and she started getting recognition in the Indipop scene. The tracks 'Deewane to Deewane Hain' and 'Main Dekhne ki Cheez Hoon' became chartbusters and made Shweta Shetty a pop diva in her time.

Mehnaz

We cannot forget this cute singer for her hit single 'Banoongi Main Miss India' in the mid-90s! If you remember the music video, it showed a bubbly girl played by Mehnaz herself, performing chores in the backstage of the Miss India contest. We didn't hear of her until recently when we discovered her as one of the band members of the international rock band Manooghi Hi.

Have we missed out on your favourite female pop singer from the 90s? Leave us a comment and let us know.