Kalpana’s Biography
Singer Kalpana…..classy, sophisticated and attractive… she is the Queen of Bhojpuri Music World and truly rules the hearts.This Assamese girl is the darling of the North Indian belt and has been christened the uncrowned BHOJPURI QUEEN.
As Kalpana says,I don’t want my folk music to be trapped in our villages. Yes it’s safe there in its original form, but of no use unless we make the world hear our very soulful and meditative music.
So to make it global I am trying to blend the music of my homeland with world music and other genres.This passion for traditional music, the burning sense of rhythm and grooves made singer Kalpana worked in an album together with world class India’s virtuoso percussionist and bandleader Trilok Gurtu, one of the most dynamic and prolific musicians on a new project MASSICAL released from BIRD JAM label Germany and collaborated with international unique musicians like Carlo Cantini, Jan Garbarek, Phil Drummy, Roland Cabezas, Stefano Dall’Ora. She was on a world tour with Trilok Gurtu to promote the album.
She recently made another demonstration of her musical genius with the brilliance of her performance at Blue Frog Studios in Mumbai with music maestro Trilok Gurtu.
A graduate in English literature from Cotton College, Assam and Visharad in Indian Classical Music (vocal) under Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapeeth, Lucknow in 1996, her goal was set on furthering a career in music.
Born and raised in ASSAM Kalpana first developed an interest in music when she was a child and learned to sing with her father, who had dabbled in folk music in his younger days; in her early teens, she picked up a harmonium and her dad taught her the notes selection. Kalpana began performing as a child, singing with her father. The group sang at local stages and community gathering. As a teenager, Kalpana sang with a local rock & roll band. She earned a scholarship to the Lucknow University, where she studied vocals and music engineering. After a while, she started professional singing. Upon graduating from college, she travelled around the North East, looking at various local music scenes.
In 2001, with endless aspirations and immense confidence, Kalpana moved towards Mumbai the dream city of India.This talented Assamese damsel made her debut with a remix album named “My Heart is Beating” with Times Music and by–and–by she didn’t look back.
A disciple of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Kalpana was fortunate to con classical music from him in order to shape her career. In spite of her mother tongue being Assamese, Kalpana easily adapted different languages. She has already sung in around 9000 songs for 22 languages.
Later her first solo Bhojpuri album “Gawanwa Lija Raja Ji” from T-Series established her as an International Bhojpuri star singer by breaking all former records of T-Series. Kalpana was becoming a popular figure in the Bhojpuri music scene and in early 2002, T-Series Music Label seemed poised to sign a contract with Kalpana.This hit led to a record contract with T series.
She has given the most hit Bhojpuri numbers in Northern India. In a very short span of time she has playbacked in maximum Bhojpuri films. She was entitled with “Bhojpuri Samragee” and “Swar Kokila” for popularity by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar government.
Kalpana’s songs have been downloaded incessantly, while her large fan base speaks volumes about her popularity.
She had many opportunities to sing for Hindi films and has already play blacked in more than 100 Hindi feature film. A few of them are Akshay Kumar’s -KHATTA MEETHA,WELCOME, DE DANA DAN, Shah rukh Khan’s-BILLU BARBER, Ram Gopal Verma’s -RATHA CHARITHRA, Monty Sharma’s -CHAMKU &MIRCHH.
This powerhouse vocalist set the stage on fire when she hit some orotund notes on the sets of NDTV Imagine’s Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka. Kalpana had been taking Assamese and Bhojpuri folk songs to various corners of India for more than a decade and Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka was simply the perfect platform for her to attain nationwide recognition.She is deeply rooted in Nirgun, Purvi, Kajree,Pachra(devi geet), Bihu folk forms.
After Mahua Channels SUR SANGRAM-1,Kalpana proved once again to become one of the most popular female singer breaking through into the big time Bhojpuri Music World.
In 2009, after a lengthy hiatus Kalpana build her own dream home studio MUSIC BOX STUDIOS in Mumbai.