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Antara Nandy (Assamese: অন্তৰা নন্দী) is an Indian playback singer from Assam. She became known after reaching the final rounds and becoming one of the top three girl finalists in the music talent and reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs-2009 which was aired on Zee TV.
Early life and career
Antara Nandy completed her schooling from Delhi Public School, Ruby Park, Kolkata. As a junior scholar she started her vocal training in Indian classical music under Padmashree Ustaad Rashid Khan at the age of 5 years. Later she joined ITC Sangeet Research Academy where she started taking vocal lessons from Ustaad Waseem Ahmed Khan. In 2013 Antara joined KM Music Conservatory, founded by A. R. Rahman and started her western classical music training. She is the winner of Ullas and other inter school music competitions at various levels.
Nandy is the winner of the “Best Music – Music Video” category in the “Delhi Shorts International Film Festival-15” for her first own composition & music “YA DEVI”. She was nominated for 'Ramdhenu Viewers Choice Awards' in the Best Female Singer category in 2013. She is the recipient of the 'Star Wars Award 2012' conferred by Dream Catchers, Singapore, and Young Achiever Award in 2014 bestowed on by Integrated Council for Socio-Economic Progress, Kolkata. She is also a Scholar at Centre for Cultural Resources and Training - Govt of India (CCRT). She is the youngest Bengali vocalist to perform at the prestigious Durbar Hall, Kolkata.
Antara gave her first major public performance at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata at the age of 9 and released her debut album Ei Jibon Nohoi Xuna Bondhu(this is not life my friend)(an Assamese album) in 2010. She collaborated with renowned singers like Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Pulak Banerjee, Debojit Saha, Luna Bharali Das and Debajit Choudhury in the album. Her second album 'Eso Matoh Lakkhi Devi' (a Bengali devotional album) with Bollywood playback singer Raghav Chatterjeeraced up the charts to reach the TOP 4 position within 3 weeks of its release in Kolkata. She had sung in many other collaborative albums. She had also been performing all over the country including some prestigious events like Alive-India in Concert. many college shows and shows in social events
In 2009, Antara was selected for the 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs 2009', a music reality and talent show conducted by the Zee TV, which proved to be the stepping stone of her life.
In 2013, Antara sang two songs 'Police Babu' and 'Najanu' for Hengul Theatre. Najanu won the Ramdhenu Viewers Choice award in 2013. In the same year, she rendered her voice in the Assamese album "Xarodi Puwa" featuring a critically acclaimed semi classical composition of Dr. Bikram Borkotoki under the banner Times Music, Mumbai. She had also recorded a number of theme and title songs for various Bangla TV seriels which were aired on Star Ananda, ETV Bangla and other channels.
Apart from albums and TV serials, Antara has also sung for films in a few regional languages. She had sung the opening item song for the Assamese film KHEL - the Game
In 2012 Antara collaborated with Assamese musician Jim Ankan Deka on a campaign against violence towards women based on the Delhi gang rape incident. The duo along with Assamese singer Queen Hazarika and playback singer Ritwika Bhattacharya released a music video Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence, where Antara raised her voice against child sexual abuse. The song was produced by Bangalore-based Eastern Fare Music Foundation and the video was directed by Parmita Borah. The video won several awards in various music and film festivals.
In 2015, Antara released her debut Assamese music video 'Aakaxok Subo Khojo', a song composed by Jim Ankan Deka. It was the second of ChaiTunes music video series.
In October 2015, Antara released her video "YA DEVI Celebrating Womanhood", a song which is Sung and composed by Antara. This song went on to win the best music award in the music video category in the 4th. Delhi Shorts International Film Festival'15. and also won in the Music category in the Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival - Jury Mention 2015. Her new single "DOHAI" is released in December 2015 which is a fusion of a Bangladesi folk with Hindustani Classical Tarana's
Antara has performed in various live shows both in India as well as internationally.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Song name(s) | Co-singer(s) | Music Director(s) | Reference(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | KHEL - the Game | Nixati Joto Ronge | Solo | Jayanta Pathak |
Discography
| Album Name | Language | Year | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ei Jibon Nohoi Xuna Bondhu | Assamese | 2010 | |
| Eso Matoh Lakkhi Devi | Bengali | 2011 | |
| Tumi Aaahibaa Buli | Assamese | 2013 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Capacity | Work | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Zee Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (Lil Champs) | Best Singer | Singer | Reality TV Show | Template:Top 3 girls |
| 2013 | Music Star Wars (Singapore) | Best Singer | Singer | Rock (English) | Won |
| 2015 | Delhi International Shorts Film Festival- 2015 | Best Music | Composer with Soorya | Fusion | Won |
| 2015 | Mumbai International Shorts Film Festival-2015 | Best Music - Jury | Singer | Fusion | Won |
Singles
- Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence (2012)
- Police Babu (2013)
- Najanu (2013)
- Aakaxok Subo Khojo (2015)
- Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Cover) (2015)
Music Videos
- Aawaz - speak up against sexual violence (2012)
- Najanu (2013)
- Aakaxok Subo Khojo (2015)
- Ennodu Nee Irundhaal (Cover) (2015)
- Ya Devi - Celebrating Womanhood
- DOHAI - A Fusion