Playback singer is a professional singer whose voice is used in a motion picture in place of that of the actor or actress. The singing is prerecorded. Actors “lip sync” the songs on the screen—that is, they move their lips in time with the previously recorded song. Playback singers are often used in musicals produced in South Asia, particularly in Bollywood movies. Bollywood is the name for India’s motion-picture industry. Most Bollywood movies are musicals, featuring singing and dancing.
Playback singing was first used in India in the 1930’s. Dhoop Chhaon (1935), directed by Nitin Bose, was the first film to feature playback singing. In 1936, the Indian film pioneer V. Shantaram helped popularize the technique in his film Amar Jyoti.
In India and Pakistan, popular playback singers often enjoy the same status as popular actors or actresses. The Indian singers Lata Mangeshkar and her younger sister Asha Bhosle became the two most recorded playback singers in history. Other notable Indian playback singers have included Kavita Krishnamurthy, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh, Anuradha Paudwal, Mohammed Rafi, and Alka Yagnik. Notable Pakistani playback singers have included Mehdi Hassan, Noor Jehan, Runa Laila, Mala, Masood Rana, and Ahmed Rushdi.
India’s Filmfare Awards introduced a category for best playback singer (male or female) in 1958. Filmfare Awards recognize artistic and technical excellence in filmmaking in the Hindi language. In 1968, the category was divided to present separate awards to best male and best female playback singers.