Uttam Singh

Uttam Singh was born on May 25, 1948, in Punjab and moved to Mumbai at age 12. Raised in a musically inclined family, with his father a sitar player who sang kirtans, Uttam began learning tabla and Western violin early. His first significant break came as a violinist on a documentary in 1963, and he went on to play for legendary composers like Naushad, Madan Mohan, Roshan, S.D. Burman, and became R.D. Burman’s chief violinist. In the late 1980s, Uttam Singh teamed up with Jagdish Khanna to form the arranging duo "Uttam‑Jagdish," arranging music for over 65 films across languages including Malayalam, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi and Hindi. Their notable contributions include arranging the soundtrack for Rajshri Productions’ mega‑hits Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Koun…. After Jagdish’s passing in 1992, Uttam struck out on his own as a music director. He debuted as a solo composer in Yash Chopra’s Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), which earned him a Filmfare Award and cemented his reputation in Bollywood. He followed it with acclaimed scores for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Dushman, Farz, Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai and Baghban. His emotionally resonant work for the partition drama Pinjar (2003), particularly in collaboration with the Wadali Brothers, is widely regarded as his finest and brought him critical acclaim and award nominations. Beyond films, Uttam issued his first private album Om Sai Ram in 1996 and later composed for his daughter Preeti Singh’s album Soor in 2002. In 2016, he was honoured with the prestigious Lata Mangeshkar Lifetime Achievement Award by the Maharashtra government. Throughout his long career, he shared a warm professional bond with Lata Mangeshkar, serving as her driver and cook during recording sessions and cherishing her support like that of a family member.