Suneeta Rao

Some Lesser Known Facts About Suneeta Rao

• Suneeta Rao is an Indian playback singer, pop singer, and stage actor. In the 1990s, she gained immense popularity with her pop songs.

• She did her training in Carnatic vocal music under the Indian singer PV Shankar. She is also trained in various dance forms such as Bharatanatyam and Jazz Ballet.

• While studying in school, she participated in various singing competitions.

  

• At the age of 16, she was spotted by the Indian actor Sanjeev Kohli while she was performing in a musical play at an event. In an interview, while remembering her meeting with Sanjeev, she said,
  

  I was on stage doing Grease and just 16 at that time. Sanjeev Kohli spotted me on stage and he approached me and said, ‘I’d like to do an Indipop album’. At first, I was not interested in Indipop, I was like, ‘No, I’m not going to sing in Hindi and I’m in English theatre and a performer, you know, the nose-up-in-the-air thing. (laughs). But a year and a half later, I wisened up. I said, to reach out to the masses, I’m going to have to sing in Hindi.”

• She started performing on stage while she was studying in college. Later, she started performing professionally in musical stage plays like ‘Evita,’ ‘They’re Playing Our Song,’ and ‘Greased Lightning.’

  

• In 1989, a few Hindi songs released under her music album ‘Senorita’ are ‘Chhoo Lein Aasman,’ ‘Kaun Jane,’ ‘Ye Sama,’ and ‘Mazaa.’

• She gained immense popularity with the Hindi song “Paree Hoon Main” from the album ‘Dhuan’ (1991). The song became so popular that people started calling her Paree of the Masses and Suneeta Paree Rao after her song.^[3]Rediff

  

• In 1995, Suneeta sang the title track “Ekk Pal Hai Zindagi” from the Hindi TV serial ‘Swabhimaan.’

• Suneeta has worked as aplayback singer in various Hindi films such as ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ (1993), ‘Ek Tha Raja’ (1996), ‘Laawaris’ (1999), ‘Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge’ (2000), and ‘Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye’ (2000).

• She has also sung sequences in a few Hindi songs like “Catch Me If You Can” from ‘Sapoot’ (1996), “Kuchh Hamare Pas Hain” from ‘Laawaris’ (1999), and “O Re Kanchi” from ‘Aśoka’ (2001).

• In 1999, her Hindi music album ‘Talaash’ was released, and some of the songs from the album are “Kesariyaa,” “Deewangi,” and “Sheeshe Me.”

  

• She has also sung a few Hindi singles like “Choti Choti Batein” (1997), “Mujhe Pyar Ho Gaya” (2001), and “Vaada Karo” (2018).

  

• Suneeta has sung sequences in a few Telugu songs like “Bang Bang” from ‘Bava Nachadu’ (2001) and “Adithadi Appatha” from ‘Samurai (2002).

• She has also worked as a model and voice-over artist. Some of the TV commercials in which Suneeta has worked as a voice-over artist are Wheel, Thums Up, and Rich Cafe.

• She has also performed live in various events organised at national and international levels.

  

• Suneeta has been involved in various philanthropic activities for a very long time. She has worked for ‘Laadli,’ a campaign started by an NGO named Population First to save the girl child. In June 2014, Suneeta raised funds for Laadli campaign through Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon.

• During her leisure time, she loves to read books and do painting.

• In 2017, she raised an objection for using her song ‘Paree Hoon Main’ in one of the TV commercials of Shah Rukh Khan without taking her consent. In an interview, she said that her song was portrayed wrongly in the TV ad. ^[4]Mid-Day She said,
  

  When a high-profile brand, a reputed agency and an intelligent superstar come together and create an ad, that can at best be described as prejudiced, narrow-minded, and insensitive, knowing fully well that there are a million impressionable minds out there who are believing blindly and lapping up what is being offered up on the screen, one wonders whether the ‘influencers’ really care about the influence they have, or whether it’s just a purely greedy business that generates money without a thought for the social implications of their actions.”

  Later, some media sources claimed that her song ‘Paree Hoon Main’ was about child abuse. When Suneeta was asked about it, she denied such claims. ^[5]Telangana Today