Shweta Pandit (born 7 July 1986) is an Indian singer and actress who primarily works in Hindi cinema. She has also recorded popular songs for films in Telugu and Tamil and many other Indian languages.

Early life

She is the younger daughter of Vishwaraj Pandit and Swarna Pandit. She is the grand-niece of Indian classical vocalist and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Pandit Jasraj, father of Durga Jasraj.

Music career

At the young age of 4, Shweta worked with Indian composer Ilayaraja for the award-winning Tamil film Anjali, which was re-recorded in Hindi. She re-dubbed for the lead child in the film and also sang the songs in Hindi, making her one of the youngest singers in the Bollywood Music Industry. She also recorded for legendary tabla player Ustad Zakkir Hussain at the age of 9 for his first film as composer, Saaz. She had her breakthrough with Yash Raj Films and Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000) with five songs at the age of 14. She was chosen to sing in the film after she auditioned for the final selection amongst several singers. Her notable hits include "Ishq Khudai" from Rudraksh (2003), "Halla Re" from Neal 'n' Nikki (2005), "Chorre ki baatein" from Fight Club (2006), "You're my love" from Partner (2007), "Tera Sarapa" from Welcome (2007), "Bandhane Lagi" from Naach (2005), "Jhini Jhini" from Sarkar Raj (2008), "Raghupati Raghav" from Satyagraha (2011), "Chadha de Rang" from Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), Thug le" from Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011), "Madhubala" from Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011), "Tere Hoke Rahenge" from Raja Natwarlal (2014), and "Heera" from Highway (2014). Her debut record album Main Zindagi Hoon (2002) released when she was only 16 years old with EMI Virgin Records, India, making her the youngest Indian Pop star. She released 3 videos from this album, featuring herself. Her other pop albums include Aplam Chaplam (2005) featuring Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Strumm Sound Digital released 2 unwind remix videos featuring her, titled "Pyar mein kabhi kabhi" and the Sufi classic "Allah hoo" (2017). Indian TV channel Tata Sky released 2 Indian ghazal videos featuring her in their maiden venture featuring "Main aur meri Awaargi" and "Sukoon-e-dil" (2015). In 2011, Shweta collaborated with popular Punjabi singer and actor Harbhajan Mann for the song Sun Mere Chann Mahiya for the album Heer Ranjha (OST). In 2012, Shweta was introduced in the Tamil playback singing industry with a hat trick of releases for composer Yuvan Shankar Raja. Vettai, Billa II and Aadhi Baghavan fetching her the finest reviews for her renditions and also winning awards for the same.

Television

Her first reality television show as a playback singer in 2008, Mission Ustaad on Channel 9x, was produced by the United Nations and judged by A. R. Rahman and Javed Akhtar. The show was one of the biggest television series presented by the United Nations and had accomplished singers from Bollywood performing together for various causes for the United Nations. Shweta hosted and presented the television singing show Asia's Singing Superstar (2016) with Pakistani actor Ahsan Khan telecasted in Dubai, Pakistan and several Asian countries, judged by Shankar Mahadevan and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan on ZEE TV and GEO TV.

Personal life

In the summer of 2015, Pandit got engaged by the river Seine in Paris and a year later in July 2016, she married Ivano Fucci, an Italian film producer, in a traditional Indian wedding held in Jodhpur. Their wedding video went viral on social media as the best cultural mix wedding seen in recent times. Actors Jackie Shroff & Shruti Hassan were at the wedding. The couple later had a Tuscan wedding in October 2016. Pandit delivered their first child, a baby girl named Izana, on 8 February 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Florence, Italy.

Discography

Hindi

Telugu

Tamil

Punjabi

Bengali

Dubbing

Spiritual and Sanskrit devotional albums

Awards and nominations

Shweta won her first Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Telugu for Kotha Bangaru Lokam (2009), for the song Nenani Neevani, by Mickey J Meyer. She also won the Radio Mirchi Best Female Playback Singer for her first Tamil hit solo Idhayam, from Billa 2 (2012) and the MAA Award for Telugu Best Female Playback Singer for the Nagarjuna starrer Shirdi Sai (2013) for the song Amararaama, composed by M. M. Keeravani.

Controversy

As per the reports, music composer Anu Malik harassed Shweta when she was 15 years old. Pandit called Malik "paedophile and sexual predator" in a long note shared on the social networking service X in October 2018.