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Raghav Chaitanya: The Playback Singer's Journey

Raghav Chaitanya won a Filmfare Award for his very first playback song. Born on 23 October 1994 in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, the singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer went from releasing independent singles to becoming one of Bollywood's most sought-after new playback voices — and the youngest artist to win the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer.

Early Life

Raghav was born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He earned his graduate degree from Amity University, Noida, and then moved to Mumbai in 2015 to pursue his musical career. He is a singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist who works across genres and vocal registers, with a variable vocal range that lets him move between soft ballads and bigger film numbers.

Independent Beginnings

Raghav began his career with the non-film single "Oh Teri!" in 2019, followed by independent songs like "Aise Kyun", "Baatein", "Parwaah", and "Lamhe". His original compositions have crossed millions of streams on audio streaming platforms. He also lent his voice to hit web series including Panchayat and Mismatched, with music by Anurag Saikia.

The Filmfare Win

Raghav's breakthrough came with his first playback song, "Ek Tukda Dhoop" from the film Thappad (2020), composed by Anurag Saikia. At the 66th Filmfare Awards, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song, becoming the youngest artist to win the award. Winning the industry's top playback honour on his very first film song is almost unheard of — and it announced him as a major new voice.

The Hits That Followed

In 2022, Raghav gained further recognition with the song "Dil" from Ek Villain Returns. He also sang "Tujhse Pyaar Karta Hoon" from Freddy, composed by Pritam with lyrics by Irshad Kamil. In 2023, he sang "Hua Main" from Animal, along with dubbed versions in other languages. In 2024, he sang the chartbuster "Tum Se" from Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. In 2025, "Dil Ka Kya" from Metro... In Dino earned him further critical acclaim.

Why He Matters

Raghav's path — independent singles, web series, then film playback — is the modern route into Bollywood. He built an audience on his own songs first, and the film industry came to him. For independent artists, that is the lesson: the songs come first, and the rest follows.

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