Playback singer

A playback singer is a singer whose work is recorded in advance as part of the soundtrack to a Bollywood or other similar type of film. The art of playback singing involves one or more singers performing a piece of work, which will be played over the top of the film. The actors and actresses on the screen lip sync to the song, so it looks like they are singing it, when in reality they're not.

Sometimes this is done because it is cheaper for the film producers to have the whole soundtrack ready to go over the film, than it is to record it piece by piece during the production. Other times it may be done because the actor or actress playing the part in the film, cannot sing.

Playback singers in the Indian film industries are very popular and are treated like celebrities, even though they're never seen in the films they have sung for. Some singers are household names across South Asia, such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Mahendra Kapoor, Ahmed Rushdi and Mohammed Rafi.

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