Anvesha Dutta

Biography:  Anwesha Datta Gupta is a 16 year old singing prodigy who made her presence felt in the Indian music scene through the reality show Amul STAR Voice of India, Chhote Ustaad.Anwesha is also known for starring in Gajendra Singh's Music ka maha muqqabla, where she is in Amul Shaan Striker's team. Anwesha was runner up in the finals, where the outcome was solely decided on the number of votes polled. She was the favorite of judges throughout the contest and had the sole distinction of bagging a 'Sarvottam' for all her performances. Anwesha is known for her soulful rendition of a classical based song from the movie Bhool Bhulaiyaa - Mere Dholna. She has also made her debut in commercial playback singing in a Hindi movie Golmaal Returns. The music of this movie was released recently and Anwesha has sung the song Tha Karke, which is said to be the costliest song shot in Bollywood. Biography Anwesha is a student of LYCEE School Kolkata,India. She is the only child of Mita and Kushal Dattagupta. Anwesha's ambition is to become a playback singer in the music industry and she idolises her parents. Her favourite singer is Lata Mangeshkar and Amitabh Bachchan is her favorite actor. Anwesha does 4 hours of 'Riyaz'(practice) everyday. She also likes reading detective stories and enjoys cricket & football. Musical Background At the age of 4, Anwesha started her training under Shri Jayanta Sarkar,a leading personality in Indian classical music and a composer . Anwesha still continues her training in Hindustani Classical music under him. She is guided by her mother in light music. Anwesha achieved 1st Division with Distinction in Hindustani Vocal and Rabindra Sangeet under Bangiya Sangeet Parishad Examination(2002–03 & 2003-04). She also became one of the few recipients of the Jugal Srimal Talent Scholarship in Rabindra Sangeet, given by Tagore Foundation. Anwesha was the Winner of "Young Talent Contest - 2004" in Indian Popular Vocal category (Junior) organized by the Calcutta school of Music. She has also won the All Bengal(Inter School) Music Competition 2006 organized by Smile World, an NGO. She was also the runner up at Amul Star Voice of India Chhote Ustaad. Early Public Appearances Anwesha performed in Sabujer Deshe in 2000 (ETV Bangla). She was a Mega Finalist in Tarana music competition (1st Schedule) which was telecast in January 2003 (ETV Bangla). In early 2007, she also participated in the musical game show Antakshari(Star Plus) where she represented East Zone. Amul STAR Voice of India Chhote Ustaad In 2007-08, Anwesha participated in the juniors version of the popular musical reality show Amul STAR Voice of India named Chhote Ustaad. Aishwarya Majmudar was winner and Anwesha became runner up in competition. A total of 12 finalists were shortlisted from over 600 entrants after rigorous rounds of auditions across the country. Anwesha was selected as a finalist through the Kolkatta auditions for Chhote Ustaad. On the 13th October, 2007, as a contestant of the upcoming Chhote Ustaad show, Anwesha was invited to sing Mann Kyon Behka in the seniors version of the show, Amul Star Voice of India. She also appeared in the Grand Finale of this show, and shared the stage with other Chhote Ustaad contestants in their tribute to the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. In the Chhote Ustaad show, eminent musical personalities like Pritam, Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal were chosen to be the judges. Anwesha established herself as a judges favourite from her very first performance, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam for which she received a standing ovation from all the judges. After hearing this rendition, the celebrity guest Shaan compared her voice to Shreya Ghoshal. In one of the subsequent episodes, Pritam also mentioned that her voice was very similar to that of Shreya. Alka Yagnik said she sees a very very big singing star in her in the future. Other singers Ghulam Ali, Shaan, Adnan Sami, Abhijeet and also music directors anand raj anand, aadesh srivatsav loved her voice.Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya felt that she was beyond the scale of this competition and that if he were Anwesha's father he would protect her from this.Actresses Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty , Rani Mukherjee were overwhelmed and even expressed disbelief that anyone could sing so beautifully. However Anwesha's stint in Chhote Ustaad also had its share of controversies. During the course of the show, the organisers publicised that there was an ongoing dispute between Anwesha and Aishwarya, the eventual winner of the show. Also Anwesha, Aishwarya and a few other Chhote Ustaad contestants were involved in a protest against the entry of a new challenger by wearing black wrist bands. But Aishwarya later revealed that both rumours were false in a recent interview. She confirmed that Anwesha had always been her best friend and the protest was scripted by the show organisers. Grand Finale Chhote Ustaad became the first show of its kind to have an all female Grand Finale, between Aishwarya and Anwesha. Having captured unprecedented audience attention for months, the grand finale of Chhote Ustaad on the 5th April, 2008 at Goregaon Sports Club, Mumbai was touted as the clash of the little titans. The two girls - frayed nerves and last-minute diversions notwithstanding - were a picture of poise and professionalism, taking to the stage and belting out one hit number after another, as the audience kept cheering for more. The guest list on the Grand Finale included the legendary Amitabh Bachchan and Juhi Chawla for the promotion of their new release Bhoothnath. The two A's made it extremely difficult for the audience and the judges to decide who was better. If Anwesha looked the quintessential diva singing Raat baki, then Aishwarya lent a new charm to the age-old Geeta Dutt classic Tadbeer se. Anwesha managed to nose ahead towards the end with her flawless rendition of her now famous Bhool Bhulaiyaa number Mere Dholna, forcing the entire auditorium to its feet in a minute of spontaneous applause. After a marathon session lasting up to four hours, Amitabh and Juhi along with judges Pritam, Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal took the stage and announced Aishwarya as the winner. Addressing the press after the show, Anwesha said, "We are both winners. This is a huge platform for me and I will use it to the maximum benefit. Aami Kolkatar shobaike bolte chai aami aapnader bhalobashar jonyo eto door aashte perechhi. I will continue to give my best and make everyone proud of me". Controversy Anwesha was adjudged as the runner up on this show. In spite of that, she is amongst the youngest of singers to evoke such response through related forums, fan clubs and Youtube video links. Also there were questions raised by the viewers of the show on the fairness of the final verdict as the breakup of the audience votes was never declared. As a result a petition was filed by fans of the young singer demanding the organisers to release this breakup.