Sonu Kakkar is an Indian playback singer and songwriter known for her powerful, rustic and versatile voice. She primarily works in Hindi film music and has also recorded songs in several other Indian languages. She began her professional playback-singing career in the early 2000s and has since become a recognized voice in Bollywood music.
Sonu Kakkar gained widespread recognition with “Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo” from the 2003 film Dum. The song became an important early milestone in her career. She later recorded popular songs including “Yeh Kasoor” from Jism 2, “London Thumakda” from Queen, “Madari” from Coke Studio, “Sing Raja” from Joker, and “Boss Entry – Theme” from Boss.Sonu Kakkar was born on 20 October 1979 in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. She grew up in Delhi before eventually moving to Mumbai to pursue a career in music. She developed an interest in singing at a very young age and began performing devotional bhajans at jagrans during her childhood.
She entered the Hindi film music industry with the song “Babuji Zara Dheere Chalo” from Dum (2003), composed by Sandeep Chowta and written by Sameer. The song brought her considerable attention and established her as a distinctive new playback voice. She subsequently worked on films including Naach, Sheesha, Risk, Jail, Joker, Jism 2, Queen, Fever, Cabaret and Tuesdays & Fridays.
One of her notable musical collaborations was “Madari”, performed with Vishal Dadlani on Coke Studio @ MTV. The song was composed by Clinton Cerejo and featured traditional and contemporary musical elements. Her other popular recordings include “Hitchki,” “Dhalne Lagi Hai Raat,” “London Thumakda,” “Phir Teri Bahon Mein,” “Dil Ashkon Mein,” “Khara Khara,” and “Funky Mohabbat.”
Sonu Kakkar is also known as the elder sister of singers Neha Kakkar and Tony Kakkar. She has collaborated with both of them on various musical projects and continues to release and perform music independently. Her recent releases include projects from 2024–2026, demonstrating her continued presence in the Indian music industry.