A native of Kolkata, Indian, Monali Thakur is an award-winning Bollywood actress, singer, and television personality. She was born on November 3, 1985. Her father, Shakti Thakur, was a legend in the Bali film industry, and Thakur made her musical debut at 13 years old by singing "Choi Choi Choi Tipi Tipi" in the 1999 movie Chena Achena. The performance earned her the "Best Playback Singer Award" honor at the Anandalok Awards one year later. From 2005 to 2006, she competed in the second season of Indian Idol, then sang two songs in the 2008 Bollywood film Race. One of those songs, "Zara Zara Touch Me," was a significant radio hit in India, earning Thakur nominations for "Best Female Playback Singer" from the International Indian Film Academy Awards and the Apsara Awards. As her career progressed, Thakur received additional awards for her contributions to Bollywood soundtracks. In 2014, she won a Filmfare Award for "Best Female Playback Singer" for performing "Sawaar Loon" in the film Lootera. Two years later, she received the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for singing "Moh Moh Ke Dhaage" in the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Although she released several songs outside of the Bollywood industry and also starred in many films herself, her career highlights — including 2016's "Cham Cham" (from the action movie Baaghi) and 2017's "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" (from the movie of the same name) — tended to be her contributions to Bollywood soundtracks. "Badrinath Ki Dulhania" remained a hit song for many years, even reaching Number 25 on the Top 25 Singles - India chart in 2023.