Suresh Ishwar Wadkar is one of the few artists of his generations to have created a benchmark based on his talent. He was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra in 1954. At a very early age, he got formally trained in classical music at gurukul of Pandit Jialal Vasant. His guru was so enamored with the quality of his voice within a year of training; Suresh began performing on stage very early in life.
When Suresh Wadkar was barely 13, his guru entrusted him with the responsibility of teaching vocal classical to a few youngsters. Suresh completed his “Prabhakar” which is equivalent to B.Ed through Prayag Sangith Samiti with flying colours. Then he joined Arya Vidya Mandir as a music teacher.
In the year 1976, with the encouragement from his guru, he entered the Sur – Shringar Samsad. In this competition, he won the Madan Mohan award for the Best Male Singer judged by eminent judges and this give him an entry in to films. Jaidev who was one of the judges offered him the song "Seene Mein Jalan" (Gaman 1978). Though the song was very popular, it did not give him expected exposure. Hence Wadkar’s first film was considered as Paheli in which Ravindra Jain composed the hit Wadkar – Hemlata duet “Bishti Kare Tipur Tipar”. Lata Mangeshkar was so impressed by the quality of his voice that she recommended him to various popular music directors of Bollywood. Laxmikant-Pyarelal gave Suresh an opportunity to record a duet with Lata "Chal Chameli Bagh Mein" (Krodhi 1981). Then he lent his voice for Hum Paanch, Pyaasa Sawan ("Megha re Megha Re") and above all, his turning point in films was Raj Kapoor's Prem Rog (1982) and then the Vidhaata number “Hathon Ki Chand Lakeeron Ka” proved a big hit. He later charmed the audiences with his songs in Hindi, Marathi and Bhojpuri.
He has received many coveted awards, including 9 for Maharashtra, 3 for Gujarat, 2 for Punjab State Best Male Playback Singer awards, just to mention a few. He has won the 2007 Maharashtra Pride Award which is given by the government of Maharashtra to citizens of note. He is also a recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar instituted by Madhya Pradesh government. In 2011, he won the National Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Mee Sindhutai Sapkal (Marathi). He has also sung devotional songs in various languages. He has also ventured in the field of music directions with two Marathi movies and a Hindi movie “Dil Churaya Aapne”. His maiden venture "Ashi Hi Dnyaneshwari" won him the Best Music Director Award of Maharashtra Government.
Some of his notable Marathi songs are: “Dayaghana” (Pt.Hridaynath Mangeshkar), “Kaal Dehasi Ala Khau” (Shrinivas Khale),”Tula Pahile Mi” (Shridhar Phadke). His other noted songs are, ”Aye Zindagi Gale Lagale” (Sadma), “Huzoor Is Kadar” ( Masoom),” Lagi Aaj Saawan” (Chandni), “Pardesi Pardesi” (Raja Hindustani), “Chhod Aaye Hum” (Maachis), “Tumse Milke Aisa Laga” (Parinda) and some other movies - Dil, Rangeela, 7 khoon Maaf, Kaminey, Omkara, Sathya and many more. He was a judge on the Indian TV singing show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs International and at the 2005 Sanjeet Awards. Suresh Wadkar also gives stage performances with other legendary artistes. He runs a music school in Mumbai and New Jersey/New York, USA (www.sureshwadkarmusic.com). Suresh Wadkar started the First Online Music teaching school "SWAMA" (Suresh Wadkar Ajivasan Music Academy) under Ace Open University.
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