Kunal Ganjawala

Kunal Ganjawala was born on 14 April 1972 in Pune, Maharashtra, India. He graduated from St. Peter’s School, Maza Gaon, Mazagaon, and had originally considered becoming either a chartered accountant or an actor before pursuing music. Kunal has credited his parents’ unwavering support for giving him the confidence to take singing seriously — a path made even more natural by his family’s artistic roots, with his sister a Bharatnatyam exponent and his father a harmonica player.

Kunal trained in music at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan under the guidance of Sudhindra Bhaumick. His professional break came with a Ranjit Barot-composed jingle titled “Doodh Doodh” for the Operation Flood advertisement — a connection that helped him earn recognition and respect from music directors early on. His first Bollywood song came with “Ab Ke Baras” in 2002, which, while not an instant hit, opened the door to a stream of film offers, including Saathiya (2002), Khakee (2004), and Dhoom (2004).

Kunal’s defining moment arrived in 2004 with “Bheege Honth Tere” from Murder — a song that turned him into a household name and won him the Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer – Male, the IIFA Award for Best Male Playback, and the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer along with the R.D. Burman Award for New Music Talent, all in 2005. That same period, he broke into Kannada cinema with “Neene Neene” from Aakash (2005), and cemented his place in South Indian music with “Onde Ondu Sari” from the landmark blockbuster Mungaru Male (2006) — a song that set new sales and download records and remains one of the biggest hits in Kannada film history. Kunal has since sung nearly 450 Kannada songs, alongside a substantial catalog in Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Odia, Marathi, and Punjabi.

Throughout his career, Kunal has collaborated with an extensive roster of leading music directors, including Anu Malik, Anand–Milind, Nadeem–Shravan, Pritam, Himesh Reshammiya, Ismail Darbar, Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, Rajesh Roshan, Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman, and Mano Murthy, among many others. He has recorded for major Bollywood soundtracks including Kaminey, Saawariya, Singham, R… Rajkumar, Zero, and Panipat, and has continued releasing new music, including 2024’s “Spark” for The Greatest of All Time (Hindi version) and a 2025 Kannada track, “Saaraayi Shaantamma,” from Gajarama.

Kunal has also built a strong television presence, having participated in Saregama (later Sa Re Ga Ma Pa) and served as a judge on Amul Star Voice of India alongside Shreya Ghoshal and Pritam. In 2007, he toured North America as part of “The Incredibles” concert series alongside Asha Bhosle, Sonu Nigam, and Kailash Kher.

In 2005, Kunal married fellow singer Gayatri Iyer, and the couple went on to record the title track for STAR One’s Antakshari together. Kunal is a devoted follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, a faith that runs deep in his family — Sai Baba himself performed Kunal’s wedding ceremony, and in 2008, Kunal and his wife were spiritually re-married in a divine ceremony marked, as Kunal shared in an exclusive interview with Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show, by the appearance of sacred Vibhuti from photographs of deities in their family temple. Kunal has described his life as a blend of faith, music, and spirituality, one that continues to inspire and shape his artistic journey.