- Alka Yagnik received the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in 2024
- She has a rare sensory neural hearing loss diagnosed after a viral attack in 2024
- Yagnik holds records for most female solo songs alongside Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle
Alka Yagnik—the reigning queen of Bollywood playback music in the 1990s and early 2000s—has been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, this year.
Yagnik, who has been suffering from a rare hearing disorder since 2024, has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years. In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, the singer thanked the Indian government for the honour and reflected on the changing music scene today.
'About Padma Honour, My Daughter Told Me'
Asked who first broke the news of her Padma Bhushan, Alka Yagnik told NDTV, "My daughter told me. I am very happy to hear. I would like to thank Bharat Sarkar for considering me for this honour."
When asked if she had expected it earlier, the singer said with stoic calmness in her voice, "Not really. Whenever it comes, it's welcome like that."
Alka Yagnik on Today's Music
Known as the melody queen, Alka Yagnik rose to fame for infusing life into songs of various emotions over the years.
Talking about today's music—characterised by Punjabi rap, loud beats, and remixes—Alka Yagnik told NDTV, "Music today has lost its soul. Some soulful music should come back for us to hear."
Body of Work
Alka Yagnik holds many records to her credit. She has sung the maximum number of female solo songs in her Bollywood career, alongside Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
Several of her soundtracks were included in the BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of All Time."
Yagnik is the most popular music artist of all time on YouTube, with mentions in the Guinness Book of World Records for 17 billion streams in 2021 and 16.6 billion in 2020.
As of 2026, she remains the most-streamed weekly music artist on YouTube.
Including two National Film Awards, Yagnik won two Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards and seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer over the years.
Trained in classical music, Yagnik began singing at the age of four. She dominated the playback scene in the Hindi film industry for more than four decades.
Some of her all-time hits include Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Aaye Ho Meri Zindagi Mein, Gali Mein Aaj Chaand Nikla, Tu Shayar Hai Main Teri Shayari, to name a few.
'I Am Still Suffering'
In 2024, Alka Yagnik revealed her rare hearing disorder publicly via an Instagram post.
Reluctant to talk about it, the singer told NDTV she's "still suffering" from the illness.
An excerpt from her detailed Instagram post read, "It has been diagnosed by my docs as a rare sensory neural nerve hearing loss, due to a viral attack... This sudden, major setback has caught me completely unaware. As I attempt to come to terms with it, please keep me in your prayers."
Due to her illness, she has not taken up any new assignments. "Composers approach me now and then. But I am not able to do it," Yagnik told NDTV.
Her voice was last heard in Imtiaz Ali's Amar Singh Chamkila (2024), where she sang Naram Kaalja, composed by A.R. Rahman.
