Baba Sehgal

Biography

Harjeet Singh "Baba" Sehgal is an Indian rapper. He is widely acclaimed to be the first successful Indian rapper. He is also involved in various other areas of the entertainment industry and works across media in several different languages. He was a contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss in 2006.

Early career

Born and raised in Lucknow, Sehgal graduated with a B.Tech. from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. His entertainment career began in the 1990s, when he emerged as part of the Indipop scene, and released an album which got frequent airplay on MTV India. Since then he has been a popular figure on the rap scene, with hits such as 'Thanda Thanda Paani' (which sampled Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby", which in turn sampled Queen's "Under Pressure") 'Manjula' and 'Dil Dhadke'.

Music

Sehgal's first album was Dilruba (1990), followed by Alibaba (1991). Then came his biggest hit album Thanda Thanda Pani (1992), which sold 5 million cassettes, making it the first successful Indian rap album.
His next albums were Main Bhi Madonna×Main Bhi Madonna1993 · ReleaseSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Main Bhi Madonna3:522Dekho Dekho Dekho4:203Baba Deewana4:234Chik Puk Chik Bum4:105Bombay City Ka Sapna4:276M.K.C.3:277Jat Ludhiyane Ka5:048Rubbish Rap4:44 (1993), Baba Bachao Na (1993), Dr. Dhingra×Dr. Dhingra1994 · ReleaseSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Oh My Darling4:132Dr. Dhingra4:253Traffic Jam3:474Hello4:105Haule Haule5:016Sundarta4:587Introduction3:348Manjula4:29 (1994), Miss 420 (1994), Double Gadbad (1994), Indian Romyo (1995), Tora Tora (1995), Loomba Loomba (1996), Na Aariya Hai Na Jariya Hai (1997), America Mein Indian Dhaba (1997), D.J. Mix Blue (1997), Hak Dhak Dil in Culcutta (1997), A Reason to Smile (1997), Meri Jaan Hindustan (1998), Jugni Mast Kalandar (1998), Abb Mein Vengaboy (1999), Pinga Pinga (2001), Pump up your Style (2003), Welcome to Mumbai (2005), Babe Di Gaddi (2009), Woh Beete Din and The Magic of Dandiya, among others. He writes the majority of the music for his albums himself. He was the music director of the movie Dance Party (1995), featuring the popular song "Kapurthala Se Aaya Hoon", "Tere Liye Laaya Hoon", "Orange Kurta Peela Pajama". He was the first Indian artist to have a music video broadcast on MTV Asia, which was broadcasting out of Hong Kong at the time. He was also the presenter of the TV show Superhit Muqabla which was aired on DD2 at primetime. He has also worked as a stage performer.
He was in New York from 2001 to 2005. When he came home to Mumbai, he released his album Welcome to Mumbai, which was his 22nd album.
He also directed the music for the Bollywood films Bhoot Unkle (2006) and Nalaik (2005). He also anchored the TV show Santa and Banta News Unlimited on Zoom. His song "Trump Ka Mania" supporting the then-Republican nominee Donald Trump was a hit.
Now, he makes and releases his singles on his YouTube channel Baba Sehgal Entertainment. Some of them are "Aloo ka Parantha", "Going to the Gym", "Swacchh Bharat". His song "Mumbai City" is a dark hip hop rap song on Mumbai. In 2012, he released the song, "Praji Kunjam Kunjam Control", which aimed to raise awareness against female infanticide and support the "Save The Girl Child" campaign.
In January 2024, Sehgal came up with his own version of "O Mere Dil Ke Chain", originally sung by Kishore Kumar.

Acting

In 1998, Sehgal made his acting debut in the Bollywood film Miss 420 alongside Sheeba Akashdeep. He also sang four songs for the film's soundtrack which was released in 1994, four years before the film's theatrical release. In 1999, he played dual roles in the television film Double Gadbad. He was a contestant on the first season of Bigg Boss 1 in 2006. In 2009, he had a part in the SAB TV comedy series Jugni Chali Jalandhar. In 2011, he appeared in the drama serial Rang Badalti Odhani on Star One. Sehgal also made his Telugu film debut in Rudhramadevi, with Anushka Shetty in the lead. It was directed by National award winner Gunasekhar. Baba Sehgal was signed to play a major negative role in another Telugu film titled Overdose. In 2016, he featured in a cameo appearance as himself in Bank Chor, and also contributed to the soundtrack of the film. In the same year, he made his debut in Tamil cinema playing the role of a corrupt cop in the film Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada.

Hindi

Roja (Hindi version) (1992)
Hum Hain Bemisaal (1994)
Miss 420 (1998)
Bhoot Unkle (2006) (also music director)
13B (2009)
Bank Chor (2017) (one song)

Studio albums

Dilruba (1990)
Alibaba (1991)
Thanda Thanda Pani (1992)
Main Bhi Madonna (1993)
Dr. Dhingra (1994)
Miss 420 (1994)
Double Gadbad (1995)
Miss Loomba Loomba (1996)
Na Aariya Hai Na Jariya Hai (1997)
America Mein Indian Dhaba (1998)
Abb Main Vengaboy (1999)
Tora Tora (2000)
Pump Up Your Style (2003)
Baba Sehgal: Greatest Hits