Nikhita Gandhi

Biography

Nikhita Gandhi (born 1 October 1991) is an Indian playback singer who has worked in Indian films in five different languages. She has worked in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, and Kannada film projects.
She playback sung for Deepika Padukone in Raabta for the title track "Raabta". Her duet song " Ullu Ka Pattha" with Arijit Singh from the film Jagga Jasoos is a hit. She has sung for many Hindi films including Sachin: A Billion Dreams, Jab Harry Met Sejal, Kedarnath, Luka Chuppi, Sooryavanshi and Tiger 3. She has also sang Bengali and Tamil songs from movies like Leo, Varisu, Cockpit and Kishmish. Her songs "Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe" and "Poster Lagwa Do" also became popular. The song "Jugnu" with Badshah turned out a viral hit.

Personal life

Gandhi was born in Kolkata and lived in Chennai while doing her graduation. Growing up she learnt Odissi dance and Hindustani music for almost 12 years.

Career

Born into a mixed Bengali and Punjabi family in Kolkata. Gandhi did her schooling at La Martiniere for Girls, Kolkata. She relocated to Chennai in 2010 to pursue a degree in dentistry. A former student of A. R. Rahman's K. M. College of Music and Technology, Nikhita's first association with Rahman was during an Indo-German exchange, where she was a part of a choir which performed with the German orchestra. Rahman then individually auditioned her for a commercial project titled 'Qyuki' with Shekhar Kapur, the duo were working on. In 2012, she cut a Bengali album titled Kotha, a re-arrangement of Nazrul Geeti, songs written by renowned poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
After having worked on her personal studio album and sung as a part of songs in regional films, Gandhi got a breakthrough by performing the song "Ladio" from Shankar's film, I (2015). Composed by A. R. Rahman, she managed to record the song within four hours after translating it into Hindi. She then also subsequently recorded the Telugu and Hindi versions of the song, earning critical acclaim for her work. Other projects she worked for in 2015 include Rahman's O Kadhal Kanmani and Anirudh's Thanga Magan.
Apart from singing in the movies, she has put together a band and has also performed at Kerala and Kolkata. Gandhi's five-member band includes Sajith Sathya, Jerard Felix, Godfrey Immanuel and Joshua Gopal.
She has been adjudged as the best female playback singer of the year by Zee Cine Awards 2018 for the title track of Raabta.
She was nominated for best playback singer (female) category in the 63rd Filmfare Awards for her song "Ghar" from Jab Harry Met Sejal.
She was also nominated for best playback singer (female) in the 3rd Filmfare Awards East for her Bengali song "Tomra Ekhono Ki" from Meghnad Badh Rahasya.
In November 2018 she did playback for the song "Qaafirana" from the film Kedarnath and became a hit. In April 2019, she won the Nestle Kitkat Sony Mix Audience Music Award for the best duet for Qaafirana from Kedarnath along with Arijit Singh.
In April 2019, she released her single Ek Do Teen on Zee Music Company that has been composed by Raees & Zain - Sam, she later followed it up with Madari from the film The Extraordinary Journey of The Fakir along with Vishal Dadlani in June 2019 and followed it up with Main Deewana Tera from Arjun Patiala
In 2024, Gandhi participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa as a wild card entrant but did not get selected.
In August 2025, Gandhi signed a worldwide management and bookings agreement with The Hello Group India, a joint-venture between The Hello Group and Sony Music Entertainment India.