Nooran Sisters

Biography

Nooran Sisters are Sultana Nooran (born 14 June 1992) and Jyoti Nooran (born 24 February 1994), an Indian devotional Sufi singing duo. Born to a family of Sufi musicians, they perform Sham Chaurasia gharana classical music. They gained public recognition in 2012, when their song "Tung Tung" was featured on MTV Sound Trippin of MTV India and was used in the soundtrack for the 2015 film Singh is Bling.
Nooran Sisters released their first album, Yaar Gariban Da×Yaar Gariban Da6 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Ik Boond Hi Douri Di8:532Mainu Rok Na7:173Ravidass Guru7:474Ravidass Guru Da Ban Chella6:015Zid Chhad De8:27, in 2015. The same year, they received their first major awards, for the song "Patakha Guddi", which appeared in the film Highway, including two Mirchi Music Awards—for Upcoming Female Vocalist of the Year and Vocalist (Female) of the Year. They were also decorated at the Global Indian Music Academy Awards and the Screen Awards. The duo additionally received the Best Playback Singer (Female) award at the Filmfare Awards Punjabi, for the song "Yaar Di Gali", in 2017.

Early life and background

Sultana and Jyoti Nooran trained from early childhood under their father, Ustad Gulshan Mir (or Meer), grandson of Bibi Nooran, a Sufi singer, and son of Swarn Nooran, a Sufi singer of the 1970s. According to Mir, the family was on hard times, and he gave music lessons to support them. The sisters were not able to obtain formal elementary education.
When Sultana was seven and Jyoti five, Mir discovered their talent while they were playing at home and singing a Bulleh Shah kalam they had heard from their grandmother. Mir asked them if they could sing it with instruments. They sang with a perfect beat along to instruments such as the tabla and harmonium.
The Nooran sisters had their first television appearance on the Doordarshan Punjabi show Jashan Di Raat, in 2005. Jyoti as a solo artist participated in the singing show Nikki Awaz Punjab Di on the Punjabi channel MH1, in 2007. In 2010, they were noticed by Iqbal Mahal, a music promoter from Canada, who helped them perform to a wider audience.

Career

The Nooran sisters rose to fame with their song "Tung Tung" through the talent hunt series MTV Sound Trippin on MTV India, in 2012. They were introduced to the competition by Hindi film music composer Sneha Khanwalkar. The song was subsequently used in the soundtrack for Akshay Kumar's 2015 film Singh Is Bliing.
The sisters got their first break in Hindi cinema with the music director A. R. Rahman in the 2014 movie Highway, with the song "Patakha Guddi". The track topped Hindi film music charts and earned them two Mirchi Music Awards in 2015, in the categories Upcoming Female Vocalist of the Year and Vocalist (Female) of the Year, as well as the Best Music Debut Award at the Global Indian Music Academy Awards and the Best Female Playback Singer award at the Screen Awards. Later the same year, they performed on MTV Unplugged and Coke Studio, with the song "Allah Hoo", which turned into a YouTube sensation.
On 2 September 2015, they released their first album, Yaar Gariban Da×Yaar Gariban Da6 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Ik Boond Hi Douri Di8:532Mainu Rok Na7:173Ravidass Guru7:474Ravidass Guru Da Ban Chella6:015Zid Chhad De8:27, containing five tracks and produced by MS Records. In 2017, they received the Best Playback Singer (Female) award from Filmfare Awards Punjabi for the song "Yaar Di Gali", which was included in the 2016 film Channo Kamli Yaar Di. Their song "Baajre Di Raakhi", from the film Krazzy Tabbar, earned them a nomination for the same award a year later.
Jyoti went on to record songs in several Tamil-language films for the composer D. Imman, including Paayum Puli (2015) and Bogan (2017). The duo collaborated with the musicians Memba and EVAN GIIA on the song "For Aisha×For Aisha11 October 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1For Aisha5:58", which was featured in the 2019 film The Sky Is Pink and the 2022 Disney+ series Ms. Marvel.

Global recognition

In the 2020s, the Nooran Sisters' vocal performances gained renewed international attention through viral remixes by the Portuguese guitarist and YouTuber André Antunes. Known for blending emotionally expressive vocal samples with metal instrumentation, Antunes remixed several recordings of the sisters' Sufi devotional songs, most notably "Jugni", without formal collaboration or consent. The tracks gained millions of views and introduced the sisters' music to a global audience.

Personal lives

Jyoti married Kunal Passi in 2014. Her parents disapproved of the marriage and filed a legal case of underage marriage, as they claimed Jyoti's matriculation certificate showed her as 16 years of age at the time. After legal proceedings, the family conceded to the marriage. Passi acts as the manager of the sisters' performances. Sultana is also married and has a son.
Jyoti has performed solo on a few occasions. When asked about taking up a solo career, she answered, "Please don't recommend it. We complete each other".
In August 2022, Jyoti filed for divorce from her husband and accused him of harassment.