Tochi Raina

Acclaimed singer and composer Tochi Raina catapulted to fame with a raft of enduring Bollywood smashes—matched by virtuosic parallel explorations of Sufi melodies. • The artist’s family instilled a deep appreciation of music and spirituality in him. His grandmother was a prominent sitar player, while his fakir grandfather introduced him to Sufi music. • As a teenager, Raina followed his muse to Delhi, where he trained in Sufi and classical music alongside maestros such as Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Ustad Bhure Khan. • His Bollywood breakthrough as a playback singer came with “Bulle Shah” from 2008 film A Wednesday!. He then made an array of style-blending hits like bhangra banger “Gal Mitthi Mitthi” (Aisha) and romantic duet “Saibo” with Shreya Ghoshal (Shor in the City). • In 2014, the Global Indian Music Academy Awards awarded Best Duet to Raina and Rekha Bhardwaj for “Kabira” (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani). • Raina co-founded Band of Bandagi—a versatile creative vehicle combining soundtrack pieces, Sufi melodies and ghazals—with singers and composers Neeru Rawal and Prashant Satose. • In 2013, the ensemble released the soundtrack for an unreleased political thriller, Ek Bura Aadmi. Raina shares a song with his sister, Harmeet. • The band’s 2018 album Sufi Acoustica is a sweeping tribute to Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah and other revered local influences that inventively incorporates Western pop sounds.