Sikandar Alam Biography 
Sikandar Alam was a very popular playback singer from Odisha film industry. He is also nicknamed as ‘Salabega of modern Odisha’. He is known for not encouraging vulgar lyrics. He also earned fame as a lyricist, composer, songwriter, writer etc. He was trained in vocal Hindustani classical music from Gandharva Mahavidyalaya before he forayed into singing. He recorded over 2,000 songs which include many popular and chartbuster hits. He was a recipient of countless honours and recognitions. In year 2000 he was honoured with Odisha Sangeet Natak Academy Award. Odisha State Film Award by Culture Department in 1990, Soor Taranga Award in 2001, Rajiv Gandhi Samman Award in 2003, Chalachitra Sahasrabadi Award in 2000 etc are a few more honours received by him.
Sikandar Alam was born on 27 July 1939 in Routrapur, Bayalishi mauza Cuttack, Orissa Province, British India. His family moved to Cuttack, where he grew up and completed his education. He attended the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya to study vocal Hindustani classical music. His professional career as a singer began with All India Radio in 1957. Laxmi (1964), directed by Balakrushna Dash marked his playback singing debut, and he recorded songs for more than 50 Odia films after that.
He is credited as the first Odia singer to be heard on BBC London. He has also performed live in many foreign countries during his lifetime. He released a music album titled Ala ke Huzur, with contributions from his wife and daughter. Some of his popular songs are included in the films - Manika Jodi, Mamata, Amada Bata, Adina Megha, Suryamukhi and Puja. He passed away on 8 August 2010 at Bhuvaneshwar, aged 71.
Published: January 05, 2020
Updated: January 05, 2020
