# Antara Mitra (অন্তরা মিত্র)
**Antara Mitra** (অন্তরা মিত্র; born 1987) is an Indian playback singer (singer pre-records songs that film actors lip-sync onscreen) from [West Bengal](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-bengal) who rose to fame as a finalist on the reality show *Indian Idol 2* and became known for Bollywood film songs including "Gerua", "Janam Janam", and "Kesariya", as well as Bengali film songs such as "Baby Jaan" and "Kishori".[1](https://nsrgm-www.saregama.com/artist/antara-mitra_601/hits/songs) • [2](https://www.easterneye.biz/antara-mitra-music-bollywood/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, India[1](https://nsrgm-www.saregama.com/artist/antara-mitra_601/hits/songs) |
| Origin | Maslandapur, a small town near Kolkata, West Bengal[2](https://www.easterneye.biz/antara-mitra-music-bollywood/) |
| Career start | *Indian Idol 2* (2006), where she reached the final five[3](https://www.antaramitra.com/about/) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/line-of-sight/how-antara-mitra-went-from/) |
| Signature Bollywood songs | "Bheegi Si Bhaagi Si" (*Raajneeti*), "Gerua", "Janam Janam", "Manma Emotion Jaage" (*Dilwale*), "Mehrama" (*Love Aaj Kal*), "Kesariya" (*Brahmastra*)[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) • [6](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/january/hyderabad-english-edition-2024-01-30.pdf) |
| Main collaborator | Composer Pritam, her mentor and, later, employer as his creative assistant[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) • [7](https://www.anandabazar.com/amp/entertainment/exclusive-interview-of-singer-antara-mitra-1.1000298) |
| Languages | Hindi, Bengali, and other Indian languages[1](https://nsrgm-www.saregama.com/artist/antara-mitra_601/hits/songs) |
## Early life and musical training
Mitra grew up in Maslandapur, a small town near Kolkata, in a household centered on music. Her father is a music teacher who runs a music academy, and she has said he was the first person who connected her to music.[2](https://www.easterneye.biz/antara-mitra-music-bollywood/) In her own account, she began singing as a small child around her father's tutoring studio, imitating his pupils until she became one herself, and she learned [Rabindra Sangeet](https://www.edgepedia.org/rabindra-sangeet), the Tagore song tradition, along with classical music and filmi and pop songs.[3](https://www.antaramitra.com/about/) • [5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb)
**Self-described folk-rock-fusion roots.** Her own official channels describe her as a folk-rock-fusion singer from Kolkata, shaped by Rabindra Sangeet, the beats of Baul music, and rock 'n' roll, with stated influences including [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar) and [Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/nusrat-fateh-ali-khan).[8](https://www.antaramitraofficial.in/p/about-me.html)
## Indian Idol and the move to Mumbai
In 2006 Mitra auditioned for *Indian Idol 2*, where the judges included [Sonu Nigam](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonu-nigam), Anu Malik, and [Farah Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/farah-khan). She has said she joined the contest at age 18 and had never before thought she could become a singer, but the calling took hold as she cleared successive rounds.[3](https://www.antaramitra.com/about/) • [5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) She reached the final five before being eliminated.[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/line-of-sight/how-antara-mitra-went-from/)
After the show she moved to Mumbai and began recording for films, singing for movies such as *All The Best* and *Life Partner*.[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) By 2019 she counted roughly thirteen years in the city and described it as her own.[7](https://www.anandabazar.com/amp/entertainment/exclusive-interview-of-singer-antara-mitra-1.1000298)
## Playback career and the Pritam partnership
Nearly all of Mitra's early film work came through the composer Pritam. Her first significant break was an accident of the scratch-track (temporary demo recording later replaced or kept) system: Pritam's office called her in to record a temporary version of "Bheegi Si Bhaagi Si" for *Raajneeti* (2010), and months later she heard the song on television in her own voice; the song, picturized on [Ranbir Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/ranbir-kapoor) and [Katrina Kaif](https://www.edgepedia.org/katrina-kaif), became her first hit.[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) • [9](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2010/antara-mitra-bheegi-bheegi-cherish-200510.html) She has called Pritam her mentor and credited him with testing her across many styles of singing.[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb)
**Dilwale (2015).** Mitra's three songs for the [Rohit Shetty](https://www.edgepedia.org/rohit-shetty) film *Dilwale*, "Gerua", "Janam Janam", and "Manma Emotion Jaage", reached the charts together, and she reported that the songs drew more than 2 million views in under 24 hours. She recorded "Gerua" at 3 a.m. and wanted to re-record it, but the team felt no re-dub was needed.[5](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb) "Gerua", picturized on [Shah Rukh Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/shah-rukh-khan) and Kajol, became her best-known Bollywood track; she has recalled singing an unplanned bare-voiced preview of it for Shah Rukh Khan at Pritam's studio and said the reception of the song made her fall in love with it repeatedly.[10](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/write-up-on-antara-mitra-singer-of-the-song-geruya-1.292889) • [11](https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/gerua-singer-antara-mitra-on-her-music-course-from-berklee-college-long-awaited-dream-fulfilled-101760357902279.html)
**Later Hindi work.** Her recorded catalog on streaming services includes "Mehrama" from *Love Aaj Kal* (2020), "Dil Hi Toh Hai" from *The Sky Is Pink*, "Aira Gaira" from *Kalank*, and "Kesariya" from *Brahmastra*, which she sang alongside [Arijit Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/arijit-singh); press coverage describes "Kesariya" as massively popular.[6](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/january/hyderabad-english-edition-2024-01-30.pdf) • [12](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/antara-mitra-mn0002118885) • [13](https://music.apple.com/es/artist/antara-mitra/290296723?l=en-GB) In 2024 she told an interviewer that film projects kept coming and that she was working on an EP and on songs in Bengali, her mother tongue.[6](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/january/hyderabad-english-edition-2024-01-30.pdf)
## Bengali film work and television
Mitra's Bengali-language career grew markedly in the 2020s. The song "Kishori" from the Dev and Idhika Pal film *[Khadaan](https://www.edgepedia.org/khadaan)*, composed by Rathijit Bhattacharya and sung by Mitra, spread by word of mouth across the generation and was heard everywhere from weddings to [Durga Puja](https://www.edgepedia.org/durga-puja) pandals, in addition to private radio play; she said she had not expected it to perform so well.[14](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/singer-antara-mitra-explains-the-actual-scenario-of-bengali-movie-music-now-a-days-dgtl/cid/1586337) She followed it by recording a romantic duet with Kunal Ganjawala for Soham Chakraborty's film *Bahurup*, directed by Akash Malaakar.[14](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/singer-antara-mitra-explains-the-actual-scenario-of-bengali-movie-music-now-a-days-dgtl/cid/1586337)
**Recognition at home.** Mitra has said that many people did not know she could sing in Bengali, and that sitting as a judge on Zee Bangla's *Saregamapa* reality show is what let Bengali audiences recognize her as a Bengali singer. She has expressed a strong desire to sing more Bengali songs and named working with composer [Anupam Roy](https://www.edgepedia.org/anupam-roy) among her unrealized wishes.[14](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/singer-antara-mitra-explains-the-actual-scenario-of-bengali-movie-music-now-a-days-dgtl/cid/1586337)
## Recent activity
In October 2025 Mitra announced on Instagram that she had completed the Music Foundation Course from [Berklee College of Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/berklee-college-of-music) in Boston, Massachusetts, calling it a long-awaited dream. She said the course would help her expand her father's Kolkata-based music academy to other cities, and she expressed a desire to focus on her playback career; at the time she was earning attention for the song "Ishq Manzoor" from *Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari*.[11](https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/gerua-singer-antara-mitra-on-her-music-course-from-berklee-college-long-awaited-dream-fulfilled-101760357902279.html) Streaming catalogs list her continuing output into 2025 and 2026, including Bengali film singles such as "Priyo Mukh" (from *Haati Haati Paa Paa*), "Aalto Prem" and "Haathe Harricane" (from *Police*), and "Ke Tumi" (from *Abhhiman*).[15](https://music.amazon.co.uk/artists/B001QDAZPU/antara-mitra) • [16](https://recentmusic.com/artist/2UwDJeoMqYers5Jmm75zm2/)
## Working style
Mitra has described playback singing as a specialized and competitive field in which music directors may record several singers for one part and then choose a single version for the final cut, so she advises against taking casting outcomes personally.[17](https://www.antaramitra.com/finding-the-light/) She has also described her method of picking material simply: if she does not like a song, she does not sing it, and she records only when the song sounds like one listeners will enjoy.[14](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/singer-antara-mitra-explains-the-actual-scenario-of-bengali-movie-music-now-a-days-dgtl/cid/1586337)
## References
1. [Antara Mitra hits songs, Saregama](https://nsrgm-www.saregama.com/artist/antara-mitra_601/hits/songs)
2. [Antara Mitra: Music from the heart and soul, EasternEye (Asjad Nazir, 10 August 2024)](https://www.easterneye.biz/antara-mitra-music-bollywood/)
3. [About me, antaramitra.com](https://www.antaramitra.com/about/)
4. [How Antara Mitra went from Indian Idol to Rajneeti](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/line-of-sight/how-antara-mitra-went-from/)
5. [Antara Mitra: Becoming A Playback Singer Feels Like An Adventure Ride, SpotboyE (6 December 2015)](https://www.spotboye.com/amp/music/music-interviews/antara-mitra-becoming-a-playback-singer-feels-like-an-adventure-ride/567c061e17b6144b64adbbfb)
6. [The Daily Pioneer, Hyderabad English edition, 30 January 2024 (interview with Antara Mitra)](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2024/epaper/january/hyderabad-english-edition-2024-01-30.pdf)
7. [গানের ভক্ত আছে, কিন্তু বিয়ের পাত্র নেই!, Anandabazar (3 June 2019)](https://www.anandabazar.com/amp/entertainment/exclusive-interview-of-singer-antara-mitra-1.1000298)
8. [About Me, Antara Mitra Official](https://www.antaramitraofficial.in/p/about-me.html)
9. [Antara Mitra on Bheegi Bheegi, Raajneeti, Filmibeat (2010)](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2010/antara-mitra-bheegi-bheegi-cherish-200510.html)
10. [গেরুয়া-কন্যা: Write up on Antara Mitra, Anandabazar (25 January 2016)](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/write-up-on-antara-mitra-singer-of-the-song-geruya-1.292889)
11. [Gerua singer Antara Mitra on her music course from Berklee College, Hindustan Times (13 October 2025)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/gerua-singer-antara-mitra-on-her-music-course-from-berklee-college-long-awaited-dream-fulfilled-101760357902279.html)
12. [Antara Mitra: Biography, Discography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/antara-mitra-mn0002118885)
13. [Antara Mitra, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/es/artist/antara-mitra/290296723?l=en-GB)
14. [‘আমি বাংলা গান গাইতে পারি সেটাই অনেকে জানেন না!’, Anandabazar (5 March 2025)](https://www.anandabazar.com/entertainment/singer-antara-mitra-explains-the-actual-scenario-of-bengali-movie-music-now-a-days-dgtl/cid/1586337)
15. [Play Antara Mitra, Amazon Music Unlimited](https://music.amazon.co.uk/artists/B001QDAZPU/antara-mitra)
16. [RecentMusic, Antara Mitra New Releases](https://recentmusic.com/artist/2UwDJeoMqYers5Jmm75zm2/)
17. [Finding Your Light, antaramitra.com](https://www.antaramitra.com/finding-the-light/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Production and songwriter credit lists › Songs recorded by lists › Songs recorded by Indian playback singers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license