Surjit Bindrakhia

Surjit Bains Bindrakhia (born 15 April 1962 – 17 November 2003) was a singer from Punjab, India. He was recognized for his distinctive voice and hekh, a singing technique where a note is held continuously in one breath. His biggest tracks include Meri Nath Dig Paye, Dupatta Tera Satrang Da, Lakk Tunoo Tunoo, Bas Kar Bas Kar, Mukhda Dekh Ke, Tera Yaar Bolda, and Jatt Di Pasand. Surjit is often regarded by fans and critics as one of the most influential voices in Bhangra music. He received a special jury award at the 2004 Filmfare Awards for his contribution to Punjabi music.

Bindrakhia was born as Surjit Bains to Sucha Singh and Gurcharan Kaur in the Bindrakh village of Rupnagar district, Punjab, India.

He began his singing career by singing boliyan for his college bhangra team. He received formal training from his guru, Atul Sharma. Bindrakhia appeared in films before he was a major figure in the music industry.

Surjit Bindrakhia married Preet Bains in April 1990. The couple had two children, a son, Gitaz Bindrakhia and a daughter, Minaz Bindrakhia.

His first appearance in the Punjabi movie industry was in the film Anakh Jattan Dee, where he sang the title song, "Baniye Ne Jatt". Lyricist Shamsher Sandhu recognised his talent had and gave him an opportunity to venture into the Punjabi music industry. Most of his hit songs were written by Shamsher Sandhu and music was produced by Atul Sharma. Surjit Bindrakhia's voice was widely praised for its power and range among Bhangra singers during his career. Throaty, with a wide range of sounds, he was one of the most successful traditional artists doing the rounds of the bhangra scene during his time. Surjit had been known in Punjab for many years. His first break in the Punjabi music industry came in 1990 with the album Addi Utte Ghum, which included the track "Jugni" in which Bindrakhia performs his world record 32-second hekh. Surjit Bindrakhia is credited as being the first international superstar in bhangra music. His song, "Dupatta Tera Sat Rang Da" reportedly remained a top Punjabi track on UK charts for several weeks.

Bindrakhia was known for his high-pitched hekh, which reportedly could last up to 42 seconds. While other singers have attempted similar vocal techniques, Bindrakhia's style remains distinctive. His singing style worked with the beat, so you would find him pausing along with the dhol and raising and shifting into different keys as the dhol does. All of this gave Bindrakhia the air of a child gone a little mad with his voice. Bindrakhia is often credited as an influential figure in bridging traditional Punjabi folk music and modern Punjabi pop.

Reports indicated that Surjit experienced health issues in the later stages of his life. He had been hospitalised multiple times. Due to a sudden decline in health, Surjit Bindrakhia died from a silent heart attack cardiac arrest on the morning of 17 November 2003 at his home in Phase-7, Mohali.

Prominent Punjabi artists and singers attended his bhog and funeral at Bindrakhia's native village Bindrakh. Some of the artists who turned up to pay their last respects to the legend included Sardool Sikander, Hans Raj Hans, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Babbu Maan, Gurdas Maan his lyricist and a close friend Shamsher Singh Sandhu, and his guru and music composer Atul Sharma.

Bindrakhia stormed the market with over 250 million hit sales, out of which 175 million came from India alone. He later collaborated with artists such as Surinder Shinda while performing live sets.

Punjabi singer Babbu Maan paid respects to Bindrakhia's family and in his 2005 album Pyaas, pays tribute with a song dedicated to Bindrakhia titled "Pind Diyan Juhaan". In 2011, DJ Harvey and Nirmal Sidhu made a tribute song to Surjit Bindrakhia called "Bindrakhia Boliyan", which has been a huge success since its release being ranked at Number 1 on the BBC Asian Network Chart in the first week of release.

In 2018, DJ and music producer DJ Frenzy released a remix track of the hit song "Mundri Nishani". This remix was part of a series of various Bindrakhia tracks reimagined by the DJ. The first track itself has been a huge success and has been widely received by fans.

Some of his songs like "Tera Yaar Bolda", "Lak Tanoo Tanoo", "Jatt Di Pasand" are considered indispensable for any wedding in the northern part of India and can be heard even today.