Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, and Sonu Nigam were among the prominent cinema personalities who condoled the death of popular folk singer Sharda Sinha, fondly called 'Bihar Kokila' by her fans.
Sinha, who was undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi following a health complication due to multiple myeloma, died on Tuesday night. She was 72.
The Padma Bhushan recipient lent her voice to songs prominently in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi languages such as "Chhathi Maiya Aayi Na Duaariya", "Ho Deenanth", "Dwar Chekai", and "Patna Se", but had also sung Hindi film songs like "Taar Bijli" ("Gangs of Wasseypur"), "Kahe Toh Se Sajna" ("Maine Pyar Kiya"), and "Babul" ("Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!").
Kashyap, who directed "Wasseypur", shared Sinha's photo on his Instagram Stories with the lyrics of "Taar Bijli".
"Sharda Sinha," he captioned the post with a broken heart emoji.
Bihar-born Bajpayee, who played the role of Sardar Khan in the 2012 film, said he was saddened by the news of the singer's death.
"I pay my respects to the great singer Sharda ji who took Bhojpuri music and singing to the national and international level with her singing! May God give peace to her soul," he wrote on X.
In revenge drama "Wasseypur", "Taar Bijli" plays out as part of the pre-wedding celebrations of Faizal Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Mohsina Hamid (Huma Qureshi) with the Khan family matriarch Nagma Khatoon (Richa Chadha) singing the song.
Chadha said the news of Sinha's death has come as a shock.
"The world of folk songs and music will miss a natural and trained singer like Sharda ji... We are grateful to her. My respects," she wrote on her Instagram Stories.
Varun Grover, who penned "Taar Bijli", in his tribute recalled how Sinha came into the lives of non-Biharis like him as the voice of "Kahe Tohse Sajna", the song from 1989's "Maine Pyar Kiya", and then stayed here.
"When we developed an understanding of folk music, her true status was revealed to us. It was a great fortune that I got the opportunity to create a song with her. Rounds of tea, laughter, stories and paan continued and the song kept being created," the lyricist wrote on X.
"My respects. Your voice is and will always be the background music of every Chhath festival," he added, sharing the link to Sinha's Maithili song "Mohi Lelkhin Sajni Mor Manwa".
In a video about the making of the music of "Wasseypur", composer Sneha Khanwalkar described Sinha's voice as “pure wine" and recalled how they first met.
"Anurag suggested, 'Do you want to try Sharda ji?' So I went to her house and I sang a few lines to her. She brought out her harmonium and sang those lines so I thought this is the best…," Khanwalkar recalled.
Sinha also sang the song "Nirmohiya" for the second season of the Bihar-set web series "Maharani", fronted by Qureshi.
The actor, who plays the lead role of Rani Bharti in the Sony LIV show, shared a clip of the song on Instagram. "RIP@shardasinha_official ma'am," Qureshi wrote.
Born in Supaul in Bihar, Sinha became famous not only in her home state but also in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
A devotee of Chhath Puja, dedicated to the sun god, the singer released a song to celebrate the festival every year. She did so this year too, notwithstanding her ill health. Sinha also died on the first day of the four-day festival.
Popular playback singer Sonu Nigam said it was extremely saddening to lose "respected Sharda Sinha ji during the great festival of Chhath Puja".
Bhojpuri actor and politician Ravi Kishan said without Sinha's voice, every festival seemed empty, especially the festival of Chhath, which is why "chhati maiya" called her back during this time.
"The untimely demise of the popular singer, Bihar Kokila, Swar Samrajni, Padma Bhushan awardee respected Sharda Sinha ji is very sad. Chhath in UP and Bihar was incomplete without her music," wrote Bhojpuri actor-politician Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known by his stage name Nirahua.
"I'm unable to come to terms with this. I hope this is fake news. She gave me so much love, I can't forget any of it. Irreparable loss. I'm speechless," said singer Kavita Seth in an Instagram post.
Former Bhojpuri actor and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, who on Tuesday visited the bereaved family after Sinha's death at AIIMS-Delhi, shared a heartfelt post on the microblogging site.
"Today I had my last darshan of elder sister Sharda Didi, who spread the sweetness of Bhojpuri across the country and the world through Chhathi Maiya and devotional music, at AIIMS Delhi. The demise of Didi Sharda is an irreparable loss for the Bhojpuri world and the country," he wrote on X.
Sinha will be cremated with full state honours in her native Bihar on Wednesday. Her body is likely to arrive in Patna from Delhi in the afternoon.
