Shilpa Rao pays tribute to Zubeen Garg with live rendition of 'Ya Ali' at Ziro Festival

Mumbai, Sep 28 (IANS) Playback singer Shilpa Rao, who recently bagged the National Award, paid a tribute to the late singer Zubeen Garg.

The singer performed at the Ziro Festival in Arunachal Pradesh, and crooned the song ‘Ya Ali’ from ‘Gangster’. She sang the song in downtempo, and with more ethereal expression. The moment was a fitting tribute to the late singing legend, who was known for his humanitarian work for not just Assam but entire northeast India.

The singer passed away on September 19, 2025 in Singapore during a swimming mishap. The cause of his death is being ascertained as a case of accidental drowning.

Zubeen was not just a singer but a cultural icon of Assam and India. He made his foray in mainstream music in 1990, and soon became a favourite of the masses in Assam. He soon turned towards Hindi film music at the dawn of the millennium. He made his Hindi music debut with ‘Jaane Kya Hoga Rama Re’ from ‘Kaante’, which was an unofficial remake of Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’.

He gained wider recognition with ‘Ya Ali’ from ‘Gangster’. The song was a chartbuster, and defines an entire generation even after almost 2 decades.

He continued to make independent music in Hindi but made his base in Assam as he wanted to stay in his homeland. The late singer was also known for his political and cultural stance. He was one of the vocal voices against CAA in Assam.

In a career spanning more than 3 decades, Zubeen sang close to 38, 000 songs across all the major languages of India, a feat that only a few could achieve in the field of music. For perspective Kishore Kumar, who is considered as one of the most prolific and dangerously talented artistes, sang close to 3000 songs across languages, a tenth of the songs in Zubeen’s repertoire. His funeral saw more than a million people in attendance, making it the 4th largest gathering in the history of mankind.

Meanwhile, Shilpa was recently feted with the National Award for Best Playback Singer Female for her performance in ‘Chaleya’ from ‘Jawan’.

--IANS

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