He’s a Bollywood playback singer, a singer-songwriter who has crooned songs for multiple movies and the lead singer for Indian-European pop heroes Bombay Vikings—indeed, Neeraj Shridhar wears many hats. Born in 1978 in Jalandhar, Shridhar moved to Sweden as a teen but he never forgot his roots, exploring them through music. In 1994 he co-founded pop-rockers Bombay Vikings with two Stockholm musicians, spearheading a trend for bouncy, heart-warming remixes of old Indian classical and filmi gems with contemporary European twists. He also blended English and Hindi—the band, it’s claimed, were the first group to ever sing in ‘Hinglish’—and this resonated with audiences far and wide, earning newfound respect for many forgotten melodies. More success awaited Shridhar from 2006 as his playback singing career took off. In 2007, the indelible dance hooks of “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” and “Heyy Babyy”—both title tracks from hit films—and “Ishq Ka Kalma” from Goal were among a raft of Bollywood hits for the artist, as was “Kya” from Crook in 2010 and “Tum Hi Ho Bandhu” from 2012’s Cocktail. He frequently collaborated on movie tracks with A-list music directors like Pritam and the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy as his popularity soared. Meanwhile, Shridhar proved he was a deeply expressive—and smooth—singer by way of folk-rock ballad “Mera Jeena Hai Kya” from 2010’s Aashayein. He’s also sung with success in Telugu and contributed as a lyricist to Hindi blockbusters such as 2008's Golmaal Returns. In 2022, his pipes lit up the title track from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, showing that this musical Viking has no intention of slowing down yet.