Vishal Dadlani

Dadlani was born and raised in a Sindhi Hindu family in Bandra, West Bombay.^[9] He went to Hill Grange High School in Pedder Road, Cumbala Hill, South Bombay and subsequently attended Jai Hind College, University of Mumbai for two years (1989–90), after which he went to H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, HSNC University, both in Churchgate, South Bombay. He graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in commerce.

Dadlani's musical journey started in 1994 with the Mumbai-based electronica/indie-rock band Pentagram, which he fronted. Pentagram has gained recognition as one of the pioneers of Indian independent music.^[10][11]

While active with the band, he found fame as a Bollywood music composer, singer, and lyricist, working on soundtracks of movies like Jhankaar Beats (2003), Bluffmaster! (2005), and Salaam Namaste (2005).

In the aftermath of the Panama Paper leaks, the names of Dadlani and some of his family members surfaced due to investments they made through his company Sunny Blessing Holding Inc. in the British Virgin Islands. Some of these transactions are currently under investigation by the enforcement directorate.^[13]

In 2016, he received strong opposition for criticizing the Jain monk Muni Tarun Sagar in a tweet.^[14] He was accused of hurting religious sentiments and several First information reports were filed against him, though the monk is said to not have taken the issue seriously. Dadlani later wrote an open letter, saying that the tweets had been his biggest mistake.^[15] He was reprimanded and fined by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the tweet.^[16]

In 2024, Dadlani again faced criticism following his reaction to an incident at Chandigarh Airport, where actress Kangana Ranaut was assaulted by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable. Dadlani publicly praised the constable and offered her a job.^[17] Subsequently, singer Sona Mohapatra criticized Dadlani in response to a tweet that referred to him as a "rare gem of Bollywood" for his actions. Mohapatra questioned his integrity, citing his association with Anu Malik, who had been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women in 2018.^[18]

Dadlani got his first break as a playback singer for other music directors when Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy approached him to sing "Kiss Of Love", for the movie Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007).^{[citation needed]} His first released track was "Dhoom Again" for Dhoom 2 (2006) by music director Pritam, as suggested by Aditya Chopra.^{[citation needed]}

Pentagram

• We're Not Listening (1996)
• Up (2002)
• It's OK, It's All Good (2007)
• Bloodywood (2011)

• Om Shanti Om (2007) as a director
• Tees Maar Khan (2010) as a director in the song "Sheila Ki Jawani"
• Happy New Year (2014) as a Judge

The following is a list of awards and nominations received by Vishal Dadlani alone. A list of awards and nominations received by Vishal–Shekhar can be seen here.