Nikhita Gandhi's concert at CUSAT on Saturday turned tragic as four students died in a stampede at the event. Sudden rain prompted people to rush for cover, resulting in a stampede. Sadly, two girls and two boys were declared dead on arrival at the hospital, while 64 others sustained injuries, with two in critical condition. Nikhita Gandhi expressed her profound sorrow and devastation, stating that she was "heartbroken and devastated by what took place."
Here are 5 facts about the singer:
- Nikhita Gandhi, born 1 October 1991, is an Indian playback singer of half-Bengali and half-Punjabi heritage.
- Ms Gandhi went to La Martiniere for Girls in Kolkata for her primary education and later moved to Chennai to study dentistry in 2010.
- Nikhita Gandhi's life took an exciting turn when she met AR Rahman during a music exchange program. Mr Rahman promised her a song if she got professional training, so she joined his music college (K.M College of Music and Technology) while studying dentistry. True to his word, Rahman gave her the song ‘Ladiyo' in the movie "I" (2014), released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, with Ms Gandhi singing all three versions.
- Nikhita Gandhi sang three songs for the Iranian film Muhammad (SAL): The Messenger of God. She also lent her voice to three tracks in the Hollywood movie Pele: Birth of a Legend (2016), which tells the story of the Brazilian footballer Pele.
- Apart from her movie contributions, Nikhita Gandhi has established a band called ‘Noor', featuring fellow members Sajith Sathya, Jerard Felix, Godfrey Immanuel, and Joshua Gopal.
Nikhita Gandhi achieved recognition as the Best Female Playback Singer at the Zee Cine Awards 2018 for the title track of Raabta. She was nominated for the Best Playback Singer (Female) at the 63rd Filmfare Awards for the song Ghar from Jab Harry Met Sejal. She also received a nomination in the same category at the 3rd Filmfare Awards East for her Bengali song Tomra Ekhono Ki from Meghnad Badh Rahasya. In April 2019, Ms Gandhi won the Nestle Kitkat Sony Mix Audience Music Award for the Best Duet for Qaafirana from Kedarnath, alongside Arijit Singh.