Playback singer
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A playback singer is a singer whose song is pre-recorded for use in films. The singer records the song on a soundtrack and the actors or actresses mouth the song for the cameras. This is a form of singing that is most highly developed in the Indian sub-continent. (This technique has also been used in Hollywood films and those produced in other film centres, but these singers have for the most part never been able to gain noteriety.) Some of the great male playback singers have been Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh whilst great female singers are Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. At present the recognised better singers are Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet, and Sonu Nigam amongst males and Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy amongst females.
Playback singing is a very important part of Indian culture; most hit Bollywood films are musicals. The songs of a film and the quality of the music — its music director (composer), lyricist and singer have often determined the success of a film. Often film albums are released before the films are released and therefore there is sometimes a mismatch between the songs on film and the songs on its CD or LP or tape.