Gurdas Mann (ਗੁਰਦਾਸ ਮਾਨ)

Gurdas Mann is an Indian singer, songwriter, choreographer, and actor. He is considered one of the most notable figures in the world of Punjabi music. He was born on 4 January 1957 in Giddarbaha, Muktsar, Punjab, India. He gained national attention in India in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai." Since then, he has gone on to record over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs.

Early life

Gurdas Maan was born on 4 January 1951 in a Sikh family in Giddarbaha Muktsar, Punjab (India). His parents are Tej Kaur and Sardar Gurdev Singh Maan. Maan was formally educated in D.A.V College Malout Punjab. After completing his education there, his parents enrolled him in a further education institute in Patiala. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship as well as achieving a black belt in judo.

Awards and honours

Gurdas Maan received an honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Wolverhampton on 7 Sept 2010. Maan performed at the Royal Albert Hall for two nights in April 2011 as part of his UK tour. This was the first time Maan performed at the Royal Albert Hall, an opportunity that very few artists come across.

On other fronts, Maan has starred in blockbuster Bollywood films and has received numerous awards, including the Jury’s Award, presented to him by the president of India in 2005.
In 2009 he won "Best International Album" at the UK Asian Music Awards for Boot Polishan.

In 2007 he won the National Award for Best Male playback singer for his songs titled "Couplets of Heer" for the movie Waris Shah - Ishq da Waris
.
In 2011 PTC Punjabi Film Awards, He won Critics Award for Best Actor in a Movie - Sukhmani.


Films

Gurdas Maan is best known as an actor for his performances in two films: Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris (2006), which was nominated as India's selection for the Academy Awards, and Shaheed-E-Mohabbat (1999), the film which tells the real-life story of Boota Singh.

Gurdas appeared in the hit film Shaheed Udham Singh (2000), in which he played the role of Bhagat Singh, a revolutionary, with no prejudices based on religion, caste or creed. As a singer Maan has worked with music directors such as Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, and Jaswant Bhanyra.

He starred alongside Juhi Chawla in the epic Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004), an emotional film illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of Punjab in the 1980s. He adopted the role of a son of a well-respected Jatt (bilingual separatist) Gurdev Singh Somal. He falls in love with a high-ranking police officer’s daughter. Before the wedding, the father is murdered by separatists. This tale soon twists in to the inevitable demise of Gurshaan (Gurdas Maan). This movie was based on actual events.

Aside from singing in Punjabi, he is fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Haryanvi and Rajasthani. As an actor he has performed in Punjabi, Hindi and Tamil movies, but he is best known for his starring role in Waris Shah-Ishq Da Waaris, a depiction of the Punjabi poet Waris Shah during the creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-starring Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta. He made a special appearance in Veer-Zaara with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta.

He has appeared in Ucha Dar Babe Nanak Da (1982), Mamla Garbar Hai (1984), Long Da Lishkara (1986), Qurbani Jatt Di (1990), Pratigya (1990), Roohani Taaqat (1991), Saali Adhi Ghar Waali (1992), Wanted: Gurdas Maan Dead or Alive (1994), Kachehri (1994), and Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai (2002).

Personal life

Maan is married to Manjit and has one son Gurikk who has done his schooling at Yadavindra Public School and Mayo College. He also studied at Eton College.