MUMBAI: Bollywood’s leading voice, Arijit Singh, stunned fans on Tuesday night by announcing his retirement from playback singing, ending a career that has defined mainstream Indian film music for over a decade. Singh, 38, clarified in a social media post that he would continue making music independently, but will no longer take up new film assignments.
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“I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey,” Singh wrote. “Just to be clear that I won’t stop making music.” He also pledged to complete his existing commitments, hinting that new releases from him will still arrive in 2026.
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The singer’s departure from films comes as a shock to fans and the Bollywood industry, where his voice has long been regarded as the default emotional expression for leading actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Ranveer Singh. His career breakthrough came with the song Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2 (2013), which became a cultural phenomenon and set the tone for romantic Bollywood music in the 2010s.
Since then, Singh has delivered hit after hit — including Channa Mereya, Agar Tum Saath Ho, Raabta, Gerua, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Kesariya, and Chaleya. He has also lent his voice to regional films in Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi, collaborating with a wide range of composers.
Singh’s global popularity has been cemented in the streaming era. In July 2025, he became the most-followed artist on Spotify worldwide, surpassing Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran with over 150 million followers.
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In his statement, Singh emphasized a desire to return to music as an independent artist, free from the schedules and machinery of film production. “Learning more and doing more on my own as a small little artist,” he wrote, hinting at a future focused on personal artistic growth rather than commercial playback work.