Gurdas Maan was born on 4th January, 1957 in Giddarbaha, Muktsar District, Punjab, India. His song "Dil Da Mamala Hai" brought him to national attention in India in 1980. He has recorded over 27 albums. Gurdas Maan was formally educated in Malout. After completing his education, his parents moved him to Patiala for further studies. He is of Sikh faith. The city fascinated him especially because it was home to the National Institute of Sports, as Gurdas Maan is a keen sports enthusiast. He joined the N.I.S and gained a Masters Degree in Physical Education.
He took part in youth festivals organized by various universities and won numerous awards for his singing and acting. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship. He is also a black belt in Judo. In one of his stage play he sang a song which he wrote himself and called "Dil da mamla hai". The play was seen by a producer of a Jalandhar TV station, who then approached him for a TV recording of his song, which Gurdas reluctantly agreed to. When the song was aired on December 31, 1980 it stormed the nation and Gurdas Maan became a household name. The overwhelming success of the song grabbed the attention of HMV who wanted to record the song and from this came his second album in 1981.
He has produced over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs. He also wrote and directed TV programs like POP Time for Doordarshan Delhi. When Gurdas Maan started his career as a performer, there was no market for solo singers, as the market was dominated by the duets. He declined many offers to perform as a duet as he was confident of becoming successful as a solo artist. Even today when organizers arrange for a group of artists to perform, he always perform solo. He has toured the globe and charmed audiences with his versatile performances.
Credit goes to Gurdas Maan for raising Punjabi music from a mere regional level to an international level by giving it a fresh look. The ever-popular "Apna Punjab hove" track has surpassed all other songs by Gurdas Maan. This track has received awards for The Best Song, Album & Best International Artist of the Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham in 1998. This song was orgnially written by Makhan Brar, who lives in Toronto. As Gurdas Mann was performing in his concert in Toronto, Makhan Brar handed this song to him. It became a hit at that concert. Later on Gurdas Maan added a last verse to this song "marjaane Maana kion Punjab Janda khind da" and included it in his forthcoming album.
He starred in the hit film "Shaheed Udham Singh", where his true personality was highlighted as a Sikh man with no prejudices based on religion, caste or creed. As a singer Gurdas Maan has worked with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, Jaswant Bhanyra to mention but a few. He has also recently starred alongside Juhi Chawla in the epic "Des Hoyaa Pardes". An emotive film illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of 1980s Punjab. His role is that of the son of a well-respected Jatt (farmer) Gurdev Singh Somal. He falls in love with the SOH'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, most recently "Waris Shah - Ishq Daa Waaris," a depiction of the Punjabi poet Waris Shah's creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-starring Juhi Chawla. Also he did a speacial apperence in Veer-Zaara with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta.
During his early career he also wrote and directed TV programs such as POP Time for the Doordarshan Network in Delhi.He took part in youth festivals organized by various universities and won numerous awards for his singing and acting. He competed in many athletic events and won medals including a bronze at the National Championship. He is also a black belt in Judo. In one of his stage play he sang a song which he wrote himself and called "Dil da mamla hai". The play was seen by a producer of a Jalandhar TV station, who then approached him for a TV recording of his song, which Gurdas reluctantly agreed to. When the song was aired on December 31, 1980 it stormed the nation and Gurdas Maan became a household name. The overwhelming success of the song grabbed the attention of HMV who wanted to record the song and from this came his second album in 1981.
He has produced over 27 albums and has written over 200 songs. He also wrote and directed TV programs like POP Time for Doordarshan Delhi. When Gurdas Maan started his career as a performer, there was no market for solo singers, as the market was dominated by the duets. He declined many offers to perform as a duet as he was confident of becoming successful as a solo artist. Even today when organizers arrange for a group of artists to perform, he always perform solo. He has toured the globe and charmed audiences with his versatile performances.
Credit goes to Gurdas Maan for raising Punjabi music from a mere regional level to an international level by giving it a fresh look. The ever-popular "Apna Punjab hove" track has surpassed all other songs by Gurdas Maan. This track has received awards for The Best Song, Album & Best International Artist of the Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham in 1998. This song was orgnially written by Makhan Brar, who lives in Toronto. As Gurdas Mann was performing in his concert in Toronto, Makhan Brar handed this song to him. It became a hit at that concert. Later on Gurdas Maan added a last verse to this song "marjaane Maana kion Punjab Janda khind da" and included it in his forthcoming album.
He starred in the hit film "Shaheed Udham Singh", where his true personality was highlighted as a Sikh man with no prejudices based on religion, caste or creed. As a singer Gurdas Maan has worked with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Nadeem Sharvan, Amar Haidipur, Charanjeet Ahuja, Jaswant Bhanyra to mention but a few. He has also recently starred alongside Juhi Chawla in the epic "Des Hoyaa Pardes". An emotive film illustrating the tragedies faced by the people of 1980s Punjab. His role is that of the son of a well-respected Jatt (farmer) Gurdev Singh Somal. He falls in love with the SOH'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, most recently "Waris Shah - Ishq Daa Waaris," a depiction of the Punjabi poet Waris Shah's creation of his epic poem Heer Ranjha, again co-starring Juhi Chawla. Also he did a speacial apperence in Veer-Zaara with Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta.
1990s and 2000s
Gurdas Maan is often credited with raising Punjabi folk music from a regional level mostly in the Punjab to gain international recognition. His album Apna Punjab won Best Album at the 1998 Asian Pop and Media Awards held in Birmingham. Maan also won Best Song for the title track and Best International Artist the same year. In addition to these awards, Maan more recently won three music awards of Best Lyrics (Kudiye), Best Song (Heer), as well as Best Singer of the Year at the ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards on 6 March 2005
