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Papon (singer)
Indian playback singer and composer (born 1975)
Indian playback singer and composer (born 1975)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Papon |
| birth_name | Angaraag Mahanta |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Nagaon, Assam, India |
| image | Papon at Coke Studio Season 3 launch.jpg |
| caption | Mahanta at the Coke Studio Season 3 launch |
| alias | Papon |
| instrument | Guitar |
| genre | |
| occupation | Singer, composer |
| years_active | 1998–present |
| label | MDR Records, Times Music, T-Series, Sony Music |
Angaraag Mahanta (born 24 November 1975), known by his stagename Papon, is an Indian playback singer and composer from Assam. Papon has also sung in many languages apart from Assamese like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Marathi. He is the lead vocalist and founder of the folk-fusion band Papon and The East India Company. He is the son of the noted Assamese singer Khagen Mahanta and Archana Mahanta.
Career
Papon started his musical journey in the year 1998 with the Assamese song "Nasaba Sokule" from the album Snigdha Junak. In 2004 he released his first album, Junaki Raati.
Papon made his debut in Bollywood with the song "Om mantra" from the film Strings - bound by faith in 2006. In 2011, his song was "Jiyein Kyun" from the movie Dum Maro Dum which was his first big hit*.* In 2014, he sang "Lakeerein", which is a poem by Gulzar, for the film Kya Dilli Kya Lahore and "Sun RI Bavli" for Nagesh Kukunoor's film Lakshmi. In 2015, he sang "Moh moh ke dhage" for the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha and "Humnava" in Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015). In 2016, he sang "Bulleya" for the film Sultan. In August 2016, Red Bull released "Hometown Heroes," a seven-part documentary web series that revisits the story of Papon's youth and rising career. Papon's 2018 song "Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho Gaya", from the movie Sanju, comments on differences between the real Sanju and the "reel" Sanju.
Television
In 2013, Papon was responsible for the theme song for MTV Roadies X: Battle for Glory – "Jajabor" (Jajabor being an Assemese word for yayavar - "traveler").
In 2017, he was one of the judge in The Voice India Kids.
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Rodor Sithi | ||
| 2025 | Metro... In Dino |
Band

In 2007, Papon formed an electronic folk-fusion band called Papon and The East India Company. The band consists of Papon on vocals, Brin Desai and Hameem Kader on live electronics, Jinti on lead guitars, Kirti on percussion and Dipu on bass and Tanmay on Drums The six members came from backgrounds varying from Assamese folk to metal and blues to trip hop.
The band has performed twice at the SAARC Music Band Festival in New Delhi, the Eastwind Festival, and the Kovalam Literary Festival and has performed overseas with Sutasi in Singapore. The band took a two-year break in the wait for a solo album which was released internationally at the end of 2011. The band is back in action in November with 4 big festivals in the same month. They also played at the October Fest in Bangalore, NH7 Weekender fest in Pune and the Rock for Rights concert in New Delhi.
Personal life and education
His father, Khagen Mahanta, died on 12 June 2014.
He now lives in Mumbai with his wife Shweta Mishra Mahanta. They have two children.
He initially went there for Architecture but later enrolled himself to a degree in English Literature in Delhi University. He spent some time in Ramjas College before he shifted to Motilal Nehru College.
Controversies
Papon, who was a mentor and judge on The Voice India Kids, on Facebook live-streaming from his own page was seen putting Holi colors on an 11-year-old girl, and was alleged on media and social media to have kissed her. On 24 Feb 2018, The police lodged a case against him after a complaint from the Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. Along with the other contestants present on the video streaming and their respective guardians, the parents of the minor also denied allegations against Papon stating that it was fatherly love shown by Papon and there was no kiss. He left the reality TV show as judge due to the allegations.
A court of law later found insufficient reason to charge Papon based on the police investigation reports and closed the case and stated that the case arose due to a mistake of fact.
Collaborations
Papon has featured in albums which carry the labels of MDR Records, in a collaboration with Times Music, and has also featured in the soundtrack of Bollywood films Dum Maaro Dum, I Am Kalam, Soundtrack, Patang, and most recently Barfi!. He also featured on the Indian leg of the show Coke Studio @ MTV. He performed on the show Global Indian Film Awards with MIDIval Punditz, Kailash Kher and Shubha Mudgal. He also appeared on Star world India, Episode six of The Dewarists with Rabbi Shergill and recorded a song "Khule Da Rabb". Papon has also worked with Shantanu Moitra in the 4th season of The Dewarists for 'O Megh' which is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's poem of same name.
Discography
Main article: List of songs recorded by Papon
Awards

| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Prag Cine Awards | Best Playback Singer Male | Title Track - Raamdhenu | ||
| 2013 | Prag Cine Awards | Best Playback Singer Male | Rowd | ||
| 2014 | Prag Cine Awards | Best Playback Singer Male | Bhal Pabo Najanilu | ||
| 2015 | Prag Cine Awards | Best Supporting Actor Male | Rodor Sithi | ||
| Best Playback Singer Male | "Protidine" – Rodor Sithi | ||||
| 2016 | 22nd Screen Awards | Best Male Playback | "Moh Moh Ke Dhage" – Dum Laga Ke Haisha | ||
| 61st Filmfare Awards | Best Male Playback Singer | ||||
| Zee Cine Awards 2016 | Best Playback Singer - Male | ||||
| 8th Mirchi Music Awards | Male Vocalist of the Year | ||||
| GiMA Awards 2016 | Best-Playback Singer - Male | ||||
| 17th IIFA Awards | Best Male Playback Singer |
References
References
- Sarmah, Chandan. (29 January 2010). "Tunes with a rare freshness". The Telegraph.
- (24 November 2020). "Popular Assam singer Angarag 'Papon' Mahanta turned 45 today - Sentinelassam".
- "Assamese Songs with Lyrics : Collection of Old and New Assamese Songs".
- "NASABA SOKULE {{!}} ZUBEEN GARG {{!}} ANGARAG MAHANTA {{!}} ASSAMESE LYRICAL VIDEO SONG {{!}} SNIGDHA JUNAK".
- "Papon - Movies, Biography, News, Age & Photos".
- Chakrabarty, Shreoshree. (2020-12-24). "Papon voices the latest single of Saregama featuring Erica and Rohman".
- "[EXCLUSIVE] Papon on recreation of old classic songs: You want to have your own version as a cover".
- "Bhopal: Language no bar in music, says Papon".
- (13 August 2016). "Papon's Hometown Heroes: Story of singer who revived folk music is now a web series".
- (31 October 2016). "Papon : Red Bull Hometown Heroes : Episode 1 - Where It All Began".
- "'Sanju' new song: 'Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho Gaya' is a funny take on how celebs feel about gossip - Times of India". The Times of India.
- "Sanju Song Baba Bolta Hain Bas Ho Gaya: A Treat To Ranbir Kapoor And Sanjay Dutt Fans". NDTV.com.
- (2013-02-02). "Roadies X: Papon composes new theme song– Jajabor". [[The Hindustan Times]].
- (24 February 2018). "THE VOICE INDIA KIDS: Papon steps down as judge on show". [[ABP News]].
- "Papon & The East India Company".
- "Almost Famous".
- (21 November 2011). "Jamming for Rights". [[Hindustan Times]].
- Staff. (13 June 2014). "Legendary Assamese Singer Khagen Mahanta dies at 72". Times of Assam.
- (5 June 2021). "Papon’s Earthful Foundation leads a unique initiative to curb coronavirus in Assam : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama".
- (5 June 2021). "Singer-composer Papon leads an initiative to curb coronavirus in rural Assam". [[The Times of India]].
- (2017-10-09). "Papon: In Motilal Nehru, I would sit with a guitar and girls would flock around me".
- "YouTube, a Google company".
- "papon didnt kiss her.. watch!! slow motion".
- "Singer Papon opens up about the allegations made against him - Times of India ►".
- "Caught Kissing Minor On Facebook Live, Papon Quits As Reality Show Judge".
- "Papon sir didn't do anything wrong: Minor girl defends singer accused of molesting her".
- Team, DNA Web. (24 February 2018). "Papon sexual assault case: Singer barred forever from Essel Group, says Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra".
- (21 December 2019). "In the Court of the Sessions Judge Kamrup (M), Guwahati – Dispur P.S. Case No. 502/2019".
- Sinha, Dipanjan. (18 November 2011). "Papon goes national on musical movement". The Telegraph.
- "O Megh - Music Video ft. Shantanu Moitra & Angaraag Papon Mahanta [Ep4 S04] : The Dewarists". Dewar's India.
- "Season 04 : O Megh".
- (23 November 2011). "The Dewarists – Khule Da Rabb".
- Singh, Jasmine. (30 March 2013). "Vocal charm". The Tribune.
- (4 March 2014). "Nominations for Prag Cine Award, 2014". [[The Assam Tribune]].
- Sudhakaran, Sreeju. (8 January 2016). "Star Screen Awards 2016 winners list". BollywoodLife.com.
- (12 January 2016). "Nominations for the 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards". [[The Times of India]].
- Kaur, Kiran. (16 January 2016). "61st Britannia Filmfare Awards: The complete list of winners". The Times of India.
- (18 February 2016). "Zee Cine Awards 2016 Nominations List Out!". Koimoi.
- Prashar, Chandni. (21 February 2016). "Zee Cine Awards: Complete List of Winners". NDTV.
- (1 March 2016). "8th Mirchi Music Awards: Complete list of winners". The Times of India.
- "GIMA 2016 Nominations".
- (22 March 2016). "'Bajirao Mastani' leads GiMA Awards nominations". The Times of India.
- Sen, Sushmita. (7 April 2016). "GiMA Awards 2016: 'Bajirao Mastani' bags maximum awards; Yo Yo Honey Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Arijit Singh perform live". International Business Times.
- (27 May 2016). "Check out the IIFA 2016 nominations full list here". DNA.
- (26 June 2016). "IIFA Awards 2016: The Complete List of Winners". News18.
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