Tanvi Shah (Tamil: தன்வி ஷா, born 1982)^[1] is an Indian singer, songwriter, and designer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.^[2] In 2010 Shah was the first Indian woman to win a Grammy Award for her contributions to the song "Jai Ho" from the film Slumdog Millionaire.^[3]

Early life and career

Shah studied Fine Arts and received a master's degree in Ceramics from George Washington University in Washington D.C.^[4]

Her first songs with Indian composer and musician A.R. Rahman were "Yakkai Thiri" and "Fanaa" for the 2004 films Aayutha Ezhuthu and Yuva, respectively. The collaboration continued with songs from films Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, Slumdog Millionaire and Delhi-6. Shah has also sung for Yuvan Shankar Raja, Amit Trivedi, and other music directors.^[5][6]

In 2010, she shared the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media with Rahman and Gulzar at the 52nd Grammy Awards for the song "Jai Ho", where she wrote the Spanish lyrics.^[7][8]

She was invited to speak at the TEDxSF conference on Global Health on 12 November 2014.^[9] In 2025 Shah made her comeback after a period of illness with the song "Baala Kaale", with lyrics in Sinhalese, together with Sri Lanka-based artist Jo Perera.^[10]

Philanthropy

Shah is actively involved with the Cancer Institute (WIA), battling cancer herself.^[11] She is also involved with Rotary International's End Polio campaign.^[4] Together with producer JHawk she donated the song "Zindagi" to the album End Polio Now, which features international artists Itzhak Perlman, David Sanborn, Ziggy Marley, Donovan, Staff Benda Bilili,and more.^[12]

Awards

• Grammy Award, Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for "Jai Ho" (from Slumdog Millionaire), 2010^[13]

Discography

References

External links

• Official website
• Tanvi Shah at IMDb