Ila Arun: The Iconic Voice of Rajasthani Folk Music

Ila Arun’s journey as a singer

Singer-actor Ila Arun is the biggest name that represents Rajasthani folk music since more than three decades. She is the voice behind superhit folk numbers like Mera Assi Kali Ka Lehnga, Resham Ka Rumal, Vote For Ghagra as well as the ageless Choli Ke Peeche and the Ringa Ringa from the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. “Wo andar se hona chahiye na,” she says on being asked about her journey of becoming a singer.

Ila Arun on which songs make her popular

Ila has not just sung folk songs but also gets the credit of delivering superhit songs like Morni Baga Ma Bole (Lamhe), Lamba Lamba Ghunghat (Karan Arjun) and Gutur Gutur (Dalaal) apart from Choli Ke Peeche for Khalnayak.

Ila Arun on remixes

Predictably, Ila Arun is not a fan of new recreations of old folk songs or remixes of ageless film numbers. “Sometimes I’m not too happy, like people are liking What Jhumka, but I enjoyed the song from that time Jhumka Gira Re… That was a beautiful song,” she says.