Sharon Prabhakar Age, Husband, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sharon Prabhakar

• Sharon’s father was a Punjabi and her mother was a Christian. Her parents had a turbulent married life.

• Her mother was fond of music. She was a music teacher at a school and loved to play the piano. This developed an early interest in music in Sharon, who enjoyed singing during her early childhood years.
  

  Sharon in her childhood years with her siblings

• At the age of 16, she lost her voice because her vocal cords got damaged. Her family did not have the finances to get the operation done; however, Sharon kept on fighting it by constantly exercising and pushing her cords harder to sing, and one day she got her voice back. She often talks about this incident in her motivational talks.

• When Sharon was 17 years old, she worked in an ad agency named ‘Sistas’ in Bombay (now Mumbai). To get this job, she ran from her college in Delhi to get on a train to Bombay by stealing money from her father’s pocket.

• In Bombay, she lived at her schoolteacher, Mrs. Bhatti’s house, until she could afford a place to live in that city. Mrs. Bhatti was also the reason behind building the courage in Sharon to leave Delhi and pursue her dreams. Sharon had first called her to express her sadness about her life in Delhi.

• She is a go-getter and has a brave personality. Having no background in the advertising industry, when the boss of ‘Sista’ in the interview, asked Sharon “Do you know the meaning of the word ‘agency’? Sharon replied, Uncle, I don’t but I am willing to learn.” Her confident answer got her the job for a monthly salary of Rs. 350.

• Her salary at Sistas was raised to Rs. 500 within 6 months. With this hike, she started living on her own in a rented apartment for Rs. 310 (per month). She mentions that during those days, she survived on bananas and pav that cost her 10 paise.

• Later, Sharon worked at Air India as an air hostess and started approaching agents to make a career in singing. She was offered a job at the Oberoi Hotel as a singer in the nightclub for Rs. 350 per night.

• Her second husband, Alyque and his first wife, Pearl helped Sharon in grooming her dressing, walking, and speaking style.

• Sharon’s album, Feeling Good, was released under the Polydor label in 1980.

• Sharon Prabhakar produced the Obsession ’77 album in 1981, the only album recorded by the 1970s Bombay’s famous Atomic Forest band. Reportedly, it was the only psychedelic rock album that was ever produced in India.

• In 1981, Sharon’s singing was spotted by Bappi Lahiri while she was singing in the Oberoi nightclub and she was offered to sing the song ‘Meri Jaisi Haseena’ for the film Armaan (1981).

• When Bappi Lahiri called her for auditions, she did not even have the money for a taxi.

• Sharon is popular as ‘the Indian pop diva of the 1980s.’ Her main style of singing is pop and disco songs. She has around 7 Indie-pop and 11 Hindi pop albums released under her name. Her music rights are reserved with the Universal and EMI music brands.
  

  A 1988 CD of Sharon Prabhakar’s hit songs

• In those days, India Today magazine, while praising her as Bombay’s one of the most talented folk singers, placed her voice and style of singing parallel to the American folk singer Joan Baez.

• Sharon is referred to as the original pop singer of Hindi non-film music for singing Hindi language songs in Westernized music style, especially rock and pop.

• An article by the Hindustan Times even placed Sharon before pop artists like Alisha Chinai, Baba Sehgal, and Daler Mehndi, who are credited for being the first pop artists in India.

• In 1982, Sharon got popular with her theatre performance in the play ‘Evita,’ which was produced by Alyque Padamsee. She also got the chance to sing in this play, which had the song ‘Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.’ This play got so famous that for 6 consecutive years, its production ran houseful. The International Theatre fraternity also recognised and applauded this play, giving Sharon international recognition.
  

  Sharon Prabhakar while performing in a play

• ‘Cabaret,’ ‘Butterflies Are Free,’ The Odd Couple, etc. are Sharon’s other popular theatre performances.

• She has been on 3 international music tours as a music performer. These were performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Maddison Square Garden, and the Kenyatta Conference Centre.

• Sharon has performed as a singer in the White House along with the Canadian singer Celine Dion. She has represented India at many international events as a singer.

• As a playback singer, she got noticed in the Indian music industry for songs like – ‘Do Re Me Come With Me’ from the film Tarzan (1985), ‘Dil Ki Dhadkan Kya Kahe’ from Veerana (1988), ‘One Two Cha Cha’ from the film Rock Dancer (1995), and ‘Jhoomo Jhoomo’ from Judge Mujrim (1997).
  

  Sharon while performing as a singer on stage

• She got to perform in an opening act for Michael Jackson when he visited India in 1996.

• Sharon got a role in the 2007 Indian television serial ‘Ye Tera Ghar Ye Mera Ghar.’ This show was aired on the Star One.
  

  Sharon Prabhakar in the T. V. serial Ye Tera Ghar Ye Mera Ghar

• In 2008, she made her Bollywood debut with the film ‘Saas, Bahu aur Sensex.’ Sharon played the character of a Punjabi woman in this.

• She was featured in the Sony Entertainment Television show ‘Mahi Way’ in 2010. In this, she played the role of Ramona Kohli, the magazine’s chief editor.

• Sharon acted in season 3 of the web series ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain,’ which premiered on the OTT platforms ALTBalaji and ZEE5 from 2018 to 2020. Ronit Roy was one of her co-actors in the series.
  

  Sharon Prabhakar’s Instagram post about the ‘Kehne Ko Hain Humsafar’ web series

• In 2019, she played a role in the film ‘Bombairiya.’ Later, Sharon wrote and produced plays like ‘That’s Life’ (a mono-act autobiographical musical) and ‘Life, Love and Other Madness.’ In these plays, she acted with a vision to empower women.

• For the government of India, she choreographed and performed in the Asian Track and Sports Meet, using 2000 dancers and 1000 schoolchildren. Aerodynamic elements were also included in this event.

• Sharon has served as a jury member in many award functions like the WEE Award show. She is also a co-founder of the Mumbai India International Film Festival (MIIFF), which recognizes the work of emerging artists in the film and music industry.
  

  Sharon Prabhakar (centre) at the opening ceremony of the Mumbai India International Film Festival (MIIFF)

• In later years, Sharon turned into an international trainer, a life coach, and a public speaker. She owns a public-speaking institute/company named ‘SPIPS Global Solutions,’ which provides programs on communication skills to big corporations like Mercedes-Benz, Tata, McKinsey & Company, etc.
  

  Sharon as a corporate trainer at Mercedes Benz

• Sharon’s company also manages events like birthday parties and book launches. It provides drama and communication workshops in various schools and colleges. It has also produced stage musicals like ‘Legend Of Lovers’ and ‘Magic of Motown.’

• As a life coach, Sharon Prabhakar has presented herself in a TEDx show.
  

  Sharon at a TEDx event as a motivational speaker

• Sharon Prabhakar is a social drinker. She is seen posting pictures of hard drinks on special occasions on her social media handles.
  

  Sharon raising a champagne toast at her friend’s birthday party

• Sharon Prabhakar does a lot of social work. She raises funds for the needy by participating in and arranging singing events.

• She loves to have coffee and has shared pictures about it on her Instagram.
  

  Sharon’s Instagram post about coffee