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Balwinder Safri (1978-2022) was an Indian singer, who resided in Canada. He was popular for singing various Punjabi songs like “O Chan Mere Makhna” (1998), “Tere Ishqe Ne” (1999), and “Rahe Rahe Jaan Waliye” (2010). On 26 July 2022, he passed away after recovering from a coma.
Wiki/Biography
Balwinder Safri aka Balwinder Singh was born on Monday, 15 December 1958 (age 63 years; at the time of death) in Kapurthala, Punjab, India. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He developed an interest in music in childhood after listening to the Gurbani and Shabad Kirtan sung by his father at various gurudwaras. While he was studying in school, Safri used to sing patriotic songs in school competitions and morning assemblies. Later, he did training in Indian classical music under his guru Jaswant Bhawra. He then did a degree in music at Randhir College, Kapurthala, Punjab, India.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Gyan Singh, was a religious singer. His younger brother, Avtar Singh Safri, is a singer too.
Balwinder Safri and his mother
Balwinder Safri and his brother
Wife & Children
According to his Instagram post, he met a girl named Nikki Davitt in 2010 with whom he later got married. Reportedly, she was his second wife. Balwinder had a stepdaughter named Priya Kumari.
Balwinder Safri’s Instagram post about his wife
Balwinder Safri and his wife
Balwinder Safri and his step-daughter
Religion
He used to follow Sikhism.
Career
In 1980, he shifted to Canada from Punjab, India, and joined a cloth manufacturing company as a tailor. He used to work on weekdays, and on weekends he used to perform with various music groups like ‘Azad Group’ and ‘Ashoka Group.’
Balwinder Safri during one of his performances
In 1985, he gave his first performance on TV and sang the Punjabi song “Jad Lagiya Chotta Ishqiya Diya.” In 1990, he formed a music group named ‘Safri Boys’ with five other members. He lent his voice to various Punjabi songs like ‘Kar Shukar Khuda Da’ (1994), ‘Another Level’ (1999), ‘Inferno’ (2000), ‘Get Real’ (2010), and ‘Jadon Mann Dole Tera’ (2014), which gained immense popularity. In 1995, Balwinder released his first music album titled ‘Safri Bomb The Tumbi Remix’ (1995). Some of his other popular Punjabi music albums are “Do Tikhiyaan Talwaran” (1997), “Tera Bhana” (2000), “Pao Bhangra” (2009), and “Mere Dil Te Alana Paya” (2010).
A collage of Balwinder Safri’s music albums
Death
In 2022, he went under triple bypass surgery at the New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, England, post a cardiac arrest. After the surgery, various complications were detected in his body which led to his brain damage, and he went into a coma. After being in a coma for 86 days, his body started reacting to certain things, but it failed to recover, and on 26 July 2022, he passed away.
Balwinder Safri during his last days
On his demise, the former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh took to Twitter to share his grief. He tweeted,
Saddened to learn about the death of Punjabi music legend Balwinder Safri today. My heartfelt condolences are with his family and millions of Punjabi fans around the world.”
Facts/Trivia
- In 2019, he was honoured with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by Brit Asia TV.
Balwinder Safri’s Instagram post about his award
- During an interview, he shared how he got the name Safri, he said,
I was a notorious child in school and was not interested in studying. One of my teachers used to taunt me by saying ‘Tu hamesha safar they rehnda aa, bada safari bna firda aa.’ From then my teacher used to call me safari safari. When I made career in singing I included it in my name.”