Devang Patel

Known for his comic expressions and corny lyrics of spoofs which he composes, Devang Patel is a multi-faceted talent. Singer, composer, and actor, he is known for films such as Gambler (1995), Chaahat (1996) and Mard (1998). Famous for the chartbuster song Meri marzi pictured on Govinda in the film Gambler, he also sang Stop that for the same film. He rendered another peppy number Daddy cool for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chaahat, picturised on Anupam Kher and Shah Rukh Khan.  Rendering songs for films such as Mard and Navri Bazar (2016), he is mainly associated with the Gujarati entertainment industry, having acted in the Gujarati films Smile Please (2004), Vanechandno Varghodo (2009), the comedy drama Grand Hali (2017), and Muratiyo No.1 (2022) as well as the Hindi comedy Urf Professor (2001). Besides composing music for the music video Patel Scope (2000), he became popular for his parodies of songs such as Bloody fool - a parody of Daddy Cool by Boney M, Aye mere seth – a parody of Ek pal ka jeena from Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Taal pe baal – a parody of Taal se taal from Taal (1999), and Chasma chasma – a parody of Hamma from Bombay (1995), among many others. 

The 1970-born Patel used to act in several dramas during his school and college years, and also sang. Keen to pursue singing as a profession, he decided to make a music album that was different. He took inspiration from the comedy dramas he was doing at the time, to compose comedy songs which no one had done before. That’s how he plunged into the music industry with his humour-filled songs.

The first song he rendered was a rap number, Madhuri Dixit mili rastein mein, which he first sang for a Gujarati film. He had recorded the song at home as he did not have the funds to record it in a studio at the time. Going from one music company to the other with the recording, he was sent packing with the message that only dandiya and bhajans ran in Gujarati; rap was simply out of the question. However, he eventually convinced a music producer to release the number for free. It proved to be a super-duper hit, breaking records in Gujarati music sales. As this new style was embraced, the success of the song in the Gujarati music industry bagged him the opportunity to sing the same song in Hindi for the 1995 film Gambler. It became a hit here too.

The song was used as an ‘item’ – a bestselling draw in the album, and became very popular. However, Devang Patel, the actual singer, went unnoticed with other singers falsely believed to have rendered the song. 

Thereafter, Patel stayed open to offers from music directors who approached him with singing offers based on their own lyrics and music. However, he largely preferred to focus on releasing his own music albums featuring songs that he composed as well as sang. As he himself put it, “In films, a lot of people claim credit… But when I cut an album then there's only Patelscope and Devang Patel – there is nobody else in between to claim the credit.” 

He made waves with his spoofs using popular international tracks such as Mambo No. 5 to which he fit comic lyrics. According to him, lyrics are the most important part of his songs; using hit tunes made his work easy and safe. He also prefers to write his lyrics himself. 

He is a popular draw at live shows and dandiya events, where he sings, dances, and also performs mimicry. This holds more attraction to him than merely performing playback in a recording studio.