Vijay Benedict – From “Disco Dancer” to Gospel Singer

When his first song "I am a Disco Dancer" became a celebrated melody in the 80s and catapulted Bengali actor “Mithun Chakraborty” into Bollywood stardom, Vijay Benedict the voice behind the song had no idea what life had in store for him.You can be pardoned for not knowing that Vijay Benedict was the voice behind this cult hit song because Vijay never fully realized his Bollywood Dreams. Most people today know him as a leading Gospel singer in India. Vijay is also a post graduate in business management who is applying management skills in his singing to spread the message of everlasting peace across the world.

Vijay never was fond of Bollywood but his passion for singing landed him in the dream city of then Bombay. “I worked for two years in a company but the interest of singing urged me to turn to films,’ recalls Vijay.

Vijay is among the lucky few whose entry into Bollywood began with a Super hit. “After being selected to sing ‘I am a disco dancer’. I was nervous but after the release it was an instant hit and still lives in the minds of people”

He has sung for nearly all the leading heroes in Bollywood like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, Govinda, Shatrughan Sinha. He has also worked with the greats in Indian playback singing right from the late Kishore Kumar to Asha Bhonsle. Vijay’s star was on the rise but for an unfortunate incident which changed his outlook on life.

Vijay recalls the incident saying “My younger brother was murdered in Germany as he witnessed a drug deal and complained to the police in the Five Star hotel where he worked”. The incident shook Vijay and while searching for peace he found solace in God. “My films were really doing well at that time but the incident shook me and after trying different things to find peace I turned to Christ and that made me happy,” states Vijay.

Vijay who has done his post graduation in business management tries to apply the skills he has learnt in his singing. “I wanted to be a business manager in a top company before I switch over to my passion. After I get into singing I use the skills of management in my concerts and recordings,” says Benedict. Vijay surmises that if he did not become a singer then he would probably be a CEO in a big company today.

Benedict says that nowadays there are many talented singers in the industry but they are so young in age that sometimes they can’t handle the pressure of surviving. He believes that the media nowadays kills the interest of people in films.

Vijay never felt the urge or the pain of struggling in the industry and life after switching over to spirituality. “I feel God in myself” states Vijay. He believes that to be successful you have to find the talent in yourself and work hard with integrity. Vijay advises “Always care for people, search for peace and believe that God has the power”

YourStory wishes Vijay peace and happiness in his work and life. We hope that he continues on his road of spirituality and entrepreneurship unimpeded by obstacles of any kind…