How Many National Awards Did Arijit Singh Win? Trophy Count, Surprises, and More

Not every Arijit Singh blockbuster ends up snagging a national award, which always gets people talking. If you’re a fan, you’ve probably argued with your friends about which songs he should have won for. Here’s the thing—a National Award for playback singing is one of the toughest music prizes in India. The judges look for raw emotion, technical spark, and something different from the Bollywood crowd-pleasers you hear on the radio.

If you think Arijit’s wall is covered with these trophies, prepare to be surprised. The number isn’t as big as you’d guess, given his massive hit list. Some of his chart-busters have never even been nominated, thanks to the unpredictable ways the National Awards work. This is the place to find out the real numbers and the untold stories behind them. Ready to settle the debate once and for all?

• The National Film Awards: What’s So Special?
• Arijit Singh’s National Award Wins: The Real Number
• Songs and Moments Behind the Trophies
• Why It’s Harder Than It Looks: National Awards Surprises

The National Film Awards: What’s So Special?

The National Film Awards are like the gold standard for Indian film honors. Since 1954, these awards have been picking out the sharpest talents in the industry—musicians, singers, actors, you name it. While most other trophies are run by magazines or TV sponsors, this one comes straight from the Indian government. That alone changes the game.

The category that matters here is Best Male Playback Singer. This is where heavyweights like Arijit Singh aim to land. Unlike many other awards that go for popularity or chart success, the National Award judges go all in for quality, originality, and serious performance skills. You can have a monster hit, but if your singing is just average, that’s not going to do it.

What makes the process even tougher? The jury changes every year and includes filmmakers, music directors, and critics from all over India. They’re looking for voices that bring something new or hit an emotional sweet spot—not just the obvious crowd-pleasers.

• The jury process is kept confidential—no fan votes or social media hype here.
• Songs from all Indian languages get considered, so it’s not just Hindi tracks fighting for the prize.
• Entries are judged for the year’s entire output, not just flash-in-the-pan hits.

If you think about how many copies Arijit's tracks sell or how often they trend, it might throw you off. Here, those numbers don’t matter—at all. A less-known song with sharp vocals can win against a blockbuster, any day.

Arijit Singh’s National Award Wins: The Real Number

Alright, straight to the point—everyone throws around guesses, but here’s the real answer: as of June 2025, Arijit Singh has won exactly one National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. That’s right, only one, even with all the superhits he’s pumped out. It’s kind of surprising considering how many top songs he’s had since his rise in 2013.

Want proof? In 2019, Arijit clinched the National Film Award for the song “Binte Dil” from the movie ‘Padmaavat.’ The song set social media on fire and even got my son Arjun humming it everywhere we went! Still, his win for “Binte Dil” is his only National Award so far. Just for clarity, here’s a quick table that breaks down his National Award record in the category of Best Male Playback Singer (until 2025):

Some folks are shocked it’s not more, given his voice practically owned the last decade. But that’s how competitive and unpredictable the National Film Awards can be. Bollywood fans love him, his streaming numbers are through the roof, and yet, the official trophy count for national awards still sits at one.

Songs and Moments Behind the Trophies

Here’s where the music gets real. When people talk about Arijit Singh and national awards, most get shocked to learn he’s actually won just one National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer—yep, you read that right, just one. That award came in 2019 for the haunting song “Binte Dil” from the film Padmaavat. Surprised? Even diehard Arijit fans sometimes miss this detail, since his voice has been everywhere in Indian movies for a whole decade.

Let’s dig into what made “Binte Dil” worthy of such a tough-to-win trophy. The judges look for soul, technique, and something honestly new. Arijit’s vocals on this track show crazy control and emotion, with complex notes and a depth that’s hard to pull off. That performance stood out even in a year loaded with good film songs.

I know, the next thing you’re thinking is—what about “Tum Hi Ho,” “Channa Mereya,” or even “Kesariya”? Those tunes sent the whole country into a frenzy, but the National Film Awards run on different rules from the more popular vote-based awards like Filmfare. Sometimes, amazing tracks just don’t match what the National jury is searching for, or they face fierce competition from other powerhouse performances that year.

Here are a couple moments that stood out about Arijit’s national award win:

• The “Binte Dil” win got him respect even from the toughest critics, not just his regular fans.
• He mentioned in interviews that hitting the right emotion for that song wasn’t easy, and that made the award feel even better.
• Before this win, he’d been nominated in conversations but didn’t make the final list—National Awards just aren’t predictable, and that makes each win feel huge.

So while the list is short, it’s packed with achievement. When Arijit bagged his first National Award, it wasn’t for a mainstream romantic ballad—it was for a gutsy, intense track that showed what he could really do beyond regular chartbusters.

Why It’s Harder Than It Looks: National Awards Surprises

Here’s the twist—winning a National Award isn’t just about racking up streams or having your song played on loop at every wedding. The National Film Awards work a lot differently than most other Indian music awards. The jury, usually packed with hardcore industry veterans, looks beyond popularity. They’re after real skill, depth, and context in the song—not just a catchy tune.

If you check Arijit Singh’s run, it’s actually full of surprises. Despite his dominance in the Bollywood playback scene, he hasn’t won multiple National Awards. For fans who might assume he gets one for every blockbuster, reality doesn’t match the hype. Many of his biggest hits, like "Tum Hi Ho" from Aashiqui 2, never even bagged a National Award despite being cultural phenomena. Instead, the award often goes to performances that offer something different or take a risk.

The voting process is super strict. The jury members don’t just vote by popularity or commercial success. Often, they focus on:

• Vocal expression and technique
• Originality of the song and performance
• How the song fits into the story of the film
• Freshness and risk-taking

What’s wild is that these choices can leave out famous tracks and go with lesser-known but technically strong songs. In 2019, Arijit got his first National Award for "Binte Dil" from Padmaavat, catching many fans by surprise since the song wasn’t his most mainstream hit that year.

So if you’re ever confused when Arijit’s most viral songs don’t win, it’s not a snub. The National Film Awards have their own playbook. That’s what makes every win even more meaningful for singers like him. Even one win in this field is a serious stamp of respect for vocal craft.

Keep this in mind when talking about Arijit Singh and his national awards. It’s not just about hits—it’s about being genuinely different.