A decade of Gujarati music, told through what actually happened — dates, credits and the songs that changed the direction of the work.
Jigardan Gadhavi was born in Ahmedabad on 29 June 1991. He was assembling melodies while still in primary school, and carried on doing it through a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at JG College of Physiotherapy in the same city. The guitar and the harmonium — one instrument from each tradition he would end up working between — were both part of it from early on.
He records and performs as Jigrra, a shortening of his own name that has become the name on the label, the channel and the ticket. It is how the credit reads on his independent releases, and how audiences in Ahmedabad and Chicago alike refer to him.
“Vhalam Aavo Ne” arrived in 2017 in Love Ni Bhavai — words by Niren Bhatt, music by Sachin–Jigar, sung by him. It is the recording most listeners name first, and the one that put a Gujarati film song in front of an audience well beyond Gujarat. Sachin Sanghvi later called it a landmark for the composing duo’s own work.
Browse every credit →Two years before that, he had set verse by the Gujarati poet Kavi Daad to his own composition in “Mogal Aave”. The recording reached far past the state and was eventually carried on BBC Music. It set a pattern he has kept to: traditional material arranged with contemporary production, but without flattening what makes it traditional.
Navratri →He is credited as composer on three films — Hardik Abhinandan in 2016, I Wish, and Lapet in 2019 — and he wrote, composed and sang a long list of his own singles: “Aadhey Pal”, “Taadhkaro”, “Pehli Baar”, “Tara Vagar”, “Aaja Re”, “Dhimo Varsad”, “Vela Milan Ni”. The singer and the writer are the same person often enough that the distinction matters.
Film work →Since “Rangtaali – 2” in 2019 he has released something for the Navratri season almost every year — “Mogal Tara Aangna Maa”, “Odhaji”, “Ramo Re”, and “Fudadi” for 2026. These are not side projects. They are the songs that fill grounds, and they now name the tours.
Navratri →His voice is on Lagan Laagii Re, Asambhauuu and Vaanki Chuki Love Story in 2026, following four film credits in 2025. The live side has moved abroad: the Ramo Re run has played New Jersey, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, the Bay Area, Raleigh and Los Angeles, with dates still ahead.
Live →Born on 29 June in Ahmedabad — the city he still works from, and the city whose Navratri grounds would later become his largest stage.
He began putting tunes together while still in primary school — years before any of it became a profession, and alongside a degree that pointed somewhere else entirely.
“It’s Time to Party” for Whisky Is Risky puts his voice on a Gujarati film soundtrack for the first time. The same year he releases the independent single “Aadhey Pal”.
He sets verse by the Gujarati poet Kavi Daad to his own composition. The recording travels far beyond Gujarat and is later carried on BBC Music — an early sign that folk material, treated seriously, could reach a contemporary audience.
He writes, composes and sings the full soundtrack for Hardik Abhinandan — his first score. “Pehli Baar” follows on Zee Music Company.
Sachin–Jigar’s composition for Love Ni Bhavai, written by Niren Bhatt and sung by him, becomes the song most listeners now name first. The film’s composers later described it as a landmark for their own work.
A monsoon single he wrote, composed and sang, released with Aishwarya Majmudar and featuring Aarohi Patel — and his first appearance in front of the camera rather than behind the vocal.
“Chaand Ne Kaho” for Chaal Jeevi Laiye! and “Nazam Navi” for Dhunki on one side; “Rangtaali – 2”, “Mogal Tara Aangna Maa” and “Odhaji” on the other. Three independent singles arrive in a single June.
Credits across Kem Chho?, Bau Na Vichar, G, Dhuandhaar and BaagadBillaa keep his voice in the middle of mainstream Gujarati cinema.
The Navratri anthem, released on his own Jigrra label with Janki Bodiwala and Kavya Limaye, gives its name to a North American garba tour. Four films carry his voice in the same year.
This season’s anthem, “Fudadi”, arrives with Janki Bodiwala and Yati Upadhyay while the tour runs through North America. Film credits continue with Lagan Laagii Re, Asambhauuu and Vaanki Chuki Love Story.