Mumbai | Calling Arijit Singh as one of her favourite musicians and a spiritually evolved human being, Chinmayi Sripada said the "Channa Mereya" singer's next step after his retirement from playback singing would be nothing short of divine.

Arijit, 38, who is the most popular musicians today, shocked fans, the music and film fraternity by announcing his decision to step away from playback singing. He said his decision to retire from playback does not mean that he will stop making music. He will just do it independently.

Sripada said she first met Arijit when they recorded a song for music composer Pritam and impressed by his voice, she remembers telling him why he was not ruling the Bollywood.

"'Tum Hi Ho' hadn't released then. I worked with him a few times after he became the most in demand singer and nothing had changed. He is one of my favourite musicians, singers, and over all, one of the finest, and I daresay, spiritually evolved human beings I have come across.

"I always felt he is someone who worked and operated from a higher calling; whatever he has planned for himself as a musician would be nothing short of divine," Sripada said in a post on X.

Arijit started out as a contestant on reality show “Fame Gurukul” in 2005 and made his playback debut in 2011 with “Phir Mohabbat” from the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Murder 2".

He broke into the big league with the soulful hit “Tum Hi Ho” from “Aashiqui 2” in 2013. The success of the song made him a household name.

After that, he quickly became the voice of many moods, be it love, heartbreak or happiness. He went on to deliver a string of chartbusters such as “Channa Mereya”, “Agar Tum Saath Ho”, “Raabta”, “Kesariya”, “Gerua”, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and "Chaleya".