Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas breathed his last at the age of 72

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 26-02-2024

Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas breathed his last at the age of 72

Person in News 5 min read

Famous ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas died on 26 February 2024 at the age of 72. Singer Udhas was ill for the last several days. According to a report, he breathed his last at 11 am on February 26 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. Singer Udhas got great recognition from the famous ghazal 'Chitthi Aayi Hai'.

Brief biography of singer Pankaj Udhas:

Pankaj Udhas was born in Jetpur, Gujarat, on May 17, 1951. He was the youngest among his three brothers.
His family hailed from Charkhadi near Rajkot, where his grandfather served as a zamindar and the Diwan of Bhavnagar state.
Pankaj Udhas's father, Keshubhai Udhas, worked as a government employee. He was very fond of playing Israj. His mother Jituben Udhas was very fond of songs. The family's musical inclination was fostered by Pankaj Udhas's father's influence, leading him and his two brothers toward music.
Pankaj was admitted to the Music Academy in Rajkot.
Pankaj married Farida on 11 February 1982. They first encountered each other at a common friend's wedding. Pankaj had liked Farida at first sight.
At Farida's request, Pankaj visited her home and discussed their relationship with her father. Farida's father was a retired police officer, hence Pankaj was very scared, but he won her heart with his words. Farida's father agreed to their marriage. After which both of them got married. Both have two daughters, Nayab and Reva.

"Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon" composed with identical rhythm and tune:

Pankaj never thought that he would make his career in singing. Lata Mangeshkar's song 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon' was released during the war between India and China. Pankaj liked this song very much. He composed this song with the same rhythm and tune without anyone's help.
Pankaj sang the song Aye mere watan ke logon. The audience's eyes became moist with this song. He also received a lot of applause. A man from the audience stood up and clapped for him and gave him Rs 51 as a reward. This was his first reward.

Sung the first song for the film ‘Kamna’:

He aspired to establish himself in Bollywood, following in the footsteps of his brothers. For this he struggled for a long time for 4 years. During this period he did not get any major work.
Despite lending his voice to a song in the movie "Kamna," which unfortunately failed at the box office, Pankaj Udhas did not achieve significant popularity in Bollywood. Unhappy with not getting work, he decided to go and live abroad.

Got popularity from the ghazal named after the film ‘Chithi Aayi Hai’:

Initially Pankaj had refused to work in this film.
On Manhar's persuasion, he worked with Rajendra Kumar's assistant. He worked in the film Naam and lent his voice to the ghazal ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai’. This ghazal is one of the best ghazals of his career. This ghazal was edited by David Dhawan. When Raj Kapoor heard the ghazal ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai’, he cried.