Pankaj Udhas Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pankaj Udhas

• Pankaj Udhas belonged to a family of Zamindars near Rajkot in Gujarat.

• He found a passion for music by observing his father, who used to play the dilruba as a hobby, and his older brothers who were stage performers.

• After seeing his interest in music, his father decided to enroll him at the Sangeet Academy in Rajkot, where he took training for four years.

• At the age of 13, he learned Hindustani vocal classical music under the tutelage of Ghulam Qadir Khan Sahab.

• He also took a formal training in music from Navrang Nagpurkar, a singer from the Gwalior Gharana.

• He performed on stage for the first time during the Sino-Indian War in 1962. In the event, he sang the song “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo” and received Rs 51 as a reward for his performance.

• After making his debut as a playback singer with the film ‘Kamna’ (1970), he faced tough competition from Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, and Mukesh in the film industry.

• When he didn’t get much opportunities to work as a playback singer in the films, he started singing and recording ghazals and gained immense popularity.

• After his initial struggling period in ghazal singing for around 4 years, he shifted to Canada and did few shows over there. However, he came back to India after spending 10 months there.

• Farida Udhas and Pankaj Udhas share a heartwarming love story that began when Pankaj was studying in college and Farida was working as an air hostess. They first met each other at one of Pankaj’s neighbor’s houses in 1979 and later started dating.

• Initially, Farida’s parents did not accept their relationship because of their different backgrounds; however, Pankaj later persuaded them to agree to their marriage.
  

  An old photograph of Pankaj Udhas and Farida Udhas with their daughter

• After releasing his debut ghazal album ‘Aahat’ (1980), he released his album ‘Mukarrar ‘ in 1981, which was well received by the audience.

• After becoming a successful singer, he was invited to lent his voice to the song “Chitthi aayi hai” for the film ‘Naam’ (1986). The song was widely praised by the audience and became the breakthrough of his career as a plauback singer.
  

  Poster of the film ‘Naam’

• His album, ‘Shagufta’ (1987) which was launched by Music India, was the first album to be released on compact disc in India.

• During 1989, his album ‘Nabeel’ was ranking among the top-selling albums of the year. The first copy of the album was bought for Rs 1 lakh in an auction, all of which was donated to the Cancer Patients Aid Association.
  

  Cover of the album ‘Nabeel’

• Among his most iconic ghazal albums are ‘Mukarrar’ (1981), ‘Tarrannum’ (1982), ‘Pankaj Udhas Live at Albert Hall’ (1984), ‘Aafreen’ (1986), ‘In Search of Meer’ (2003), ‘Hasrat’ (2005), ‘Sentimental’ (2013), and ‘Khwabon Ki Khahani’ (2015).

• In 1990, he sang the song “Mahiya Teri Kasam” alongside Lata Mangeshkar for the film ‘Ghayal.’

• He lent his voice to the song “Na Kajre Ki Dhar” for the 1994 film ‘Mohra,’ which later became one of his most iconic songs.
  

  Poster of the film ‘Mohra’

• Pankaj Udhas had provided his vocals to numerous songs featured in various films. Some of his most notable songs are titled “Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai” for the film ‘Ek Hi Maqsad’ (1988), “Aaj Phir Tumpe” for the film ‘Dayavan’ (1988), “Jeeye To Jeeye Kaise’ for the film ‘Saajan’ (1991), “Zindagi Ko Guzarne Ke Liye” for the film ‘Jeevan Yudh’ (1997), “Teri Aashiqui” for the film ‘Ghaath’ (2000), and “Main Dil Ki Dil Mein” for the film ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ (2009).

• He started a talent hunt TV show named ‘Aadab Aarz Hai’ in 1998. The TV show was broadcast on Sony Entertainment Television.

• He created a self titled YouTube channel in 2010 and also received a Silver Creator Award in 2019 for reaching 1,00,000 subscribers on his channel. More than 664 K people followed on his channel as of 2024.
  

  Pankaj Udhas with his Silver Creator Award

• In 2010, Pankaj Udhas sang ‘Shabad,’ which are sacred songs in Sikhism taken from the Guru Granth Sahib.

• He lent his voice to some songs for the devotional album ‘Mata Ki Bhetein’ in 2011.

• In 2018, he launched the devotional albums ‘Jai Ganesh’ and ‘Krishna Chants.’ He dedicated his album ‘Jai Ganesh’ the Siddhivinayak Temple, located in Mumbai.
  

  Pankaj Udhas at the Siddhivinayak Temple for the launch of his album ‘Jai Ganesh’

• Pankaj teamed up the popular poet and lyricist Gulzar for the album ‘Nayaab Lamhe with Gulzar’ in 2018.
  

  Cover of the album ‘Nayaab Lamhe with Gulzar’

• In an interview, he disclosed that he once requested a maulvi to teach him the Urdu language so that he could gain a deeper understanding of the poetic verses in Ghazals.

• He was an active social worker and had raised funds for organizations like the Cancer Patients Aid Society, Parents Thalassemia Unit, Spastic Society of India, and MIND.

• Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hasan’s works inspired him to pursue ghazal singing.

• Before his performances, he used to chant the Hanuman Chalisa. ^[3]Hindustan Times

• He loved watching horse racing and had a filly (female horse) named Alliana.

• On 27 February 2024, he passed away at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. His funeral took place at Hindu Crematorium Worli, Mumbai on 27 February 2024 from 3 to 5 p.m.

• Many Bollywood celebs and other prominent persons including Sunny Deol, John Abraham, and Narendra Modi mourned his demise.

We mourn the loss of Pankaj Udhas Ji, whose singing conveyed a range of emotions and whose Ghazals spoke directly to the soul. He was a beacon of Indian music, whose melodies transcended generations. I recall my various interactions with him over the years.

His departure leaves… pic.twitter.com/5xL6Y3Sv75

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 26, 2024