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

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	• Playback Singer • Ghazal Singer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in feet & inches- 5’ 8”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Film (playback singer): Kamna (1970) Album: Aahat (1980)
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• K L Saigal Award for being the Best Ghazal Singer of the Year in 1985 • Outstanding Young Persons’ Award in 1990 from the Indian Junior Chambers for his positive leadership and his services to the nation • Giants International Award in 1993 for his efforts to achieve the highest standards in the field of music • Radio Lotus Award in 1994, presented by Radio Lotus, South Africa at the University of Durban • Honorary Citizenship of Lubbock Texas, USA in 1994 • Indira Gandhi Priyadarshani Award for his outstanding services, achievement, and contribution to music in 1996 • Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award, presented by the American Academy of Artists at Atlantic City in 1998 • Indian Arts Awards Gala presented by the then Mayor Jersey City in 1998 • Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, USA Award in 1999 for extraordinary services to Indian music, especially promotion of ghazals in India and abroad • Vocational Recognition Award in 2001 from Rotary Club of Mumbai Downtown for his outstanding performance as a Ghazal singer • Honoured by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in 2002 • Award for Excellence in Music Field presented by Sahyog Foundation at Mumbai in 2002 • Dadabhai Naoroji Millennium Award in 2003 conferred by the Dadabhai Naoroji International Society for his contribution to ghazal and the music industry • Special Achievement Award at the Bollywood Music Award, New York in 2003 • MTV Immies Award in 2003 for his album ‘In Search of Meer’ • Special Felicitation at the Wembley Conference Center, London in 2004 for completing 20 Years of Performance at the Prestigious Venue • “Kalakar” Award in 2006 at Kolkata for his album “Hasrat” as “Best Ghazal album of 2005” • Padmashree Award in 2006 for his contribution to the art of ghazal singing and his huge contribution to cancer patients and thallasemic children on the occasion of his completing 25 years of ghazal singing
Personal Life
Date of Birth	17 May 1951 (Thursday)
Birthplace	Jetpur, Gujarat
Date of Death	26 February 2024
Place of Death	Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai
Age (at the time of death)	72 Years
Death Cause	Prolong Illness [1]India Today
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mumbai
College/University	• Sir Bhavsinhji Polytechnic Institute, Bhavnagar, Gujarat • St Xavier's college, Mumbai • Wilson College, Mumbai
Educational Qualification	Bachelor of Science degree from St Xavier's college, Mumbai
Religion	Hinduism [2]Hindustan Times
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Farida Udhas
Marriage Date	11 February 1982
Family
Wife/Spouse	Farida Udhas (former air hostess)
Children	Son- None Daughter- 2 • Nayaab Udhas (event organiser) • Reva Udhas (entrepreneur) Note: Photo in 'Wife' section.
Parents	Father- Keshubhai Udhas (government servant) Mother- Jituben Udhas
Siblings	Brother- 2 • Manhar Udhas (elder; singer) • Nirmal Udhas (elder; singer) Sister- None
Style Quotient
Car Collection	• Fiat 1100 • Mercedes Maybach S-Class • Range Rover SV • Audi A4 Car

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