The Best of Pankaj Udhas

A golden identify on the earth of ghazals and playback singing, Pankaj Udhas regaled listeners together with his dulcet voice on silver display and stage.

Growing up in a household of zamindars and authorities officers in a small village of Charakhadi close to Rajkot, the considered turning into knowledgeable singer by no means crossed his thoughts.

Instead he dreamed of spin bowling for Team India or pursued a level in science from Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College in hopes of turning into a health care provider. But his curiosity in music, a ardour he picked from his esraj (a stringed instrument) aficionado father and melodious mom alongside together with his musically-inclined older brothers Manhar and Nirmal paved the best way for his inevitable profession.

In 1972, Composer Usha Khanna gave him a break with the melancholic ditty, Tum Kabhi Saamne Aa Jao in Kaamna.

When affords did not begin pouring in as anticipated, a dissatisfied Udhas took off to Canada hoping to begin afresh in a model new route. It wasn’t lengthy earlier than he realised music is the place his coronary heart is and issues actually took off as soon as he launched his maiden album of ghazals, Aahat in 1980.

A couple of years later, he would seem as himself in Mahesh Bhatt’s Naam for one of the vital emotional sequences of the film leaving an auditorium of listeners on display and off it lined in tears.

And the legend of Pankaj Udhas grew in track and stature.

His elegant physique of labor, LIVE and recordings, is a tuneful treasure whose melody and reminiscence lives on. Fondly remembering the late singer and 10 of his superhit songs.

 

Chhithi Aayi Hai from Naam (1986)
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

When Producer Rajendra Kumar requested Pankaj Udhas to behave as himself for a track sequence for Naam, as a ghazal star performing earlier than a homesick NRI viewers, the singer had second ideas.

After some persuading, he warmed as much as the thought and delivered one of many milestone musical moments of his profession.

 

Ek Taraf Uska Ghar (1985)
Music: Pankaj Udhas
Lyrics: Zafar Gorakhpuri

An impressive mixture of intoxicating poetry and playful rhythm comes alive on this evergreen Pankaj Udhas magnificence and live performance favorite from his 1985 album, Naayab (it is also the identify of his daughter).

 

Chandi Jaisa Rang from Ek Hi Maqsad (1988)
Music: Pankaj Udhas
Lyrics: Mumtaz Rasheed

Few could recall the film, however the doting track is way adored by all who’ve heard it in its unique and revived avatar.

Originally filmed on Raj Kiran and Divya Rana, the Pankaj Udhas composed chartbuster, reappeared in a youthful music video on the peak of Nineteen Nineties Hindi pop music renaissance.

 

Aaj Phir Tumpe from Dayavan (1988)
Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
Lyrics: Aziz Qaisi

A chartbuster from Feroz Khan’s Nayakan remake, Aaj Phir Tumpe grabbed eyeballs for the lip lock between Vinod Khanna and Madhuri Dixit on display whereas discerning listeners could not have sufficient of that distinctly Pankaj Udhas flavour in a quintessential Laxmikant Pyarelal composition that includes Anuradha Paudwal’s honeyed presence.

 

Mohabbat Inayat Karam from Baahar Aane Tak (1990)
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Lyrics: Indeevar

Baahar Aane Tak sank with out a hint, however its album grew to become a rage, particularly the Punjabi dance ditty Kaali Teri Choti and the romantic duet Mohabbat Inayat carried out by Pankaj Udhas and Anuradha Paudwal complimenting one another’s vocal texture to create a various sound.

 

Jeeye Toh Jeeye Kaise from Saajan (1991)
Music: Nadeem Shravan
Lyrics: Sameer

There are a number of variations of the heart-breaking Jeeye Toh Jeeye sung by a number of vital voices within the hottest promoting soundtrack of 1991.

One of them belongs to the inimitable Pankaj Udhas, pitching in a cameo as himself within the Sanjay Dutt-Madhuri Dixit-Salman Khan love triangle.

And Salman’s raving response to the ghazal maestro through the recital completely sums up everybody else’s sentiments too.

 

Kisi Ne Bhi Toh Na Dekha from Dil Aashna Hai (1992)
Music: Anand Milind
Lyrics: Majrooh

A under-rated gem from the Hema Malini directed melodrama starring Shah Rukh Khan, Dimple Kapadia and Divya Bharti, the poignant temper of Kisi Ne Bhi hits one other degree of melancholic beneath Pankaj Udhas’ lilting rendition.

His private presence, in yet one more visitor look, provides a contact of genuine to the state of affairs.

 

Na Kajre Ki Dhaar from Mohra (1994)
Music: Viju Shah
Lyrics: Indeevar

Where Mast Mast and Tip Tip topped the charts for his or her apparent razzle dazzle, Mohra‘s record of chartbusters would not be full with out the mellow, mushy appreciation for Na Kajre Ki Dhar by a pitch excellent Pankaj Udhas.

 

Dil Jab Se Toot Gaya from Salaami (1994)
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Lyrics: Sameer

Back within the Nineteen Nineties, plenty of films gained success purely on the energy of their soundtrack. Salaami falls beneath this kind.

And Pankaj Udhas duly conveys the woes of a jilted lover to the hilt within the drama and dejection of its catchy heartbreak quantity, Dil Jab Se Toot Gaya.

 

Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein (1999)
Music: Pankaj Udhas
Lyrics: Zafar Gorakhpuri

Besides turning the likes of Sameera Reddy, Vidya Balan and John Abraham into stars of his breezy music movies, the soothing notes and straightforward appeal of his voice and tunes as Pankaj Udhas discovered a candy spot between ghazal and pop endeared him to a wholly new technology.

As Aur Ahista from the album Stolen Moments amply demonstrates.