He created a perfect blend of Bollywood music with ghazals. Delivering hits like ‘Chhithhi Aayi Hai’, Chupke Chupke Raat Din among various others, Udhas made a very special place in the audience’s heart. This proved to be a turning point in his career and he did not look back ever since. In 1980, he released his first-ever Ghazal album ‘Aahat’. He performed small stage shows in the US and Canada for 10 months before finally returning back to India. However, his Bollywood career did not pick up and later he moved to Canada. While the film turned out to be a failure, his song was appreciated by the fans. Later in 1972, he bagged his first Bollywood song composed by Usha Khanna in film Kaamna. His first stage performance earned him an award of Rs 51 and his journey in the world of music continued. His initial interest in the world of music was drawn because of his elder brother Manhar Udhas who was also a singer.ĭuring one of the stage performances of Manhar Udhas during the Indo-China war, Pankaj got on stage and sang ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo’ for the audience. Udhas, who was born on in Jetpur, Gujarat, learned tabla for over 4 years during the initial days. The love for ghazals is not going to fade.In a career spanning several decades, ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas ruled over the hearts of his fans with his magical voice. “My film songs are always in demand but I feel nice when youngsters come to me and request ‘Diwaron se mil kar rona’, ‘Ek taraf uska ghar’ or ‘Aap jinke kareeb hote hain’. He has a lot of hope from the younger generation which loves ghazals. Listeners’ passion and attention is also not the same as before, probably due to a busy lifestyle and demanding jobs.” They are not consuming music the way people used to do then. Today, we have every song on the internet but people don’t have time for music.
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We got full attention of listeners and music lovers used to wait for cassettes.
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“Then, music was the biggest source of entertainment as cable TV came later and the internet was not there. The singer agrees that the ghazals of 80s and 90s are more relevant even today. Even today, when people get tired of other genres, they find peace and solace in ghazals.” But, the good thing about ghazals is that the basic ingredient has not changed - poetry and melody. “Music has changed many dimensions over a period of time and the change is mainly due to the technology and sound design. The ‘Chitthi aayi hai’ singer feels that the ghazal still remains a major option for music lovers. Besides, from next month, listeners will get to hear new singles - a little bit about songs, about the composition, lyrics and other aspects,” said the singer who will turn 70 in May and adds he feels only 50 at heart!
It will focus on the Urdu legend but in a different way from what we have seen in the epic serial. “I am working on a programme on Mirza Ghalib. He is designing a musical project with theatre personality Salim Arif, a Lucknowite.
Through it, I want to introduce many concepts that I have in my mind about ghazal and poetry.” Currently, the mostly important vehicle to interact with people is the digital medium. In Lucknow for his first live performance in the pandemic phase, he said, “I have always believed that you need to move ahead with time. With ‘Aahat’, ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas created a sensation in the ghazal world 41 years back and still he is all out to adapt to contemporary ways and modern techniques.