Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Indian playback singer[3] whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Sindhi, Odia, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Malayalam, Assamese, Bagheli and Maithili.[4] He has won four National Film Awards[5] and five Filmfare Awards with twenty nominations among many others. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009[6] and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution towards arts and culture.[7] As many as 21 of his tracks feature in BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time".[8]
Udit Narayan | |
---|---|
![]() Udit Narayan in 2017 | |
Born | Udit Narayan Jha 1 December 1955 |
Nationality | Indian |
Alma mater | Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Tribhuvan University |
Occupation | Playback singer |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouses | |
Children | Aditya Narayan[2] |
Relatives | Shweta Agarwal (daughter-in-law) |
Awards | |
Honours |
|
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels |
|
He got to sing with Mohammed Rafi in his Hindi playback debut in Unees-Bees in 1980 and also with Kishore Kumar in the 1980s. He finally made his mark in the 1988 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, his song "Papa Kehte Hain" was his notable performance which earned him his first Filmfare Award in the 1980s and he established himself in Bollywood Playback Singing. The soundtrack became one of the highest selling albums in the 1980s. The soundtrack was a breakthrough for the careers of Anand–Milind,[9] as well as T-Series, one of India's leading record labels.[10] after which he was one of the favourites of music directors. In the 1990s he sung for a thousands of songs including Hindi and Nepali languages.
Recognising his contribution, the King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev honoured him with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in 2001 after his contribution to Indian cinema and music, and Chitragupta Cineyatra Samman 2015 for his contribution towards Bhojpuri cinema.[11] He is the only male singer in the history of the Filmfare Awards to have won in over three decades (the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).[12]
Early life
Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December 1955 in an ethnic Maithil Brahmin family to Harekrishna Jha, a Nepalese national, and Bhuvaneshwari Jha, an Indian national.[13][14][15] In 2009, when Narayan was awarded India's fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri, there were reports questioning his Indian citizenship, claiming that he was born in Nepal. However, Udit Narayan himself branded these reports as "completely false", and stated that he was born in the Baisi village of Supaul district in Bihar at his maternal grandparents' home near the India-Nepal border.[16] When his acceptance of the Padma Shri led to his criticism in Nepal, he told the Nepalese daily Kantipur that he was "from Nepal but his mother's home was in Bihar."[17] In a 2017 interview with the Indian magazine Outlook, he clarified that he was born in Baisi, and clarified that his father Harekrishna was a native of Bhardaha, Saptari District, Sagarmatha Zone (present-day Madhesh Province), Nepal on the border with India.[15] In September 2018, Udit Narayan revealed at a ceremony held by the Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America, that he identifies as a Bihari.[18]
Narayan studied at Jageshwar High School, Kunauli, Supaul, Bihar, India, where he finished his SSC and later obtained his intermediate degree from Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Campus of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. His father Harekrishna Jha was a farmer and his mother Bhuvneshwari Devi was a folk singer who encouraged his career.[19][1][20]
Personal life
In 2006, Ranjana Narayan claimed to be Narayan's first wife, but Narayan consistently denied it. Later, he accepted her as his wife and promised to provide for her maintenance.[21][22] Narayan has been married twice, first to Ranjana Narayan Jha and then to Deepa Gahatraj. He began his relationship with Deepa Gahatraj while he was still married to Ranjana Narayan. Narayan and Deepa were married in 1985. With Deepa Gahatraj, he has one son, Aditya Narayan, who is also a playback singer.[2][21][23][24]
Career
Narayan is one of the most prominent singers of Bollywood throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. He has been the on-screen singing voice for various Bollywood stars. He has sung for Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn. Most of his duets are with Alka Yagnik. He began his career in 1970 as a Maithili folk singer (staff artist) for Radio Nepal, singing mostly popular folk songs in Maithili and Nepali.[25][unreliable source?] Gradually, he started singing modern Nepali songs. After eight years, Narayan moved to Bombay on a musical scholarship for Nepalese from the Indian Embassy in Nepal to study classical music at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan.
Narayan started his Bollywood career in 1980 when he was noted by music director Rajesh Roshan, who asked Narayan to playback sing for the Hindi film Unees-Bees. Narayan was given the opportunity to sing with the singer Mohammed Rafi. He sang for Devanand a couplet in Swami Dada.His first duet was in the film Sannata. Soon after, Narayan sang for a number of other films, including Bade Dil Wala in 1983, where he sang a duet with senior singer Lata Mangeshkar, composed by senior music director R. D. Burman. In the same year, Narayan sang with Kishore Kumar in the film Kehdo Pyar Hai. Another singer he sang with was Suresh Wadkar with music composed by Bappi Lahiri. A significant milestone in his career occurred in 1988 when Anand–Milind gave him the opportunity to sing all the songs for the Bollywood film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, with Alka Yagnik, which earned him a Filmfare Award.[26] In a 2014 interview with The Times of India, Narayan said: "The song I've sung, "Manzilein", is the best song of my career after "Pehla Nasha", which gave me superstardom!".[27] Narayan remained prolific through the 2000s, singing numbers in films such as Pukar, Dhadkan, Lagaan, Devdas and Veer-Zaara.
In 2002, Narayan sang "Bairi Piya" with newcomer Shreya Ghoshal, from the film Devdas, of which Rediff.com mentioned: "Narayan successfully captures the eternal romanticism of Devdas".[28] In 2014, Narayan sang a song titled "Naa Hum Jo Kah De" along with Shreya Ghoshal, for the album Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere. The song was composed by Ram Shankar and penned by A. K. Mishra.[29]
He competed with his closest professional rival Kumar Sanu who won five consecutive Filmfare awards in the 1990s.[30]
Narayan's work has been praised by his contemporaries Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy and music director Ankit Tiwari.[31][32][33] Mid-Day included him in the list of notable 90s playback singers.[34] Narayan is considered one of the most prominent singers of his generation.[35]
Other work
Narayan's friend Jiyand Nawab Deedag suggested he change his work from old to modern in order to be selected as a playback singer, but this did not work and, considering old films in 1973, Narayan sang a song for a Nepali film called Sindoor. This was a comedy song for the Nepali comedians GopalRaj Mainali (Chankhe) and Basundhara Bhushal (Nakkali). Narayan sang this song with Sushma Shrestha, now known as Poornima in Hindi films. Narayan has also acted in two Nepali films – Kusume Rumal[36] and Pirati in 1985. In 2004, he released his first non-movie Nepalese album, Upahaar, in which he sang duets with his wife Deepa Jha. Narayan has many solo albums as well, such as Bhajan Sangam, Bhajan Vatika, I Love You, Dil Deewana, Yeh Dosti, Love is Life, Jaanam,Jhumka de Jhumka, Sona No Ghadulo, Dhuli Ganga and Ma Tarini.[37]
Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of many awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award. In 2010, Narayan with Madhushree sang for the English independent film When Harry Tries to Marry.
Narayan also sang the title song for the TV show Yeh Duniyan Gazab Ki, with Kumar Sanu.[38] In 2015 he was involved in a mega series campaign Melancholy, where 421 Nepali artists had sung a 33 minutes 49-second long environmental song, in which 365 artists set a Guinness World Record on 19 May 2016 at Radio Nepal Studio, Singhadurbar, Kathamandu. It is written, composed and directed by environmentalist Nipesh DHAKA.[39]
Television
Narayan was on the panel of judges of Indian Idol 3 in 2007 with music composer Anu Malik and playback singer Alisha Chinai on Sony TV.
Narayan was on the panel of judges on Sony TV for Waar Parriwar, a reality show based on the bringing together of a singing gharana (family of singers). He shared judging duties with fellow playback singer Kumar Sanu and Jatin Pandit of the music duo Jatin–Lalit.[40]
Narayan has appeared on Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star[41] and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs as a guest.[42] In mid May 2024, he appeared as guest in Colors TV's Mangal Lakshmi for Kartik and Lakshmi's Sangeet caremony.[43]
As an actor
Udit Narayan Jha acted in and sang all the songs in a 1985 Nepali film called Kusume Rumal which is one of the All Time Classics in Nepali film industry starring himself with Bhuwan K.C. and Tripti Nadakar, which spent 25 weeks on the box office top ten list and became the highest-grossing Nepalese film of all time until overtaken in 2001 by another Tulsi Ghimire film, Darpan Chaya.[36][44]
Discography
Work with other singers
Udit Narayan career started in 1980 and flourished during 90's. During the huge span of playback singing, other than the duet songs with notable female playback singers, Udit Narayan was fortunate to collaborate with playback singers from all generations. Udit Narayan debuted with legendary singer Mohammad Rafi and then got opportunity to share songs with Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar, Suresh Wadkar, Mohammad Aziz and others during 80's. Most of his male duets are with Kumar Sanu & Abhijeet.Though his best discography songs were duets with singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya.Khudko kya samjhti ha, mai khiladi tu anari, lagi lagi ye dilka. Some of the rest selected and notable songs are as follows
Awards and nominations
Narayan has won four National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards.[11]
Jury member of awards
In 2012, Narayan was one of the jury members of the film music jury for the Global Indian Music Academy Awards[45] In 2015, he was one of the jury members in Mirchi Music Awards, and the same year he was the judge of the Jagran Film Festival.[46][47][48]
Civil honours
- Prabal Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, Fourth Class of Prestigious Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu (Order of Gorkha Right Arm), one of the highest civil honours in Nepal, by the King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, 2001[49]
- Padma Bhushan : third highest civil honour from Indian Government, 2016[50]
- Madhya Pradesh government's National Lata Mangeshkar Award, 2015[citation needed]
- National Bravery Award from Maharashtra at Raj Bhavan 2016[51]
- Padma Shri : fourth highest civil honour from Indian Government, 2009[52]
- Honoured at Swabhimani Mumbaikar Awards, 2016[53]
- Special Jury Salute Award from Radio Mirchi Award, 2016[54]
- Receiving the Kishore Kumar Memorial Award for Music from S. Krishna Kumar[55]
- Dr. Ambedkar Awards in Mumbai, 2015[56]
- Awarded for his exceptional performance Bhojpuri industry, 2015[57]
- Received BIFA awards, 2015[58]
- 1st, Chitragupta Cineyatra Film Award, 2015
- Maharashtra Ratna Awards from Government of Maharashtra 2011[59]
- First Mohammed Rafi award, 2010[60]
- 2nd Medscape India National Awards[61]
- Chitragupta Cineyatra Samman for Bhojpuri Cinema, 2015
- Received Samrat Vikramaditya Sangeet Alankaran Samman, 2006[62]
Outstanding honours and awards
- Big Entertainment Award 2017 Udit Narayan won the 92.7FM Suhana Safar Legend Award[63]
- Mirchi Music Awards 2016 Jury Special Salute[64]
International honours and awards
- International Brandlaureate Personality Award from Malaysia, 2011[65]
Lifetime achievement awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award from Kalashri Award, 2010[66]
- Sahara Awadh Samman Awardee, 2006
- Lifetime Achievement Award from Suryadatta National Awards, 2016[67]
See also
References
- ^ a b c PTI (21 April 2006). "Singer Udit Narayan accosted by 'first' wife". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs' Aditya Narayan: Today people know me by my name". Hindustan Times. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ "List of Odia songs by Udit Narayan". Gaana.
- ^ "Udit Narayan - Chunri Lyrics | Lyrics.com". www.lyrics.com. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Udit Narayan National award". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Seven years after Padma Shree, Udit Narayan honoured with Padma Bhushan". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ^ "Top 40 Soundtracks of All Time". BBC Asian Network. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "India Today". India Today. 18. Living Media: 52. 1993.
Anand–Milind did six films before hitting the jackpot with Qayamat se Qayamat Tak in 1988.
- ^ Booth, Gregory D. (2008). Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studios. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780199716654.
- ^ a b "Udit Narayan to receive India's Padma Bhushan". Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ "Udit Narayan: Latest News, Videos and Udit Narayan Photos". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Aditya bakes a cake for father Udit Narayan on birthday". Mid-Day. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ Shaw, Shri Ram (5 July 2020). "Exclusive – Udit Narayan on completing 40 years in Bollywood: Bitterness of struggle makes success sweeter". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ a b Udit Narayan (8 May 2017). "Song Of Life Diary". Outlook. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Getting Padma Shri a dream come true". Hindustan Times. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
'They say I was born in Nepal, but that's completely false. I was born in a village called Baisi on the Supaul district of Bihar in 1955 at my maternal grandparents' home,' Udit had said in a recent interview with IANS.
- ^ "Artistes have no borders, Udit Narayan tells Nepal". The Times of India. 27 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America Honors Singer Udit Narayan". PatnaDaily. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Udit Narayan on iTunes". ITunes. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ Sharma, Devesh (23 July 2016). "Udit Narayan looks back at his career with affection". Filmfare. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ a b "Udit Narayan meets 'first wife' Ranjana". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ "Tale of two wives". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ "Indian Celebrities Who Married Their Mistresses". Indiatimes.com. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ Sahay, Anand Mohan (28 June 2006). "Udit Narayan wants compromise with first wife". Rediff.com. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ "15 facts about Bollywood music you never knew". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ "IMDB:Filmfare Awards:1989". IMDb. Retrieved 15 February 2022.[unreliable source?]
- ^ "'Life Is Beautiful' has soulful rendition of music". The Times of India. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "The unchained melody of Devdas". Rediff.com. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Women's Day Special- Spreading Melodies Everywhere". Saavn. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Udit Narayan broke streak of Kumar Sanu". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Shreya Ghoshal And Many More Are Ankit Tiwari's Favorite Singers". Bollywood Hungama. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ "Aditya is too modest to be like Udit Narayan, says Alka Yagnik". Bollywood Life. 20 April 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ Dhwani Desai (16 June 2017). "Bollywood singing has to come to an end at some point: Kavita Krishnamurti". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Bollywood playback singers who are tuned out!". Mid-Day. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Udit Narayan one of the most prominent singers". Filmibeat.com. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ a b "Indian Idol 10: Udit Narayan reveals he was paid Rs.1500 to act as a lead hero". Mid-Day. 16 December 2018. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Udit Narayan Upahar". Mio.to. June 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2016.
- ^ Jain, Ananya (1 April 2020). "Quarantine Special: 10 Classic Shows of 80s and 90s , You Can Watch For Free During Lockdown". IndiaTimes. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ "Nepali house-hold names go for the Guinness World Records". Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Udit Narayan As judge of Indian idol". Digital Spy. December 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Udit Narayan as Judge in Indian idol". Filmibeat.com. 21 June 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ "Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik's throwback to the 90's on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs". The Times of India. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
- ^ IANS (19 May 2024). "Udit Narayan Will Sing Some Of His 'Favourite Songs' In 'Mangal Lakshmi' Sangeet Ceremony". Outlook India. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Udit Narayan in Kusume Rumal". IMDb. June 2017.
- ^ "GIMA Awards 2012 :: Press Conference". Highonscore.com. 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Pooja Bhatt, Udit Narayan to judge Jagran Film Festival". Mid-day.com. 27 June 2015.
- ^ "Mirchi music awards jury meets to select winners". Asia Radio Today. 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Mirchi music awards jury meets to select winners". Asia Radio Today. 5 February 2015.
- ^ "Udit Narayan Jha Prabal Gorkha Dashina Bahu". The New York City Post. June 2017.
- ^ "i am speechless :Udit Narayan". The Indian Express. 25 January 2016.
- ^ "Governor of Maharashtra felicitate Padma Awardees from State". Mumbai Messenger. 14 May 2016.
- ^ "Receiving Padma Shri is a dream come true: Udit Narayan". Zeenews.india.com. 26 January 2009.
- ^ "Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Preity Zinta honoured at Swabhimani Mumbaikar Awards". Indian Express. 4 June 2016.
- ^ "8th Mirchi Music Awards: Complete list of winners". The Times of India. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ "Udit Narayan receives Kishore Kumare Memorial Award". Priyadarshin Academy. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Maheshwri, Neha (15 April 2015). "Celebrities attend Dr Ambedkar awards in Mumbai". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ "Udit Narayan- Deepa awarded". The Times of India. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ Léon, Thierry. "BIFA 2015 : Une ode à l'industrie cinématographique indienne" [BIFA 2015: An ode to the Indian film industry] (in French). Le Défi Media Group. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ^ "Udit Narayan Honoured With MAHARASHTRA RATAN AWARD Udit Narayan". In.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015.
- ^ "Udit Narayan wins first Mohammed Rafi award". Bollywood Hungama. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ "Udit Narayan to be feted on March 28". Hindustan Times. 6 March 2006. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Big Zee Entertainment Awards 2017 winners list: Alia Bhatt, Shahid Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sushant Singh Rajput are the big winners of the night". Bollywood Life. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "8th Mirchi Music Awards 2016 - Complete Winner List - Zee TV". Allmoviesonglyrics.in. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ "Adnan honoured with International Brandlaureate Personality Award". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Iyer, Aruna V. (13 July 2010). "Laila O Laila". The Hindu.
- ^ [2] [dead link]
External links
- Udit Narayan at IMDb
- Udit Narayan on Facebook