Legendary singer Pankaj Udhas passed away at 72 years of age. His family shared the news of his passing. In a statement, they said, “With a very heavy heart, we are saddened to inform you of the sad demise of Padmashri Pankaj Udhar on February 26, 2024, due to a prolonged illness.” Pankaj was known for many iconic ghazals, including Chitthi Aayi Hai from Mahesh Bhatt’s film Naam. The director recently recalled how Pankaj was initially reluctant to perform it in the film.
“He was a singer and he sang to the live audience so he was a little reluctant in a way about whether he would be able to pull it off, so we assured him that we wanted him to play himself, we didn’t want him to become somebody else. I just told him (think that) you are in one of your shows in Singapore or London and you are singing a song on the stage, the only thing is we will shoot and film it,” Mahesh Bhatt told Times Now.
“I remember I and Saroj Khan ji, she was the choreographer, we would shoot long takes because, unlike film actors who are used to shooting in fragments, he (Pankaj) was a person who would come into his own, only when he would get large chunks to perform,” he added.
Mahesh Bhatt added, “I was just talking with Sanjay Dutt and we both fondly remembered those days of shooting that song, his presence. He (Pankaj) would come from the airport straight onto the set and he would shoot non-stop and then rush back to do his shows. I’m very privileged to have been touched by a man like him, his simplicity was so disarming, and his voice had the same largeness of a simple heart.”
Naam was released in 1986 and was a pivotal point in Pankaj Udhas’ career. “He made Chitthi Aayi Hai into a raging hit and almost everyone in the country connected with it,” Mahesh Bhatt said.
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