Legendary ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas passes away at 72 after prolonged illness

The untimely demise of actors like Suhani Bhatnagar and Rituraj Singh had really left the entire showbiz industry in a state of shock. Just as when everyone was reeling from this, here comes another shocker of news in the form of the passing away of the legendary ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas.

The news was confirmed by the ghazal singer’s daughter Nayaab on social media. She posted, “With a very heavy heart, we are saddened to inform you of the sad demise of Padmashri Pankaj Udhas on 26th February 2024 due to a prolonged illness- Udhas family”. The legendary singer was 73 years of age.

Looking back in time, Pankaj Udhas was born to Keshubhai Udhas and Jituben Udhas in Jetpur in Gujarat and led an extremely simple life right from the word go. Being the youngest of three brothers, Pankaj was reportedly always inclined towards music since his childhood. His other two brothers are Manhar Udhas and Nirmal Udhas, both of whom also happen to be established names in the world of ghazals.

Pankaj Udhas has been a part of many hit songs in his career spanning many years. A sample list of his hit songs includes the tracks like ‘Chandi Jaisa Rang hai tera’, the evergreen sentimental track of all times ‘Chitthi Aayee Hai’, ‘Aur aahista keejiye baatein…’, ‘Thodi Thodi Piya Karo’ and many others.

In his entire career of many years as a singer par excellence, Pankaj Udhas has been a proud recipient of many prestigious awards and citations. A few of such awards include ‘Special Felicitation at the Wembley Conference Center, London for Completing 20 Years of Performance at the Prestigious Venue’, ‘Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’, USA Award for extraordinary services to Indian music, Radio Lotus Award for Outstanding Achievement, which was presented to him by Radio Lotus, South Africa at the prestigious University of Durban.

Besides all this, the late Pankaj Udhas had also lent his mellifluous voice to many films including Mohra, Saajan and many more.