Famous Ghazal Singer Pankaj Udhas Passes Away at 72
Legendary Ghazal & Bollywood singer Pankaj Udhas passed away at the age of 72 on 26th February 2024 at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital after suffering from a prolonged illness.
Legendary Ghazal & Bollywood singer Pankaj Udhas passed away on 26th February 2024 at around 11:00 am. He was 72 years old & was suffering from a prolonged illness. He was admitted in Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital. His family confirmed the news of his passing & issued a public statement for the same. Soon after the news of his death, tributes poured in. PM Modi expressed his grief in a tweet & said that Pankaj Udhas' "ghazals spoke directly to the soul". Home Minister Amit Shah also conveyed his condolences on X (Twitter). Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur & many Bollywood personalities including Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam, Anup Jalota, Adnan Sami, Sunny Deol,Shankar Mahadevan, Anupam Kher, Madhuri Dixit, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Sunil Shetty and many others have also mourned the demise of Pankaj ji. Pankaj ji was born to a farmer father on 17 May 1951 in Jetpur, Gujarat and later moved to Mumbai. He first performed on the stage when he was 5 years old. The audience loved his performance so much that they gifted him ?51. He made his ghazal debut with ‘Aahat’ in 1980. Pankaj ji rose to fame with his self performing ghazal ‘Chitthi Aayi Hai’ in Mahesh Bhatt's 1986 film 'Naam'. The movie starred top actors of the time - Nutan, Kumar Gaurav, Sanjay Dutt, Poonam Dhillon, Amrita Singh and Paresh Rawal. The ghazal was an immediate success & loved by everyone. His other famous ghazals include ' Chandani Raat Mein', 'Na Kajre Ki Dhaar', 'Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein', 'Ek Taraf Uska Ghar', ‘Dukh Sukh Tha Ek Sabka’ and 'Thodi Thodi Piya Karo'. Pankaj ji was honored with Padma Shri in 2006 for his contribution to Bollywood & Indian singing industry. Pankaj ji performed at many concerts around the world and had many successful albums & singles to his name. He also started a talent hunt TV show called 'Aadab Aarz Hai'. Pankaji’s family has announced that his funeral will take place on 27th February 2024 from 3 to 5pm. at the Hindu Crematorium in Worli, Mumbai.
