Udit Narayan

Among the most instantly recognisable voices in Indian music—due to his sublime vocal ability and prolific run since the 1980s—Udit Narayan has produced a body of film songs that has earned him legendary status. While his father was a farmer, his mother was a folk singer and his Bihar-origin Nepali roots were nurtured early, with him singing folk songs at village fairs and for radio shows. A chance meeting with an Indian consulate officer led to Narayan learning classical music at in Mumbai under Pandit Dinkar Kaikini. By 1980, he began making his way into the film music world, with a breakthrough on “Papa Kehte Hain” from 1988’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, a song that Narayan sang while channeling his own feelings on the cusp of parenthood. Becoming the on-screen singing voice for Bollywood stars such as Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor, Narayan aced tender love ballads as well as powerful, high-energy songs like A.R. Rahman’s “Taal Se Taal” from the 1999 movie Taal. Some of Hindi cinema’s most recognisable songs, such as “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Dil To Pagal Hai”, have Narayan’s stamp, while the dreamy “Pehla Nasha” (from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar in 1992) remains an evergreen Hindi love song. Through the decades, Narayan adapted to different styles and lyrical intentions, bringing in five Filmfare Awards and four National Film Awards since the 1980s. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016.