This incident happened in the 1950s. In Savarkundla, Saurashtra, a seven-year-old child used to cross the river every day to go to school. On the way, the pained voice of great singer KL Sehgal (Jab Dil Hi Tut Gaya…) would often be heard from a radio. The magic of that voice hypnotized him so much that despite there being no gramophone in the house, the child insisted on his father buying the record of that song. He would take the records to his neighbour’s house every day and listen to KL Sehgal for hours.
This obsessive passion for voice and tune was to later give such a velvety voice to the Indian music world, which we know as Manhar Udhas.
Know about Manhar Udhas
Manhar Udhas was born on 13 May 1943 in Baroda state (present Gujarat) of British India. There was a unique combination of art and education in Manhar Udhas’s family. His father Keshubhai Udhas, a government official, was an adept at playing the ‘Israj’ (Dilruba), and his mother Jituben was an excellent singer. Despite this, it was not easy to make music a career at that time. Therefore, Manhar Udhas studied mechanical engineering.
In 1965, when he reached the dream city of Bombay (now Mumbai) after completing his degree, his life was divided into two parts. During the day, he would work as an engineer among the machines in a textile company, and in the evening, he would become an undeclared ‘scratch’ singer in the recording rooms of ‘Famous Studios’. Under the tutelage of the veteran music composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji, Manhar Udhas used to lend his voice to test the tunes and lyrics of the songs before the arrival of big singers.
Also read- Mouni Roy is the owner of luxurious houses and luxury cars in Mumbai, worth crores, know her net worth.
film songs of manhar udhas
In 1969, a song “Aap Se Hum Ko Bichchhe Hue” from the film ‘Vishvas’ was to be recorded. The great singer Mukesh was not available that day. To avoid delays, the music directors recorded a dummy track from Manhar Udhas, thinking that Mukesh would later dub it in his own voice. But when Mukesh came to the studio and heard Manhar’s recording, he was shocked. The song was released in the name of Manhar Udhas and became a superhit overnight. That one moment made a mechanical engineer a frontline singer of Bollywood forever.
Also read- Sapna Chaudhary has danced for the prisoners in the jail, herself revealed, said- I am not alone
When Manhar got a new identity
Between the 1970s and 90s, Manhar Udhas’s resonant mature voice became the first choice of Bollywood. Especially his alliance with Subhash Ghai and Laxmikant-Pyarelal was historic. When Subhash Ghai launched Jackie Shroff in ‘Hero’ (1983), Manhar Udhas’ voice became his cinematic persona. “Tu Mera Jaanu Hai” is still the anthem of lovers.
blockbuster hits
After this there was a flurry of hit songs. “Tera Naam Liya” from ‘Ram Lakhan’, the cultural phenomenon “Illu Illu” from ‘Saudagar’, “Hum Tumhe Chahte Hain Aise” from ‘Qurbani’ and the high-octane “Gali Gali Mein’ from ‘Tridev’, all these songs were proof of Manhar’s versatility. The song “Lute Koi Man Ka Nagar” for Amitabh Bachchan in a music-oriented film like ‘Abhiman’ (1973) shows the strength of his classical base.
Step from Bollywood to Gujarati Ghazals
At the peak of his Bollywood career, Manhar Udhas distanced himself from commercial Bollywood and devoted himself entirely to the renaissance of Gujarati ghazals. He gave these ghazals the same high-level production value as Bollywood. His album ‘Suraj Dhalti Saanj’ in 1975 and ‘Aagaman’ with T-Series in 1986 broke all records. Songs like “Nayan Ne Bandh Rakhi Ne” and “Shaant Jharokhe” took Gujarati Ghazal from small literary rooms to stadium concerts with crowds of 30,000. Despite being over 83 years of age, Manhar Udhas is still performing live concerts with full energy from Rajkot to Texas (USA).