Music legend Pankaj Udhas passed away at the age of 72 in Mumbai on Monday. Pankaj started his career with an album titled Aahat in 1980 and rose to fame with the popular song “Chitthi Aayee Hai” from the movie Naam in 1986. The song was even picked as one of the top 100 songs of the millennium by BBC Radio worldwide. One of his most memorable songs, Chitthi Aayi Hai became synonymous with his success. However, Pankaj had previously revealed that he ghosted the producer of the film and initially refused the offer of Chitthi Aayee Hai.
In an interview with Lehren, Pankaj said that Salim Khan, Mahesh Bhatt Sahab and Rajendra Kumar thought the song should be sung by a real singer, not an actor. They wanted someone popular among the masses, so they considered Pankaj. When asked to do the song, the producer didn’t reveal the idea at first, simply saying Pankaj had to be in the film, which surprised him.
The late singer had said, “When this film was being made, I was considered for this particular song. I got scared because I never was cut out to be an actor in the first place. And I never wanted to be an actor. I told Rajendra Kumar ji that I’ll revert soon. But, I didn’t call him back. He really got mad then. Then he called my eldest brother, Manhar ji. He said, ‘Your brother has no etiquette and no courtesy. Koi tameez nahi hai.’”
He continued, “Manhar Ji then called me and asked me, ‘What’s the problem?’ So, I told him that I can’t act in movies. So my brother suggested that if I don’t want to act in the film, I must call the producer and tell him. So, I called him, apologized and said that I don’t want to act in the film. He said, ‘Who asked you to act in the film?’ He then told me that he wants me to appear in the film as Pankaj Udhas.”
Naam film was helmed by Mahesh Bhatt and stars Nutan , Sanjay Dutt , Kumar Gaurav and Poonam Dhillon among others in pivotal roles.
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