When Manhar's voice replaced Mukesh

Elder brother of popular ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, Manhar Udhas, whose 72nd birth anniversary falls today, travelled to the then Bombay in the late 1960s to look for a job. He had a relative who was making Gujarati films in that city and through him he got introduced to fellow Gujaratis and the famous music director duo Kalyanji- Anandji.

His debut came when he sang a cover for a number which was originally to be sung by noted singer Mukesh for a film ' Vishwas' in 1969. When the famous crooner heard it, he said it could go as it is as Manhar had done a very good job and there was no need for a replacement of it.

Since then, over the past 30 years, his voice has been heard across 300 multi-lingual films in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali and many others. As a ghazal singer, his 31st album was released recently, two years ago making him stay active in that competitive genre for nearly five decades. His voice has been used for heroes of the 1970s like Amitabh Bachchan to their successors Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor and beyond.