When was Udit Narayan born?

Udit Narayan was born on 1 December 1955 in Bhardaha.

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Udit Narayan

उदित नारायण झा

Nepalese playback singer

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Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955; ) is an Indian playback singer whose songs are featured in Indian cinema, primarily Hindi films.

Quick facts

Born: 1 December 1955 wd
Place of birth: Bhardaha wd
Citizenship: India, Nepal wd
Occupation: singer, film actor, television presenter, film producer, playback singer, recording artist wd
Social media: X (Twitter) · Facebook wd

Awards wd

Padma Bhushan (2016)
Padma Shri in Art (2009)
Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu (2001)

About

He has won four National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards, with twenty nominations among many others. He won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer three times for the songs Mitwa from Lagaan (2001), Jaane Kyon Log from Dil Chahta Hai (2001), Chhote Chhote Sapne Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai (2002) and Yeh Taara Woh Taara from Swades (2004). He also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bhojpuri in 2005 as the producer of Kab Hoi Gawna Hamar. He was awarded the Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2015. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution to arts and culture.

His contribution to the Indian music industry was recognised by Lata Mangeshkar, who bestowed upon him the title Prince of Playback Singing.

He made his Hindi playback debut with Mohammed Rafi in Unees-Bees (1980).

In recognition of his contribution to Nepalese music, the King of Nepal, Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, awarded him the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in 2001. He is the only male singer in Filmfare Awards history to have won across three decades: the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Early life and education

Quoted from Wikipedia: Udit Narayan (CC BY-SA 4.0); each sentence links the source Wikipedia cites for it. Checked 7 November 2026.

Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December 1955 in an ethnic Maithil Brahmin family to Nepalese national Harekrishna Jha and Indian national Bhuvaneshwari Jha. Mid-Day Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd Outlook
In September 2018, at a ceremony held by the Bihar Jharkhand Association of North America, he stated that he identifies as a Bihari. PatnaDaily
Later, he accepted her as his wife, whom he married in 1984, and promised to provide for her maintenance. The Times of India The Times of India Filmfare
With Deepa Gahatraj, he has one son, Aditya Narayan, who is also a playback singer. Hindustan Times The Times of India Indiatimes.com Rediff.com

Career

During his teen years, Narayan performed as a staff singer for Radio Nepal and sang in hotels around Kathmandu. Khaleej Times
He made active efforts to pursue a musical career, which were not supported by his father, who urged him to pursue a profession as a doctor or engineer. India West AP7AM
In 1978, he received a music scholarship through a cultural-exchange programme to study classical music at Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan in Mumbai. Sahityapost English
While in Mumbai, he visited several music directors' offices and auditioned frequently, initially struggling to secure opportunities. Khaleej Times
Narayan’s Bollywood career began in 1980 when music director Rajesh Roshan offered him his first playback opportunity in the film Unees-Bees, where he recorded a duet with Mohammed Rafi. NDTV
The song Papa Kehte Hain became a nationwide hit and earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1989. Filmfare

Notable statements

When his acceptance of the Padma Shri led to criticism in Nepal, he told the Nepalese daily Kantipur that he was "from Nepal but his mother's home was in Bihar." In a 2017 interview with the Indian magazine Outlook, he clarified that he was born in Baisi, a village in Bihar, and clarified that his father Harekrishna was a native of Nepal. The Times of India Outlook

Questions

When was Udit Narayan born?: Udit Narayan was born on 1 December 1955 in Bhardaha.

Sources

Last updated 3 November 2026 · facts checked 7 November 2026

Cite this page

"Udit Narayan". DigiNepal. Last updated 3 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/udit-narayan. Retrieved 7 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Udit Narayan, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Udit-Narayan-2019.jpg — Bollywood Hungama, CC BY-SA 3.0.

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