Bhubaneswar: For the natural timbre, Udit Narayan’s voice has been celebrated as sweet and melodious.
By dint of this warm and soothing tone, the singer from Nepal rose to the stardom in the year 1988 with soulful songs like Ae Mere Humsafar…, Papa Kehte hain…
From then he went on to become one of the most popular playback singers of Bollywood.
Udit Narayan has been held in high esteem by great singers like Lata Mangeskhar and Asha Bhonsle. Both Iconic singers hailed him as a singer with ‘Original’ voice’.
WHY UDIT NARAYAN HAILED AS “ORIGINAL” SINGER?
This singer from Nepal, who has lent his voice to many Bhojpuri songs earlier, was hailed as singer with ‘Original’ voice for the fact that he never lent his voice emulating any other singer.
The singer sung the songs in his natural voice. Critics celebrate Udit for the following qualities.
- His ability to control pitch and dynamics that allowed him to convey a wide range of emotions while singing.
- His strong foundation in classical music that enhanced his vocal techniques, including breath control, phrasing, and ornamentation. For which, he delivered songs with both precision and expressiveness.
- He had the versatility streak as he switches across various genres – from romantic ballads to upbeat tracks.
- Critics say his singing often resonates with listeners because he conveys genuine emotion. The singer has the ability to connect with the lyrics and the mood of the song makes it striking to the listeners.
WHY UDIT IN NEWS?
The popular singer has been the hitting the headlines for a worng reason.
A video showing him kissing a 21 year old female fan on the lips during one of his concerts in US/Canada went viral.
This video triggered a stinging backlash for the veteran singer online.
Netizens even scoured out old videos of him kissing fellow singers Shreya Ghoshal and Alka Yagnik while being on the stage. They tagged the singer a "PERVERT" or Tharki No 1
WHAT IS THE INCIDENT?
As per a video clip that went viral online, where Udit Narayan is seen in the frame performing the song Tip Tip Barsa Pani on stage. And his female fanbase requesting him to take a selfie with them. When a female fan invites him to take a selfie he holds her hand and looks at the camera. But when the woman gets closer to hug him, the singer kisses her on her cheeks. Many other female fans invite the playback singer for selfies, who is seen kissing them on their cheeks as well.
The shocking act happens when a lady in black kisses Udit Narayan on the cheek, the singer returns the gesture by kissing her on the lips.
#UditNarayan went from Icon to super lewd in just a minute!
A #singer of his stature should be super conscious of his deeds in public. 😭 I never post content like this but ye kya hi dekh liya aaj 🫣 pic.twitter.com/TCatvAEUDf
— Soni Singh (@Soni_Singhhh) February 1, 2025 ">Udit Narayan Kiss
This clip become enough to create a stir online, and the netizens brutally attacked the singer online for the way he kissed the 21-year-old female fan.
Netizens across the social media platforms – X, Instagram and Reddit - stands aghast with his ‘Emraan Hashmi’ Avatar.
In Reddit, a thread has been created on that.
The singer has been roasted on X platform too. Here is the sample shot of repercussion.
UDIT DEFIES BACKLASH, CALLS IT ‘ PURE LOVE’
After the viral backlash, the singer was heard justifying his action in an interview, calling it as ‘Pure’, ‘Spontaneous’, not ‘intentional’.
In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, he says, “Have I (ever) done anything to bring shame to myself, my family or my country?”
When the interviewer replied “you haven’t,” Udit said, “Then why would I do something now at this stage of my life when I have achieved it all? There is a deep pure and unbreakable bond between my fans and I. What you saw in the so-called scandalous video was a manifestation of the love between my fans and I. They love me. I love them back even more.”
When asked if he was embarrassed or ashamed, Udit replied firmly, “No, not at all! Why should I be? Do you hear any regret or sorrow in my voice? In fact, I am laughing as I talk to you. It is not something sleazy or secret. It is there in the public domain. My heart is pure. If some people want to see something dirty in my act of pure affection, then I feel sorry for them. I also want to thank them. Because now they’ve made me even more famous than I already was.”
FLAGS CONSPIRACY ANGLE
In the same interview, Udit was seen expressing suspicion over the timing of the video’s release. He said I see it as a conspiracy against me by my detractors.
He questioned, “Why did the video suddenly appear, and that too from a concert from some months ago in the US or Canada? I want to tell the mischief mongers: the harder you try to pull me down, the higher I will go,” he said.
The singer than said, “I am the recipient of several Filmfare Awards, National Awards, Padma Sri and Padma Bhushan. I aspire to get the Bharat Ratna, like Lataji. She is my idol. Do you know I was her favourite co-singer among the singers of my generation? I have sung the maximum duets with her from my generation of singers. When I have Mata Saraswati’s blessings, what do I care about people who cannot bear to see others successful?”
