Pankaj Udhas was born on 17 April, 1951 in Jetpur in the Gujarat State in India. His older brother Manhar Udhas achieved some success as a Hindi playback singer in Bollywood movies. His family moved to Bombay and Pankaj attended St. Xavier’s College in Bombay, graduating with a degree in Arts.
Pankaj was first noticed as a professional singer in the film Naam in 1986, in which his song Chitthi Aayee Hai became an instant hit. He recorded several albums since then and toured the world as an accomplished Ghazal singer. He has also composed music for many films and performed as a playback singer for others.
He received the Padma Shri, a Government of India civilian award in 2006.
Pankaj Udhas is a pre-eminent Ghazal singer from India. He is credited with bringing this unique singing style where Urdu verses of poets are set to music to the mass audience across the country along with other musicians like Jagjit Singh and Talat Aziz.