What: The Saturday Club presents Pankaj Udhas Live in Concert in association with t2

Where: The Saturday Club

When: January 12, 8pm

Entry: For members and their guests only

The city is set for a melodious evening at Pankaj Udhas Live in Concert, presented by The Saturday Club in association with t2, at the Wood Street address. The ghazal maestro tells t2 what to expect from the concert...

What’s your earliest memory of Calcutta?

I have some wonderful memories of Calcutta. It has been an integral part of my career. Back in 1981 a few young boys from Calcutta came to see me. They were very keen on hosting my concert. I readily agreed. The show was at Vidya Mandir and the auditorium was packed to my surprise. Then I stayed on and did a couple of private shows also. Since then, I have been invited many a time. Then came the absolute high in my career — in January 1986, when I performed at a solo ghazal concert at Netaji Indoor Stadium. That was also a sold-out show. 

What can your fans expect at The Saturday Club?

People would always request for songs like Chitthi aayi hai, Aur ahista kijiye baatein and Chandi jaisa rang hai tera. I do sing those songs but after that I do a medley these days where I cover other important songs that I have left out. 

From your first album Aahat in 1980 to Madhosh in 2017 — how many albums have you recorded till date?

Frankly speaking, I have lost count. I think it’s at least 35 to 40 ghazal albums. If I add other albums, then the number would go up.

And which ghazals do you consider to be the milestones of your musical journey?

It’s so difficult to choose! Of course, there is Chitthi aayi hai (from the film Naam). The other songs that are coming to my mind are Deewaron se milkar rona achchha lagta hai, Aur ahista kijiye baatein, Chandi jaisa rang hai tera, the album called Na-yaab, an album called Rubayee dedicated to the poet Omar Khayyam, and the album In Search of Meer, dedicated to Meer Taqi Meer, one of the first recognised Urdu poets.

Talking of Chitthi aayi hai, any special memory of recording that song?

Certainly there are a whole lot of stories around Chitthi aayi hai. When the song was recorded I was travelling a lot within India and was riding an unprecedented wave of popularity. That was one of the reasons I was invited to sing it. The day it was recorded, I arrived at the studio late evening. I was a little fatigued but was looking forward to it. I had rehearsed the song a couple of times with Laxmikantji of the famous Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo.

Everything was sounding great and then suddenly Laxmikantji came into my booth and said that he wanted “that Pankaj Udhas groove in the song, which was missing”. He suddenly asked me how I performed on stage. I told him that I had a proper riser on stage and I sat with a shawl and sang. He then arranged for a couple of tables at the centre of the studio and made some sort of a riser. He told me to sing thinking I was singing in a concert. It’s seven minutes long with complicated lines, but I just sang the whole song in one go. Laxmikantji came out and hugged me. He said it was perfect!

Who are your favourite lyricists of all time in Bollywood?

Sahir Ludhianvi was a genius. Then there was Majrooh Sultanpuri. We later had Anand Bakshi, another great lyricist. My only regret in life is that I missed out on recording with Sahir Ludhianvi. He had passed away by the time my career took off. It’s my dream to do an album on his songs. 

It is said that Shah Rukh Khan once worked as an usher in one of your concerts. Is that true?

To be honest, I can’t recollect the concert exactly… I think it was a concert in Delhi at the Siri Fort Auditorium. Shah Rukh must have been just out of school or college then. What I appreciate is his humility to tell the world very openly about where he earned his first salary. After reaching such phenomenal heights in his career, he has no hesitation in recalling that moment. I feel rather happy that someone who started with my concert has reached such heights. 

Bollywood heroes of all time you would love to sing for on screen?

Certainly Dilip Kumar has been one of my favourite actors but he was much senior to me. Another favourite actor is Amitabh Bachchan. I came very close to singing for him once. I sang a duet with Kishore Kumar in the film Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi, but my voice was used for Mithun Chakraborty and Kishoreda’s voice was used for Amitabh Bachchan. I would also like to sing for Shah Rukh Khan because he portrays romanticism so beautifully. 

What music do you listen to?

I listen to all types of music. There are so many things you can learn from different artistes. I listen to Indian classical music — from Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sahab, Abdul Karim Khan sahab to Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shiv Kumar Sharma. I love Rashid Khan. He is an unbelievably talented singer. I like Rakesh Chaurasia and Niladri Kumar. Kaushiki Chakraborty from Calcutta is my latest favourite. She is magical! I also listen to jazz a lot. I am not much into hip-hop and rap. I am not able to keep in touch with the current generation of Bollywood singers. I do like a few songs of Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghoshal.