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Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Kannada, Tamil language, Bengali language, Sindhi language, Odia language, Bhojpuri, Nepali language, Malayalam, Assamese, Bagheli language and Maithili. He has won four National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards with twenty nominations among many others. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution towards arts and culture. As many as 21 of his tracks feature in BBC's "Top 40 Bollywood Soundtracks of all time".
He got to sing with Mohammed Rafi in his Hindi playback debut in Unees-Bees in 1980 and also with Kishore Kumar in the 1980s. He finally made his mark in the 1988 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, his song "Papa Kehte Hain" was his notable performance which earned him his first Filmfare Award in the 1980s and he established himself in Bollywood Playback Singing. The soundtrack became one of the highest selling albums in the 1980s. The soundtrack was a breakthrough for the careers of Anand–Milind, as well as T-Series, one of India's leading record labels. after which he was one of the favourites of music directors. In the 1990s he sung for a thousands of songs including Hindi and Nepali languages.
Recognising his contribution towards Nepalese music, the King of Nepal Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev honoured him with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in 2001 after his contribution to Indian cinema and music, and Chitragupta Cineyatra Samman 2015 for his contribution towards Bhojpuri cinema. He is the only male singer in the history of the Filmfare Awards to have won in over three decades (the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s).
Narayan studied at Jageshwar High School, Kunauli, Supaul, Bihar, India, where he finished his SSC and later obtained his intermediate degree from Ratna Rajya Lakshmi Campus of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. His father Harekrishna Jha was a farmer and his mother Bhuvneshwari Devi was a folk singer who encouraged his career.
Narayan started his Bollywood career in 1980 when he was noted by music director Rajesh Roshan, who asked Narayan to playback sing for the Hindi film Unees-Bees. Narayan was given the opportunity to sing with the singer Mohammed Rafi. He sang for Devanand a couplet in Swami Dada.His first duet was in the film Sannata. Soon after, Narayan sang for a number of other films, including Bade Dil Wala in 1983, where he sang a duet with senior singer Lata Mangeshkar, composed by senior music director R. D. Burman. In the same year, Narayan sang with Kishore Kumar in the film Kehdo Pyar Hai. Another singer he sang with was Suresh Wadkar with music composed by Bappi Lahiri. A significant milestone in his career occurred in 1988 when Anand–Milind gave him the opportunity to sing all the songs for the Bollywood film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, with Alka Yagnik, which earned him a Filmfare Award. In a 2014 interview with The Times of India, Narayan said: "The song I've sung, "Manzilein", is the best song of my career after "Pehla Nasha", which gave me superstardom!". Narayan remained prolific through the 2000s, singing numbers in films such as Pukar, Dhadkan, Lagaan, Devdas and Veer-Zaara.
In 2002, Narayan sang "Bairi Piya" with newcomer Shreya Ghoshal, from the film Devdas, of which Rediff.com mentioned: "Narayan successfully captures the eternal romanticism of Devdas". In 2014, Narayan sang a song titled "Naa Hum Jo Kah De" along with Shreya Ghoshal, for the album Women's Day Special: Spreading Melodies Everywhere. The song was composed by Ram Shankar and penned by A. K. Mishra.
He competed with his closest professional rival Kumar Sanu who won five consecutive Filmfare awards in the 1990s.
Narayan's work has been praised by his contemporaries Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy and music director Ankit Tiwari. Mid-Day included him in the list of notable 90s playback singers. Narayan is considered one of the most prominent singers of his generation.
Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of many awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award. In 2010, Narayan with Madhushree sang for the English independent film When Harry Tries to Marry.
Narayan also sang the title song for the TV show Yeh Duniyan Gazab Ki, with Kumar Sanu. In 2015 he was involved in a mega series campaign Melancholy, where 421 Nepali artists had sung a 33 minutes 49-second long environmental song, in which 365 artists set a Guinness World Record on 19 May 2016 at Radio Nepal Studio, Singhadurbar, Kathamandu. It is written, composed and directed by environmentalist Nipesh DHAKA.
Narayan was on the panel of judges on Sony TV for Waar Parriwar, a reality show based on the bringing together of a singing gharana (family of singers). He shared judging duties with fellow playback singer Kumar Sanu and Jatin Pandit of the music duo Jatin–Lalit.
Narayan has appeared on Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs as a guest. In mid May 2024, he appeared as guest in Colors TV's Mangal Lakshmi for Kartik and Lakshmi's Sangeet caremony.
| "Mil Gaya" | Unees-Bees (1980) | Mohammed Rafi & Usha Mangeshkar |
| "Jeevan Ke Din" | Bade Dil Wala (1983) | Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar (Other Version) |
| "O Bindiya Tum Humse Keh Do Pyar Hai" | Kehdo Pyar Hai (1983) | Kishore Kumar and Suresh Wadkar |
| "Log Jahan Par Rehte Hain" | Pyaar Ka Mandir (1988) | Mohammad Aziz, Suresh Wadkar and Kavita Krishnamurthy |
| "Oye Oye" | Tridev (1989) | Amit Kumar & Mohammad Aziz |
| "Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyar Hum" | Hum (1991) | Sudesh Bhosle and Mohammad Aziz |
| "Ilu Ilu" | Saudagar (1991) | Manhar Udhas, Sukhwinder Singh and Kavita Krishnamurthy |
| "Diwano Ki Mastano Ki" | Dancer (1991) | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam & Kavita Krishnamurthy |
| "Dil Le Gayi Teri Bindiya" | Vishwatma (1992) | Amit Kumar, Sapna Mukherjee and Mohammad Aziz |
| "Saat Samundar Paar (Part-II)" | Vishwatma (1992) | Sadhana Sargam and Jolly Mukherjee |
| "Deewana Dil Deewana" | Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) | Amit Kumar |
| "Main Khiladi Tu Anari" | Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994) | Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Anu Malik |
| "Yeh Bandhan Toh" | Karan Arjun (1995) | Kumar Sanu & Alka Yagnik |
| "Ram Jaane" | Ram Jaane (1995) | Sonu Nigam & Alka Yagnik |
| "Very Good Very Bad" | Trimurti (1995) | Vinod Rathod |
| "Salma Pe Dil Aa Gaya" (Part 1) | Salma Pe Dil Aa Gaya (1997) | Asha Bhosle & Amit Kumar : Kumar Sanu(Part II) |
| "Koi Jaane Koi Na Jaane" | Aur Pyar Ho Gaya (1997) | Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Anuradha Paudwal |
| "Neend Churai Meri" | Ishq (1997) | Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy and Alka Yagnik |
| "Mr. Lova Lova" (Ankhiyaan Tu Mila Le) | Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Sudesh Bhosle, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Poornima | |
| "Hum Saath Saath Hain" | Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) | Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal, Hariharan, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Alka Yagnik |
| "Mhare Hiwda" | Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) | Hariharan, Anuradha Paudwal, Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Alka Yagnik |
| "Sunoji Dulhan" | Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999) | Roop Kumar Rathod, Sonu Nigam, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Pratima Rao |
| "Dillagi Dillagi" | Dillagi (1999) | Abhijeet, Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Jaspinder Narula & Mahalaxmi Iyer |
| "Mela Dilon Ka (Part II)" | Mela (2000) | Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Sonu Nigam, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, Hema Sardesai, Mansoor/(Part I) Roop Kumar Rathod, Shankar Mahadevan, Jaspinder Narula, Nitin Mukesh & Anmol |
| "Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai Dil Se" | Dhadkan (2000) | Alka Yagnik & Kumar Sanu |
| "Ghanan Ghanan" | Lagaan (2001) | Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik, Shankar Mahadevan & Shaan |
| "Mitwa" | Lagaan (2001) | Sukhwinder Singh, Alka Yagnik & Srinivas |
| "Main Kahin Bhi Rahoon" | LOC Kargil (2003) | Hariharan, Roop Kumar Rathod, Sonu Nigam & Sukhwinder Singh |
| "Aisa Des Hai Mera" | Veer-Zaara (2004) | Lata Mangeshkar & Gurdas Maan |
| "Yun Hi Chala Chal" | Swades (2004) | Kailash Kher and Hariharan |
| "Deewangi Deewangi" | Om Shanti Om (2007) | Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, & Sunidhi Chauhan |
| "Radha" | Student of the Year (2012) | Shreya Ghoshal & Vishal Dadlani |
| "Apna Bombay Talkies" | Bombay Talkies (2013) | Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet, Sadhana Sargam, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, KK, Shreya Ghoshal, Sukhwinder Singh, Shilpa Rao, Mohit Chauhan & Sonu Nigam |
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