John Abraham in Chupke Chupke with Pankaj Udhas, (right) Sameera Reddy in Aur Ahista
Pankaj Udhas is among the singers who made ghazals part of mainstream music in India. His music videos like 'Chandi Jaisa Rang' and 'Aur Ahista', released at a time when Indi-pop was having its moment, became huge hits. They also helped kick-start the careers of some actors, like John Abraham and Sameera Reddy.
John Abraham, who had appeared in the music video for Pankaj Udhas' song Chupke Chupke aeons ago, had mentioned that he is grateful to the ghazal maestro. "I look up to him as a mentor because when I came into this industry as a model, the first person who graciously featured me in his music video was Pankaj Udhas sir," says John. He said so at a concert by Udhas where he rendered some of the ghazals penned by Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
John continued, "With Chupke Chupke, he is the one man who is more than responsible for my success." Heaping praises on Udhas, the actor added, "I just told Pankaj Sir that his voice still sounds so beautiful, it's amazing and it's really an honour to be part of this ghazal concert."
Set in a foreign location, the video shows John as a biker following a woman he is smitten with. Pankaj Udhas also appears in the video.
Another video, also shot abroad, showed a 'forbidden romance' between an Indian girl and a foreigner. Set to the tunes of 'Aur Ahista', the music video had Sameera Reddy play a shy Indian girl n Australia, dressed in beautiful traditional outfits.
In an interview to HT Brunch some years ago, the actress said, "When I was 22, I acted in a Pankaj Udhas music video just to go to Australia. She had two supermodel sisters, Meghna and Sushma Reddy, and was working as a marketing manager with Omega. But, the turning point in her life was when she acted in the music video for Pankaj Udhas' 'Aur Ahista Kijiye Baatein', that was shot in Sydney. After coming back, she was flooded with movie offers.
On Monday, as the news of the ghazal maestro's passing broke, Sameera shared a clip from the music video to mourn his loss.
