Pankaj Udhas With Wife and Daughters at a Recent Concert

Gazal Singer Pankaj Udhas (sitting, left) made time for a special photograph with his family during his concert at NCPA on saturday (8th November 2008). Seen in the picture is Pankaj Udhas with Wife Farida along with daughters Nayaab and Reva.

Pankaj Udhas has two daughters Nayaab and Rewa. He always makes it a point to eat dinner with his wife Farida and Children.

Pankaj says "My daughters love to see me cook and then I barbeque some things for them. Once in a while I make our kind of biryani (with chicken, mutton or prawns) which I have learnt from my cook."

Pankaj Udhas’ elder daughter Nayaab made her debut as a music video director in April this year with Bolo ji bolo ankhiyan to kholo, her father’s song from Yaara, his album on Music Today. The song had been composed by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and the video featured both the stalwarts in a recording studio in casual musical interaction.

Indulgent dad Pankaj had said, “This is Khansaab’s as well as my own favourite song from the album. When I suggested that Nayaab come up with a concept, she did her homework well and has made a very different video that captures the essence of the song and the mood of the album. The video has been shot in both black-and-white and colour.”

Nayaab, says Pankaj, was always interested in music as a listener but she had a clear preference for analysing cinema, like camera "takes" and direction. “I had noticed this, but when she expressed a keenness to do a course in filmmaking, I realised that she was serious about direction as a career," says Pankaj. And Nayaab did not want to learn at a school abroad but
wished to have first-hand training, reveals her father.

Adds Nayaab, “Yes, I would love to assist people like Sanjay Gadhvi, who is my cousin, or Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. I would love to learn the ropes at Yash Raj Films. My video was a challenge as it’s USP is that both the composer and the singer are there and it’s different from what runs today. For me, it was also important because Ustad Amjad Ali Khansaab has never done a video before.”

Nayaab’s long-term plans are directing feature films, though she would love doing more videos (“but no remix videos,” she stresses) even if she cannot be different or experimental each time.
So what kind of film would she like to make? “I enjoy different kinds of films, but only after I learn under big names will I know what kind of movie I would want to make," she says.