Udit Narayan is, without doubt, the reigning king of male playback singers. Born to a farmer on the border of India and Nepal, Narayan got his start singing for Nepali radio. When a scholarship from the Indian Embassy offered him the chance to study classical music at a prestigious school in Mumbai, he wasted no time in moving. But success did not come instantly. Only after years of study and several unnoticed recordings did he hit gold with his vocals for Aamir Khan in 1988`s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Fans marvel at his versatility, but his trademark is his"golden smile," so called because, during upbeat songs, one seems to actually *hear* the smile on his lips.

Udit began his career by singing Maithili and Nepali folk songs for Radio Nepal in the early 1970s. In 1978, he moved to Mumbai on a music scholarship. In Mumbai, he trained in Indian classical music for six years at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Udit Narayan has so far won five Filmfare Awards. He won it for the first time in 1988 for the song "Papa Kehte Hain" from Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak; the second time he won it for "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge in 1995. He won his third award the following year in 1996 for the song "Pardesi Pardesi" from the film Raja Hindustani. His fourth award was for the song "Chand Chupa Badal" from the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. His fifth award was for the song "Mitwa" in the Oscar-nominated Lagaan. He won the National Award for his playback singing in the Punjabi movie Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai.

His son Aditya Narayan has also established himself as the voice for any song picturised on a child artiste. He has also sung several songs in Tamil and Malayalam, where he has become popular on account of his distinctive accent. His voice suits Aamir Khan so perfectly, just as Mukesh`s Voice used to suit Raj Kapoor. Many songs of the pair had topped the charts & ruled listeners` hearts as well. He is renowned for sounding exactly like Shahrukh Khan, but even this took a long time to perfect...