

Burman in another film, but despite those small victories, the '80s were by and large a decade of struggle and rejection for Narayan. Rajesh Roshan gave him an opportunity to sing in the 1980 film Unnees Bees with his hero Mohammed Rafi he also got the opportunity to sing a small part for renowned music director R.D. During that time, he also attempted to make contacts in the film industry. In 1978, he went to Bombay - the cinema capital of India - on a music scholarship, and trained for eight years as a classical vocalist. For most of the '70s, Narayan worked as a singer on Nepalese radio in Kathmandu, performing Nepalese and northern Indian folk songs. Narayan was born in the village of Mithla Nagri in Janakpur, near the border of Nepal his father was a farmer and his mother a singer, and she encouraged him to pursue music as a career. Though he wasn't quite as prolific as Sanu, Narayan boasted one of the most distinctive voices and original singing styles the music-reliant film industry had seen since the glory days of Mohammed Rafi (Narayan's primary initial influence) and Kishore Kumar.


Through the '90s, Udit Narayan was the closest rival of Kumar Sanu for the title of most popular male playback vocalist in Indian cinema - no small feat, since films remain the primary vehicle for disseminating popular music to the Indian public.
