Udit Narayan to return to roots with Nepali film ...

Indo-Asian News Service

/>Kathmandu, April 29 (IANS) Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan,

who left his village home in southern Nepal almost three decades ago to

carve out a flourishing career in neighbouring India, plans to return to his

roots with a film in Nepali.

Udit Narayan Jha comes from Bhardah village in Saptari district in

Nepal's Terai plains that have become the most trouble-prone region in the

Himalayan nation currently.

Though Nepal is proud of the success of its boy in the mega-billion

Indian entertainment industry and has often honoured him along with

actress Manisha Koirala - another Nepali talent who made a name for

herself in Bollywood -, the last visit to Nepal by Udit Narayan had ended in

controversy.

His first wife Ranjana, who also comes from the plains, created a

furore saying the singer had abandoned her and married again.

Udit Narayan first denied having married Ranjana but letter reportedly

admitted in a letter written to a women's commission in Nepal that she

indeed was his first wife.

However, now with the dust having settled down, Udit Narayan's film

production company UD Movie Productions plans to shoot a film in

Nepali from September.

The singer's second wife Deepa, who was in Kathmandu on a three-

day visit to shoot music videos, told a local daily that the film will be

directed by Anand D. Gahataraj while the music will be by Alok Shree,

who is credited with bringing ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh's songs to the

Nepali audience.

The shooting will start after a much-hyped Bhojpuri film made under

the banner of UD Movie Productions, releases next month.

The film, "Kab Kahava Tu I love You", stars Amar Upadhyay, known

to watchers of Indian soap operas for playing Mihir in "Kyunki Saas Bhi

Kabhi Bahu Thi". However, it is better known for roping in Miss World

1999 Yukta Mookhey to perform in a song and dance sequence, known as

item number, in Bollywood parlance.

The sequence has been heavily panned by the Indian media, even

before the release of the film, as "sleazy".

Besides the new film, the Jhas also plan to launch in a big way their

son Aditya, who has already acted and sung in Hindi films as a child

artiste.

Aditya left Bollywood in 2001 after his voice started breaking. Later,

he was sent for vocal training in a London school.

"You will be seeing him soon," his mother told the Kathmandu Post

daily.