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Complaint against Bollywood singer
Residents of a south Delhi colony have lodged a complaint against Bollywood singer Udit Narayan for not honouring his singing contract

Udit Narayan discusses settlement with 'first wife'
Patna, Popular Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan arrived here Friday for discussions with a woman who claims to be his first wife. ( Read full news ) 

Udit Narayan strikes wrong note in Nepal
By Sudeshna Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service

Kathmandu, April 30 (IANS) Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan has drawn considerable flak in the Himalayan kingdom for allegedly abandoning his first wife, leading to protests against him.

The failed actor, who became a successful singer in India, hails from Raj Biraj town of Saptari district in southern Nepal. The people of the town are now upset with their local boy and have begun a boycott of his songs.

The popular singer was caught in a raging controversy last week and has been accused of bigamy, a claim that he vehemently denies. Narayan was reportedly locked up last week in a hotel suite in Patna, Bihar by Ranjana Jha, a woman from Madhubani in Bihar, who claims to be his first wife.

According to Ranjana, Narayan had married her in a traditional ceremony in 1985.

However, when the singer moved to Mumbai to make his fortune, he was befriended by Deepa, a Nepali girl from Darjeeling. Narayan has maintained that Deepa is his only legal wife.

While the singer refuses to acknowledge Ranjana as his wife, people of Bhardaha, the village where he grew up, say he is lying. On Friday, scores of women led a march in Raj Biraj, raising angry slogans against the singer and his treatment of his "wife".

The Maithili Mahila Parishad, a socio-cultural women's organisation in Raj Biraj, said protests against Udit Narayan would continue till Ranjana received justice. Incidentally, Ranjana is the vice-president of the organisation.

Protesters also burnt an album of Udit Narayan's songs in Maithili language.

Regarded as a local hero, till the marriage controversy, Narayan's biography is included in the Maithili textbook for ninth graders. The protesters said they would ask the authorities in charge of the curriculum to revise the biography and mention Ranjana as his wife.
 

I've never deceived or ditched anyone: Udit Narayan (INTERVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, April 30 (IANS) Anyone who knows playback singer Udit Narayan even remotely knows him to be a god-fearing, decent soul. The scandal that has broken out in Patna with a woman claiming to be his first wife has shattered the popular singer's morale.

"It is so sad and shameful," Narayan told IANS in an interview. "I don't know how to cope with this blatant lie that has been thrust into my life.

"I am a man from a decent Brahmin family in Nepal. I started my career singing at fairs and small entertainment joints for as little as 25 paise and 50 paise. I am a self-made man, with only my wife Deepa to support me. I never courted any controversy, never had any kind of slur on my name.

"I can't tell you how this has saddened me. I have begun to feel I am being punished for some wrong I have done in my earlier life. I have always wanted to be counted among spotless playback singers like Mohammad Rafi, Mahendra Kapoor and Manna Dey. I wanted today's generation to think of Udit Narayan as a man of integrity and honesty, qualities that I'd like to think show up in my singing."

He recollects the nightmare.

"I had gone last week to Patna to attend my niece's wedding. I returned from Holland and immediately went for the wedding. I wanted to take along my friends from the film industry. But there was no time."

He categorically denies knowing the woman Ranjana Jha who claims to be his first wife.

"It's been 26 years since I have been in Mumbai. Why has this kind of a scandal come my way now? If the lady claims she's Udit Narayan's wife, why did she come to the hotel where I was staying in Patna with mediapersons and musclemen? Approximately 150 people descended on the hotel where I was staying in Patna. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

He gets discernibly upset.

"I had just returned to the hotel after the wedding at 6 a.m. I had barely slept for two hours. My mind had stopped working. I thought the hotel was under siege. Fortunately, my wife Deepa was with me. Otherwise I'd have probably died of shock. I have always received nothing but people's love and best wishes. Nothing in life had prepared me for such an attack."

The singer totally dismissed Ranjana's claims.

"People can stoop to such levels of deception! That lady claims she had met me two years ago. But I haven't been to my native village for six years. The area was too disturbed. Today the regime in Bihar has changed, so the situation is better."

Dismissing Ranjana's pictorial evidence of their marriage as fudged, Narayan said: "The lady has no proof that I have had any communication with her. It is very wrong of her to make such wild claims in the media." 

"I belong to Mithila. Our culture and values have a special place in my heart. My parents have taught me that according to our culture, looking at any man or woman with anything but full respect and decorum is unthinkable.

"By the grace of god I have thousands of fans all over the world. I have never deceived, ditched or demeaned anyone in my life. How could this lady accuse me of such unbecoming conduct?"

Narayan has no idea why the woman is making these claims.

"I can only make a guess as to why I am being maligned in this way. Udit Narayan is the one person in the entertainment industry who has a blameless name. Maybe some people are jealous of me.

"I am a low-profile person. I never court media. I have never had any encounter with the legal system. But now my lawyers are on the job to get me out of this ugly accusation."

Narayan has many exciting things happening in his career.

"I have produced two Bhojpuri films. One is 'Kab Hoyebi Gauna Hamaar', which was shot in Mauritius. It was a period film. Now my second Bhojpuri film 'Kab Kahbaw Tu I Love You' is almost ready. It has been shot in Gorakhpur and Darjeeling."

Narayan has also been a leading man in regional cinema.

"But now my career as a singer plus such unwanted problems gives me no time. I have never demanded anything from anyone. And yet today life is making these unfair demands on me."

As a playback singer Narayan seems to have reached a plateau. But he disagrees.

"Music has no limits. After 60 years of singing and being accepted by the whole world as the 'Nightingale of India', Lata-ji (Mangeshkar) still wants to sing better. I want to sing better songs with a variety of music directors."

He admits there is an unhealthy competition among the singers in Mumbai.

"But I believe in god and I believe in myself. I have never forgotten my humble beginnings. My father wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer. But I only wanted to sing. I was a folk singer for a monthly fee of Rs.150 on radio. I came to Mumbai in 1978 and struggled for the next 10 years."

While his colleagues have taken a cue from singing greats like Rafi and Kishore Kumar, Udit remains an original.

"I am their fan. But fortunately I didn't end up imitating the legends. Today when 'Indian Idol' winner Sandeep Acharya openly admits he idolizes me, I feel so privileged. I have come a long way. The last thing I need is scandals and controversies."

Narayan's affable son Aditya Narayan is now 19. "He has just left for London for further studies. He's got an aptitude for both singing and acting. And I leave it to him to decide what he wants to do. He started singing at five with hit songs like 'But I love you daddy' in 'Akele Hum Akele Tum' where he sang with me and 'Chhota bachcha' in 'Masoom'.

"He acted in films like 'Pardes' and 'Jab Pyaar Kissi Se Hota Hai'. He is ready for a career in acting as well. Now that he is in London I do miss him. He is my only son. And he's an angel. He can only be the result of my good karma. To have got a son like Aditya and a wife like Deepa is indeed my biggest blessing.

"Please let me state there's only one lady in my life. And that's Deepa."
 

Women's commission asks Udit Narayan to explain allegations
Indo-Asian News Service

Patna, April 29 (IANS) Trouble doesn't seem to have ended for popular Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan. The Bihar state women's commission has directed the singer to depose personally before it on May 19 to explain the allegations made by a woman who claims to be his first wife.

Udit was directed to depose personally at the commission's South Bailey Road office in Patna, officials said Saturday.

The commission has registered a case of breach of marriage against the singer and issued a notice to him on the basis of a complaint filed by the woman, Ranjana Narayan, last week. 

Commission chairperson Manju Prakash rejected Udit's plea for exemption from personal appearance. "Udit Narayan's emissaries had approached the commission with the request that the singer be allowed some leeway in connection with its summons. But the commission stated that Udit Narayan has to personally appear," official sources said.

Last week Ranjana, a resident of Nirmali village in Supaul district, claimed that she was the first wife of Udit Narayan and had got married to him in 1984 in an arranged match.

She claimed that his second wife Deepa Narayan was not his legal wife. 

"I possess all the photographs of the marriage solemnised at my house," she said. Claiming that she was his "real and legal wife", Ranjana asked, "How can Udit marry another woman without divorcing me?" 

She met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last Saturday seeking marital justice and lodged a formal complaint against Udit with the state women's commission. 

A day earlier she staged a protest at a five-star hotel by blocking the room in which Udit, his wife Deepa and son Aditya stayed until the police intervened. Udit, who had come here to attend a marriage, was escorted by police to the Patna airport.

The chief minister reportedly told her to file a police complaint and seek court help. However, she admitted that she had never filed a police complaint against Udit till now as she was hopeful he would not disown her.

Udit Narayan has reportedly said in Mumbai that he did not know any Ranjana Narayan and had never married her. He claimed it was a conspiracy to malign and defame him. Wife Deepa also dismissed Ranjana's allegations.
 

Bollywood singer bigamist, wife tells Nitish Kumar
Indo-Asian News Service

Patna, April 22 (IANS) Ranjana Narayan, who claims to be Bollywood singer Udit Narayan's "first and real wife", Saturday met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar seeking marital justice.

A day after she staged a protest at a five-star hotel - by blocking the room in which Udit, his wife Deepa and son Aditya stayed until the police intervened - she met the chief minister to seek her right "as the first and real wife".

Nitish Kumar reportedly told Ranjana to file a police complaint and seek court help. 

Meanwhile, the Bihar Women's Commission has registered a case of breach of marriage against the singer and decided to issue a notice to him on the basis of a complaint filed by Ranjana.

Commission chairperson Manju Prakash said bank pass books, the ration card and other circumstantial evidence did suggest that the singer was married to the complainant. 

"We are going to serve a notice to Udit on Sunday, asking him to depose before the commission within a fortnight," Prakash told reporters.

Udit, who had come here to attend a marriage of his niece Friday, had refused to speak to reporters.

Ranjana said she had married Udit in 1984 in an arranged match. "I possess all the photographs of the marriage solemnised at my house," she had said Friday.

Saying she was his "real and legal wife", Ranjana asked, "How can Udit marry another woman without divorcing me?"

However, she admitted that she never filed a police complaint against Udit till now as she was hopeful he would not disown her.
 

Bollywood singer faces ire of first wife
Indo-Asian News Service

Patna, April 21 (IANS) Well-known Bollywood playback singer Udit Narayan and his wife Deepa were prevented from leaving their hotel room for a few hours by former wife Ranjana, who claimed she was his "real wife", till the police arrived to escort them out Friday.

In a nearly four-hour-long drama at the Maurya Hotel here, the singer's first wife Ranjana Narayan, staged a sit-in outside room no 404, where Udit, his wife Deepa and son Aditya, were staying.

A police team dragged Ranjana away from her protest sit-in to make way for Udit and his family to proceed to Patna airport. 

Ranjana fell on the ground when she was forcibly moved by police, sustaining injuries to her leg.

Udit, who had come to the Bihar capital to attend a marriage, refused to speak to newspersons.

Ranjana, who said she had married Udit Narayan in 1984 in an arranged match, kept the singer and his family inside their hotel room from morning till 2 p.m. with her dharna.

She claimed her family had helped Udit in his days of struggle in Mumbai. 

"He became a star only after the songs of 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak' became a hit in 1988 and fetched him the Filmfare award," Ranjana said.

She said she was his "real and legal wife" and Deepa was not legally wedded. 

Ranjana asked how Udit could marry another woman without divorcing her.

"I am his legal wife, my marriage was solemnised as per Hindu rituals."

She said she came to know about her husband's relations with Deepa four or five years ago. But said Udit had always told her that she was his real wife.

Ranjana said she would file a police complaint against Udit Narayan and move court for deserting her and living with another woman. 

"First, I will meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in a day or two to apprise him about my case and request him to help me get justice," she said.

Ranjana admitted that she had not filed a police complaint against her husband till date as she was hopeful that he would not disown her.

Deepa, when asked by media persons about the allegations of the former wife, got irritated. Her private security guards and a few relatives shouted at the media persons and even attacked them.

Agitated media persons sat on dharna at the airport demanding action against the brother and security guards of Deepa.