Celebrated singer Usha Uthup’s husband, Jani Chacko Uthup, died at the age of 78 due to suffering a cardiac arrest. Jani passed away on Monday at his Kolkata residence. According to a PTI report, he was watching TV when he suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead. Jani Uthup is survived by Usha, their son, and daughter. Before marrying Jani Uthup, Usha was married to Ramu.
Usha Uthup’s husband’s last rites were performed on Tuesday in Kolkata. Daughter Anjali Uthup paid tribute to her late father on social media, writing, “Appa… gone too soon… but as stylishly as you lived… most handsome man in the world… we love you a true gentleman and Lawrencian to the core and the finest Tea Taster.”
The late husband of the legendary singer, Jani, didn’t have a conventional story with her. In fact, Usha was married to Ramu when she met Jani. What was straight out of a storybook was Jani confessing his love for Usha to her then-husband. According to Vikas Kumar Jha’s 2022 book ‘The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup,’ Ramu had accompanied her to Kolkata, where she was contractually bound to perform at Trincas. She first saw Jani at a nearby table while he was crooning Herp Albert’s ‘A Taste of Honey.’
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The singer witnessed Ramu and Jani conversing and was relieved that her husband had found company in Kolkata. The next day, Jani was invited to a meal by Ramu, but only Jani appeared at Trincas that evening. After the singer finished her show, Jani offered to drop Usha home and she agreed. However, they hardly exchanged words.
To Usha’s surprise, Ramu, who was usually calm, seemed uneasy at the sight of Jani and asked him to leave, slamming the door in his face. Puzzled, Usha asked what was troubling him, and “He screamed and broke down. ‘Do you know what Jani Uthup told me this afternoon at the Chinese restaurant? He said, ‘I don’t know about Usha and her feelings, but I am in love with your wife.’’ To this, Usha responded, ‘So, what happened? He didn’t say anything to me.”
Following this, Ramu asked if Usha shared the same feelings, to which she gathered courage and replied affirmatively.
Ramu didn’t take the revelation well and threw a plate against the wall. Gradually, the couple grew distant, and he stopped accompanying her to her performances. Finding her five-year marriage gloomy, the singer decided to part ways with Ramu and marry Jani Chacko Uthup.