Mukesh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Mukesh Chand Mathur (1923-07-22)22 July 1923 |
| Died | 27 August 1976(1976-08-27) (aged 53) |
| Other names | Voice of the Millennium, Tragedy King |
| Occupation | Playback singer |
| Years active | 1940–1976 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5, includingNitin Mukesh |
| Relatives | Neil Nitin Mukesh (grandson) |
| Awards | |
| Signature | |
 | |
Mukesh Chand Mathur (22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976), better knownmononymously asMukesh, was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to be one of the most popular and acclaimedplayback singers of theHindi film industry.[1][2][3] Among the numerous nominations and awards he won, his song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from the filmRajnigandha (1973) won him theNational Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer.
Mukesh was also popular as being the voice of actorsRaj Kapoor,Manoj Kumar,Feroz Khan,Sunil Dutt andDilip Kumar.[4]
Mukesh was born inDelhi in aMathurKayastha family on 22 July 1923.[5][6][7] His parents were Zorawar Chand Mathur, an engineer, and Chandrani Mathur. He was the sixth in a family of ten children. The music teacher who came home to teach Mukesh's sister, Sundar Pyari, found a pupil in Mukesh, who would listen from the adjoining room. Mukesh left school after the 10th grade and worked briefly for the Department ofPublic Works. He experimented with voice recordings during his employment in Delhi and gradually developed his singing abilities and also his musical instrumental skills.[8]
Mukesh's voice was first noticed byMotilal, a distant relative, when he sang at his sister's wedding. Motilal took him toBombay (now Mumbai) and arranged for singing lessons by Pandit Jagannath Prasad. During this period Mukesh was offered a role as an actor-singer in a Hindi film,Nirdosh (1941). His first song was "Dil Hi Bujha Hua Ho To" as an actor-singer forNirdosh written by Neelkanth Tiwari. His first hit song as a playback singer was "Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De" for actor Motilal in 1945 with the filmPehli Nazar with music composed byAnil Biswas and lyrics written by Aah Sitapuri.
Mukesh was such a fan of singerK. L. Saigal that in his early years of playback singing he used to imitate his idol.[9][10] In fact, it is said that when K. L. Saigal first heard the song "Dil Jalta Hai...", he remarked, "That's strange, I don't recall singing that song".[9]
Mukesh created his own singing style with the help of music directorNaushad Ali, who helped Mukesh to come out of his Saigal style and create his own style. Naushad gave him songs for the filmAndaz. Initially Mukesh was the ghost voice ofDilip Kumar in this movie andMohammed Rafi sang forRaj Kapoor. He delivered many Hits for Naushad in films like:Anokhi Ada (1948),Mela (1948),Andaz (1949). Other composers who used Mukesh voice for great Dilip Kumar in hit songs like "Jeevan Sapna toot gaya" were Anil Biswas in Anokha Pyar, Ye Mera Diwanapan hai,Shankar–Jaikishan in Yahudi and Suhana Safar and Dil Tadap Tadap ke, Salil Choudhary in Madhumati. However, later Dilip Kumar chooseRafi as his ghost voice and Mukesh became the ghost voice of Raj Kapoor. Mukesh recorded highest number of songs for Shankar–Jaikishan, that is 133 songs followed by Kalyanji Anandji ie 99 songs. Out of 4Filmfare Awards, Mukesh won 3 awards for Shankar–Jaikishan songs.
In 1974, Mukesh receivedNational Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" fromRajnigandha (1974), andFilmfare Awards for the songs "Sab Kuch Seekha Humne" in the movieAnari (1959), "Sabse Bada Naadan Wahi Hai" inPehchaan (1970), "Jai Bolo Beimaan Ki" inBeimaan (1972) (all the three songs composed by Shankar–Jaikishan) and "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein", the title song of filmKabhie Kabhie (1976) (composed byKhayyam). A total of around 1,300 songs were sung by him. This number is less than those sung by some of his contemporaries, but the fact is that Mukesh emphasised on quality rather than quantity. The comparatively fewer songs sung by him in the 1970s can be attributed to his failing health due to his worseningheart problem.[citation needed]
Mukesh sang many songs for Kalyanji Anandji music director duo. Mukesh sang more songs with the K-A duo after Shankar–Jaikishan. From "Naina hai jadoo bhare..."Bedard Zamana Kya Jane (1958) composed by Kalyanji alone as Kalyanji Virji Shah, and "Main hoon mast madari..."Madari (1959) as the first Kalyanji-Anandji-Mukesh combo, to "Chahe aaj mujhe napasand karo"Darinda 1977, the K-A, Mukesh combination gave numerous popular songs like "Chhalia mera naam...", "Mere toote hue dil se...", "Dum dum diga diga"Chalia (1960), "Mujhko iss raat ki tanhai mein..."Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960), "Hum chhod chale hain mehfil ko..." (Ji Chahta Hai), "Humne tumko pyar kiya hai jitna..." (Dulha Dulhan), "Chal mere dil lehraake chal..."Ishara and "Dheere se chalo..."Johar Mehmood in Goa, "Main to ek khwab hoon..." and "Chand si mehbooba ho..."Himalay Ki Godmein(1965), "Waqt kartaa jo wafaa..."Dil Ne Pukara, "Deewanon se yeh mat poocho..."Upkar, "Khush raho har khushi hai..."Suhaag Raat and "Humsafar ab yeh safar kat jaayega..."Juari, "Chandi ki deewaar..." and "Le chal le chal mere jeevan saathi..."Vishwas (1969), "Koi jab tumhara hriday tod de..."Purab Aur Paschim, "Darpan ko dekha..."Upaasna, "Jo tumko ho pasand..."Safar and "Mujhe nahin poochni tumse beeti baatein..."Anjaan Raahen (1974).
Out of the numerous songs he gave his voice to, "Kahin door jab din dhal Jaaye" fromAnand (1971),[11] "Ek Pyaar ka Nagma hai" fromShor (1972), "Maine Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang Ke" fromAnand (1971), "Sab Kuch Seekha Humne" fromAnari (1959), "Jeena yahan marna yahan" and "Kehta hai Joker" fromMera Naam Joker (1970) are the most popular among his fans and followers.[12]
In his career, Mukesh sung 110 songs forRaj Kapoor, 47 songs forManoj Kumar and 20 songs forDilip Kumar.[citation needed]
Mukesh started his career as an actor singer in the filmNirdosh in 1941, with Nalini Jaywant as his heroine. His second film wasAdab Arz in 1943. He played a guest role in Raj Kapoor's filmAah in 1953. He acted as a hero in the filmMashooka in 1953, opposite Suraiya and in the filmAnurag (1956) (he was also the co-producer and composer in the film), oppositeUsha Kiran andMridula Rani. Mukesh also produced a filmMalhar (1951) with hero Arjun & heroine Shammi with Darling Films.[13][14][15]
Mukesh was a favourite of renowned Indian spin-bowlerBhagwath Chandrasekhar. When the sound of a Mukesh song drifted to the pitch, Chandrasekhar's acknowledgement of the tribute would bring a roar from the crowd.Sunil Gavaskar wrote that sometimes he hummed a Mukesh tune on the field to inspire Chandra. Chandra's passion affected team-matesKirmani,Gundappa Viswanath, and even some journalists.[16]
Google commemorated Mukesh on his 93rd birthday anniversary in 2016.[17][18]
Department of Post released a commemorative postage stamp on his 100th birth anniversary.[19][20]
Mukesh married Saral Trivedi, daughter of Raichand Trivedi, a millionaire.[8][21][22] With no proper house, an erratic income and what was then considered in India a supposedly "immoral" profession (singer in movies), the consent of Saral's father for this marriage could not be obtained and Mukesh and Saral were forced to elope. They got married in a temple inKandivali on 22 July 1946, Mukesh's 23rd birthday, with the help of the actorMotilal and from the residence of R. D. Mathur. Everyone made dire predictions of unhappy days and divorce, but both weathered the lean days and celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary on 22 July 1976, four days before his departure for the USA. The couple had five children – Rita, the singerNitin, Nalini (d. 1978), Mohnish and Namrata (Amrita). The actorNeil Nitin Mukesh is a grandson of Mukesh (son of Nitin).[8]
Mukesh died of a heart attack on 27 August 1976 inDetroit, Michigan, USA, where he had gone to perform in a concert.[23] That morning, he got up early and went to take a shower. He came out short of breath and complaining of chest pains. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead. The rest of the concert was completed byLata Mangeshkar and his sonNitin Mukesh.[24][citation needed] His body was flown to India by Mangeshkar, where a grand funeral ceremony was held in the presence of several actors, with personalities of theIndian film industry and fans paying tribute.[citation needed] When news of his death reached his acquaintance and actorRaj Kapoor, he burst into tears, and remarked, "I have lost my voice,"[25] which is a testimony to the association of Mukesh's voice (in playback) to the immensely popular songs of Raj Kapoor's films.
After Mukesh's death, his newer, hitherto unreleased, songs were released in 1977 in films such asDharam Veer,Amar Akbar Anthony,Khel Khiladi Ka,Darinda andChandi Sona. 1978 also saw a considerable number of Mukesh songs in films such asAahuti,Paramatma,Tumhari Kasam andSatyam Shivam Sundaram, where Mukesh sang his last film songChanchal Sheetal Nirmal Komal forRaj Kapoor's younger brother,Shashi Kapoor. From 1980 onwards, Mukesh's voice was heard in many later released films such asShaitan Mujarim,Premika,Patthar Se Takkar (1980),Sanjh Ki Bela,Maila Anchal (1981),Aarohi (1982),Chor Mandali (1983),Nirlaj (1985),Love and God (1986),Shubh Chintak (1989), and his last releaseChand Grahan in 1997.[26]
| Year | Song | Film | Music director(s) | Lyricist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | "Sab Kuch Seekha Humne" | Anari | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |
| 1970 | "Sabse Bada Naadan" | Pehchan | Shankar Jaikishan | Varma Malik |
| 1972 | "Jai Bolo Beimaan Ki" | Be-Imaan | Shankar Jaikishan | Varma Malik |
| 1976 | "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein" | Kabhi Kabhie | Khayyam | Sahir Ludhianvi |
| Year | Song | Film | Music director(s) | Lyricist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | "Hothon Pe Sacchai Rehti Hai" | Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |
| 1965 | "Dost Dost Na Raha" | Sangam | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |
| 1968 | "Sawan Ka Mahina" | Milan | Laxmikant Pyarelal | Anand Bakshi |
| 1971 | "Bas Yehi Apradh" | Pehchan | Shankar Jaikishan | Neeraj |
| 1972 | "Jane Kahan Gaye Woh Din" | Mera Naam Joker | Shankar Jaikishan | Hasrat Jaipuri |
| 1972 | "Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye" | Anand | Salil Chowdhury | Yogesh |
| 1973 | "Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hain" | Shor | Laxmikant Pyarelal | Santosh Anand |
| 1975 | "Main Na Bhoolonga" | Roti Kapada Aur Makaan | Laxmikant–Pyarelal | Santosh Anand |
| 1977 | "Ek Din Bik Jayega" | Dharam Karam | Rahul Dev Burman | Majrooh Sultanpuri |
| 1977 | "Main Pal Do Pal Ka Sahayar Hoon" | Kabhi Kabhie | Khayyam | Sahir Ludhianvi |
| 1978 | "Suhani Chandni Raatein" | Mukti | Rahul Dev Burman | Anand Bakshi |
| 1978 | "Chanchal Shital Nirmal Komal" | Satyam Shivam Sundaram | Laxmikant–Pyarelal | Anand Bakshi |
Winner
As an actor:
| Movie | Year |
|---|---|
| Nirdosh | 1941 |
| Aadab Arz | 1943 |
| Aah | 1953 |
| Mashooqa | |
| Anurag | 1956 |
As a singer:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
