Mukesh (1923 - 1976)

Mukesh was a sensitive and noble gentleman, who, together with Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi completed the trinity that dominated the Golden Era of Hindi cinema playback. With songs like "Ek din bik jayega", "Awara Hoon", "Mera joota hai Japani", "Jaane Kahan gaye woh din", "Suhana Safar, "Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye", "Zindagi Khwab hai", "O Jaanewale ho sake to laut ke aana", "Kabhi Kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hain" and "Main har ek pal ka shair hoon" to his credit, Mukesh had a voice that conveyed on the one hand a deeply intense melancholiness and on the other hand, a profoundly innocent and mellifluous sweetness.

Born in Delhi on 22 July, 1923, Mukesh Chand was the sixth in a family of ten children. Father Lala Zorawar Chand Mathur was an engineer. But for little Mukesh, music was his destiny. The music teacher who came home to teach Mukesh's sister Sundar Pyari music, found a willing but secret pupil in Mukesh, who used to listen in from the adjoining room. This enabled him to pick up the intricacies of music much in the way that little Lata would secretly emulate her father.

By the time Mukesh completed his matriculation in 1940, he knew what he wanted to be. He had already given up his job as an assistant surveyor at his father's workplace. At the age of 17, he came to Mumbai to become a singer. Mukesh's father was not at all pleased but gave in to the persuasion of his wife and brother. And so, it was a singing career for the teenaged Mukesh.

Mukesh was 'discovered' by character Motilal in 1940. Mukesh was heard singing at his elder sister Ram Pyari's wedding. The obviously impressed Motilal invited Mukesh to stay at his residence in Mumbai. He also engaged the legendary Pandit Jagannath Prasad to train the young singer.

Mukesh's clean looks and his sweetly sincere temperament perhaps inspired directors to cast him as a singing hero. In any case, Mukesh was an unabashed admirer of K.L.Saigal, probably the greatest singing hero of our times.

Mukesh's first song was a ghazal, "Dil bujha to phasl-e-bahaar kya" composed by Ashok Ghosh for the film Nirdosh where he co-starred with Nalini Jaywant. He went on to act and sing in Sukh Dukh opposite Sitara Devi. The music for the film was directed by the revered Khemchand Prakash. This was followed by Adaab Arz in 1942. In 1953, he co-starred with Suraiya in Mashooqa. Mukesh was honest enough to realize that he would never make it big as a hero, and in 1956 starred in his last film Anurag with Usha Kiron. Here Mukesh revealed another talent ??r composing. The songs "Kisse yaad rakhoon" and "Pal bhar ki pehchan" are part of the collection, Legends ??kesh, an anthology that takes you through songs and anecdotes, recounted by dear friends, admirers and colleagues of the noblest of all singers ??kesh.

Mukesh's acting career never took off but his singing was noticed when he sang for Motilal in the film Moorti (1945). Here Mukesh sang two solos "Maana ke tum haseen ho" and "Haseenon se haseenonko".

The first glimmer of stardom came with the hugely successful "Dil jalta hai" from the film Pehli Nazar. Here Mukesh's open and uninhibited admiration for K.L.Saigal is on full display. In fact the young impressionable Mukesh had heard his adored idol in the immortal "Jab dil hi toot gaya" and yearned to sing a song like that. Anil Biswas turned his dream to reality. When "Dil jalta hai" was heard, thousands of music lovers laid bets as to who sang the song. So effectively had Mukesh cloned his hero, that Saigal himself was fooled. After hearing the song he is said to have exclaimed "But I don't remember singing this song!"

Though Mukesh's burning desire was to follow in the footsteps of Saigal Saab, veteran composers Naushad and Anil Biswas would have none of it. They took it upon themselves to wean Mukesh from his Saigalesque inclinations.

Anil Biswas succeeded in doing this with the song "Jeevan sapna toot gaya" in 1948. Naushad insisted on pulling up Mukesh sternly whenever he imitated Saigal. He brought out his individualism in several early songs for Dilip Kumar like "Gaye ja geet Milan ke" and "Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe".

Today it is hard to imagine anyone else singing "Suhana safar" or "Dil tadap tadap ke" from Madhumati but Dilip Kumar was not too sure about Mukesh's voice and wanted Talat Mamood to playback for him. Mukesh was redeemed not just by the success of these memorable songs but by Dilip Kumar's admission that Mukesh was indeed his voice. "Within minutes of enacting a song sung by Mukesh I was humming it. That, I suppose was the secret of Mukesh's success" he remarked with admiration.

Mukesh sang the songs for Dilip Kumar in Mehboob's Andaz. Songs that laid the foundation for the thespian's career. In fact Mukesh was responsible for even Lata Mangeshkar's first break. He insisted that Lata meet Naushad and when the struggling phenomenon was reluctant, he personally accompanied her to the composer's residence. Lata's big break in Andaz was wrought by Mukesh and she never looked back after that.

Generosity, benevolence and sincerity were second nature to Mukesh. These attributes were the reason for his long standing relationships with actors, composers and co-singers. The most memorable and cherished of all was the relationship with Raj Kapoor. As Anup Jalota says in CD 2 "Its impossible to state who was made for whom. Mukesh for Raj Kapoor or vice-versa". Raj Kapoor insisted that Mukesh was his soul. RK first met Mukesh on the sets of Bansri. Raj Kapoor and a junior artiste and Mukesh the aspiring singer. Raj Kapoor was introduced as Prithiviraj Kapoor's son. The two hit it off, instantaneously. Raj Kapoor's biographer quotes the showman as saying "sometimes you know someone for years and nothing ever clicks, and sometimes you meet a person for a few moments and something clicks. That's how it was that day between Mukesh Chand and myself".

Raj Kapoor always called his friend Mukesh Chand. Mukesh sang for RK in his first film as leading man, Neelkamal. From that day on, till his sudden tragic death Mukesh was Raj Kapoor's voice in Raj Kapoor's own productions as well as leading outside banners.

Mukesh's sweet, vulnerable and extremely sincere voice articulated the emotions of Raj Kapoor, the Indian Tramp very effectively. Songs like 'Awara Hoon', 'Mera Joota Hai Japani' could not have been sung by anybody else. Raj Kapoor's screen persona came to be so closely identified with Mukesh's voice because the two were so easily compatible. The chulbula 'Dum Dum Diga', the plaintive 'Ansoo Bhari Hain', the sweetly rustic 'Sajan Re Jhooth Mat Bolo' and the heart wrenching 'Jaane Kahan Gaye Who Din' were songs that typified the films and character of Raj Kapoor.

Another made forever relationship was that between Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. As she says Mukesh was your beloved singer. To me he was a beloved brother. Mukesh bhaiya was a great artist, a great soul and a very dear brother. The two greats shared very memorable songs. This beautiful relationship based on genuine warmth respect and had found its beginning in that visit to Naushad's residence where Lataji got her first break and ended in that Live Concert in Detroit where Mukesh and Lata were to perform.

On August 24, 1976, during a performance in Montreal, Canada, Mukesh had complained of a cold and sore throat. Lata decided that only son Nitin could replace Mukesh and cajoled him "Mukesh bhaiya's throat feels a bit heavy, why don't you sing a couple of songs?". Nitin sang the opening lines of Kabhi Kabhi??nd in the wings a proud father watched, his eyes brimming over.

Perhaps Mukesh had an inkling of his tragic fate. During the tour, he had pleaded with Hridayanath "Please take care of my son. I know you care for him, but he's a little na?, so promise me you'll look after him."

The next day, 10 minutes before his concert, Mukesh breathed his last. And his words to Hridayanath still echo?? "As for me??is is my last show".