–A singer who made his mark amidst giants

9^th January 1934 -27^th September 2008

Before I begin , a big thanks to all those who have viewed my blogs -this year in just 9 months it has crossed 10,000 views!

One may wonder why such a long tag line in the title of this blog! When the Hindi film industry had legendary male playback singers Rafi, Talat, Kishore, Manna Dey and Mukesh , with each one having their unique voice and  style , we can imagine how difficult it might have been for Mahendra Kapoor to create a name for himself. He left behind some evergreen  songs like Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se ,  Neele Gagan Ke Tale, Aadha Hai Chandrama , Ankhon Mein Qayamat Ke Kajal , Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet,  Mere Desh Ki Dharti etc.

If we look at the followers of male playback singers of the golden era of  Hindi film music ,  we find a majority of them either adoring  Rafi or  Kishore  , then to some extent a niche group who love Mukesh , Talat Mehmood. For Manna Dey and Mahendra Kapoor , although many like their songs , we do not see an intense , passionate fan-base. Between the two we may even find many who like Manna Da’s classicism , but finding an ardent fan for Mahendra Kapoor is relatively rare. This is not to generalize but at a glance this seems to be the reality. But , of course , there would definitely be many who like his songs and I am one of them! In fact I can say with humility that I like all these singers and …ooops I forgot one more name-Hemant Kumar-though for me his name comes first as a great composer . The most charming aspect of the golden era of HFM is that we had such a huge variety of singers , complemented with even more diverse  music composers and their equally competent lyricists. That is why I find it strange that even many learned music lovers and writers keep comparing these legends and come out with their own biased opinions, extolling some to a very great extent, and putting down others !

In my blogs , I like to celebrate the music of all! Sometimes even those , whom I may personally not be listening that much. For me music till the early 70’s was filled with so many gems to keep discovering and enjoying. In this blog , let us look at some of the great songs  Mahendra Kapoor(MK)  left behind for us. I had mentioned some time back in my blogs that pure coincidence makes me take up an artist for my blogs  and I find that I am writing about him or her close to their birth or death anniversary. As  I publish this , the 17^th death anniversary of MK just passed by last week,  on 27^th September.

Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar on 9 January 1934 but was brought up in Mumbai ( then Bombay) , where his father had a business of garments. From an early age he always considered the great Mohammad Rafi as his inspiration . MK graduated from the  St Xaviers College, and his interest in music was evident from those days. His training on music started with  B.M. Vyas and Ustad Meharji. He also got trained in classical music from Pt Husnlal of the famous musical duo Husanlal Bhagatram , Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pt.Tulsi Das Sharma. Of course the great Mohammad  Rafi was always his idol and had even mentored him to some extent.

He started singing from the year 1953 with songs in films like Madmast,   Lalkaar (1956) , Diwali Ki Raat (1956), Heer (1956) etc. He was also part of the  qawwali Unhe dekh le to in the film Madhmast composed by V Balsara. However all these songs did not give any major break for him.  Fortune favoured him when he got selected as the best singer in Metro-Murphy All India Singing Competition, the judges being the topmost music directors: Anil Biswas, Naushad, C Ramchandra, Vasant Desai and Madan Mohan. The contest had a benefit for the winner that the judges were to offer a chance to sing in their composition. Naushad, honoured  that condition , and gave him his major break by offering the song Chand Chupa Aur Tare Toothe in the film Sohni Mahiwal (1958).  It so happened that this song got released earlier although as per MK’s own interview in Vividh Bharati , the song Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi was recorded earlier ( composed by C Ramchandra for the film Navrang)  but was released after the Sohni Mahiwal film song. CR also gave a major  boost to his career in Navrang with other songs like  Shyamal Shyamal Baran & Yeh Maathi Sabhi Ki Kahani Kahegi that  made MK a singer to be noticed.

MK started getting more success in BR Chopra’s films , with the music director Ravi giving him his all-time hits like Chalo Ek Baar , Neele Gagan Ke Tale, Kisi Pathar Ki Moorat Se and many more . Other music directors like N Dutta, O.P Nayyar , Kalyanji Anandji also composed some of the best songs for MK. One of the main strengths for MK was the effortless ease  he used to reach the high notes and stay there for some time! The song Na Mooh Chupake Jiyo is one such example. Despite having a strong and deep voice , he could render a soft ghazal . And when it comes to patriotic songs , he was at the top. Peppy numbers like Aankhon Mein Qayamat Ke Kajal or Lakhon Hai Yahan Dilwale were also a cake-walk for him.

He had sung many popular songs in Marathi and of course in his native Punjabi , apart from many other languages like Gujarati, Bhojpuri etc. He also had the unique distinction of collaborating with the famous band Boney-M to render some of their famous songs with Hindi lyrics for an album M-3 that had Mahendra Kapoor singing with singer Mussarat. MK’s best output was in the 60’s and 70’s ; however even in 80’s he rendered some great songs . In the year 1988 , B R Chopra’s TV adaptation of the epic Mahabharat became a very popular program and every Sunday people across the country were able to listen to the stirring rendition of MK’s title song for this TV series.

The government of our country recognized his contribution by conferring the Padma Shri award in the year 1972 ; he had also won the National award for best playback singing for his iconic Mere Desh Ki Dharti in the film Upkaar -1968. He also got the  Filmfare Award thrice -in 1964 for Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se from the film Gumrah; in 1968 for Neele Gagan Ke Tale from the film Humraaz and in 1975 for the song Aur Nahin Bas Aur Nahin in Roti Kapda Aur Makaan. He was also honoured with other awards like the Mian Tansen award, Life Time Achievement award by the Maharashtra state government and Lata Mangeshkar award by the Madhya Pradesh state government.

He passed away on 27th September , 2008 due to cardiac arrest, leaving behind his wife, children, and grandchildren. His son Rohan Kapoor is also an actor and play back singer.

I have selected around 33 songs here , organized them into his great works with the music directors Ravi & O.P Nayyar who had given him the best songs of his career and then another category that has songs composed by many other music directors. I have selected 11 songs for each category , with an aim to cover the  variety in  MK’s singing and tried to include different music directors in the last category. I have also tried to put together a list that has many popular songs and some rare, not-heard-much ones.

As I am completing the blog, I realise , maybe in future one more blog may be required to do a proper justice to MK’s songs with few other music composers and duets with other singers. I have mentioned the song/film/year/ lyricist and any co-singers in that order.

Songs composed by Ravi Shankar Sharma ( Ravi)

If there are two music directors who were instrumental in giving a major boost to MK’s career , it is Ravi & O P Nayyar. For  Ravi , Rafi was always the first choice, but in most of the B R Chopra films, it was mostly MK. Like many of the anecdotes that go around in the film world, they say B R Chopra had some rift with Rafi and that is how MK got many opportunities, but I find that Rafi has also sung in many of the B R Chopra films! Whatever it is , we are more interested in the music than these stories! The team of Ravi-MK-Sahir created some of the best ever songs of HFM . I have tried to list some of them here, though some of them are from non B R Chopra films.

1. Chalo Ek Baar Ajnabee-Gumraah-1963-Sahir Ludhianvi

Any talk about MK’s songs has to start from this masterpiece. MK was lucky to lend his vocals to one of the most famous lines written for a Hindi film song by the great Sahir Ludhianvi-Woh afsana jise anjaam tak laana nah o mumkin, Use ek khubsurat mod dekar chodne achha!

2. Aap Aaye To Khayal-E-Dil-E-Nashaad-Gumrah-1963- Sahir Ludhianvi

Starting off with a slow pace and in low notes, MK travels to the higher octaves with his typical ease in the antara.

3. Yeh hawa yeh fiza- Gumraah-1963-Sahir Ludhianvi

Ravi composes a superb song with guitar providing the main rhythm and a nice mandolin , flute taking us through the cool hills and MK rendering a soulful number .

4. Husn aur ishq ke takraae ki raat ayi hai -Sagaai-1966- Rajendra Krishna

Relatively a rare song for a non-B R Chopra film, this song shows the softer vocal skills of MK. A melodious one that appears a bit different from Ravi’s usual style.

5. Neele Gagan Tale-Hamraaz-1967-Sahir Ludhianvi

After Gumraah, it was Hamraaz that had MK’s career best songs. This one will remain eternal-whenever we listen to this we are taken to a beautiful, scenic place under the blue sky -somehow many of MK’s songs were picturized with beautiful hills or such similar scenery around. That is why his songs caresses us like a gentle breeze.

6. Kisi Pathar Ki Moorat- Hamraaz-1967-Sahir Ludhianvi

Once again the intense Urdu lyrics of Sahir come to life with MK’s mellifluous singing. Those days , a piano song is bound to be a super hit. Ravi’s trademark dholak, banjos elevate the song to a different level. MK has sung this with the right intonations, just like his idol, Mohammad Rafi. And who can forget the words of Sahir-Har ek beja takalluf se bhagawat ka irada hai?

7. Na mooh chupa ke Jiyo- Hamraaz-1967-Sahir Ludhianvi

Many singers of the golden era could reach the higher notes with ease, but MK had the unique ability to not only reach those high notes , but could “stay” there for a while with enormous lung power. The sheer force of this song is simply mind boggling and this remains one of my all-time favourites. Once again the exceptional lyrics of Sahir and the thundering dholak of Ravi , alongwith the vocals of MK create an evergreen song.

8. Tum agar saath dene ka- Hamraaz-1967-Sahir Ludhianvi

God only knows what  chemistry Ravi, Sahir and MK had when they worked for Gumrah and Hamraaz films-looks like whatever they touched turned gold ‘a la Midas’!

9. Ae Jan-E-Chaman Tera Gora Badan-Anmol Moti-1969-Rajendra Krishan

One may not be too impressed with the picturization of this song , but the tune and MK’s rendition make this a good one.

10. Sansaar Ki Har Shay Ka-Dhund-1973– Sahir Ludhianvi

The film , Dhund was based on Agatha Christie’s story ‘The unexpected Guest’ and is one of the good films in Hindi. This title song is rendered by MK in his inimitable style.

11. Beete huye lamhon ki kasak saath -Nikaah-1982- Hasan Kamaal

Music director Ravi was well known for his melodies and when the music tastes started becoming different, he had almost withdrawn from Hindi films and instead made a very good name for himself in the Malayalam film industry. After a long gap , when B R Chopra signed him for this film , he proved that he still had those creative juices flowing. MK had this soulful ghazal along with few other memorable songs like Dil Ki Yeh Aarzoo thi koi -a duet with Salma Agha. MK’s voice had the same texture that he had when he sang those great songs for Ravi 16-17 years ago in Gumrah and Hamraaz.

Songs composed by O. P Nayyar

After Ravi, it was in O P Nayyar’s music that MK could some out with his best songs. Once again there was the infamous spat between OPN and Rafi in 1968  who till then had worked so well together , and were also very close friends. I would not like to ponder much about these stories as no one knows exactly what happened! The result was that MK got great opportunity to sing for OPN and that is how we got all those superb songs. Ultimately Rafi being the supreme gentleman that he always was , patched up with OPN by taking the initiative solely from his side , and they did work together , but by that time OPN ‘s creativity had come down and he was not able to create the magic like before. O P Nayyar’s music till the time he was at the top , guaranteed success even for those films that did not have anything much to talk about except for the music. His name used to be prominently displayed in the film  posters and that was enough to draw the audience! His foot-tapping rhythm , superb tunes and orchestration are loved even today.

1. Mera Pyar Woh Hai -Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi-1965-S.H Bihari

One of the early songs of MK with OPN much before the OPN-Rafi rift. Many of the golden era music directors had a great team work with their favourite lyricists. Just like Ravi & Sahir , OPN & S H Bihari created some of the great songs that were rendered by MK. In fact in this blogsite I had written in detail about many such teams.

2. Badal Jaaye Agar Maali-Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi-1966-Kaifi Azmi

A classic guitar-based OPN’s rhythm , this is the only song by MK in the film.

3. Badi Mushkil Se Kaboo-Humsaya-1968-Hasrat Jaipuri-Duet with Asha Bhosle

It is said that this was the film during which OPN stopped working with Rafi . Though all the songs are great, somehow the film flopped commercially.

4. Aankhon mein Qayamat Ke Kajal-Kismat-1968-S.H Bihari

Quintessential OPN songs in this film are this one and the next I have listed. These two are my personal favourites also. Whenever we think of MK’s song with OPN this comes to our mind first. Superb rendition by MK and of course who can forget those guitars ?! The way in which MK had rendered both the songs of this film showcase the pop-singer in him.

5. Lakhon Hai Yahan Dilwale- Kismat-1968-S.H Bihari

Though this one might seem to be similar to Ankhon Mein Qayamat song the way MK comes out with those modulations makes this one of his career-best!

6. Kamar Pathli Nazar Bijli-Kahin Din Kahin Raat-1968-S.H Bihari

One of the rarer songs from the team of OPN-S H Bihari and MK. The antara is unusual and not the typical style of OPN-MK had pulled it off so well.

7. Yaaron Ki Tamanna Hai- Kahin Din Kahin Raat-1968-Aziz Kashmiri

It is indeed very rare to see any other singer apart from Rafi singing for the noted actor-comedian Johnny Walker. The typical horse-hoof beat of OPN is in full play and adds to the charm of the song.

8. Haath Aaya Hai Jab Se -Dil Aur Mohobbat-1968-Shewan Rizvi- Duet with Asha Bhosle

The lyricist Shewan Rizvi mostly wrote for O P Nayyar and this song could be one of the best by him. I always liked this song mainly for these lines:

Ungaliyaan jab zamaana ki mujh par uthhe

Kho na jaana kahin aisi haalaat main

Roshani zindagi men mohabbat se hai

Warana rakha hai kya chaandani raat main

Although the song has Asha singing a major part, MK does make his mark with the lone antara that he gets to sing.

9. Kahan Se Layee Oh Jan-E-Man-Dil Aur Mohobbat-1969-S.H Bihari-Duet with Asha Bhosle

MK does a superb ‘ harkat’ while singing the line in the first antara, especially in the line “yahi wo chehra hai poojte hain”:

yahi wo aankhe hai jinke moti

chamak rahe hai samundro me

yahi wo chehra hai pujte hai

OPN used to refer to his favourite lyricist S H Bihari as Shayar-E-Azam meaning the great among the lyricists. Asha does a superb humming throughout the song; not to forget the superb santoor that OPN uses in the orchestration.

10. Andhere Mein Jo Baithe Hain-Sambandh-1969-Kavi Pradeep

The two songs from Sambandh would rate among the top 10 songs of MK . He has breathed life into these two songs, with the song Jo Diya Tha Tum Ne having the unique feature of Hemant da singing in an OPN composition.

11. Jo Diya Tha Tum Ne-Sambandh-1969-Kavi Pradeep-Duet with Hemant Kumar

Songs composed by Other music directors

Among the other music directors in whose compositions, MK had his best songs were C Ramachandra, N Dutta, Kalyanji Anandji . I have included some of his best songs from these 3 composers and also five others like Naushad who gave his first hit song -Chand Chupa Aur Tare Toote, Pt Ravi Shankar-a rare duet with Geeta Dutt , two songs from Madan Mohan , one from my eternal favourite composers-Shankar Jaikishan, and one from Lakshmikant Pyarelal’s Roti Kapda Aur Makan that fetched MK one more Filmfare award. All these songs give a glimpse of the variety in MK’s singing and hope those who listen to these would like them.

1. Chand Chupa Aur Tare-Sohni Mahiwal-1958-Naushad-Shakeel Badayuni

The songs that made MK famous after years of struggling. Wish Naushad had given few more songs to him!

2. Aadha hai chandrama-Navrang-1959-C Ramachandra-Bharat Vyas-Duet with Asha Bhosle

Whenever we think of top songs composed in the raag Malkauns, this would be on the top of the mind-a superb by the great C Ramachandra-Navrang had some of his fabulous songs and MK had totally 4 songs in this film.

3. Shyamal Shyamal Baran- Navrang-1959-C Ramachandra-Bharat Vyas

CR innovates orchestration by using musical instruments for mimicking everyday sounds in a household! Note the richness in MK’s voice texture in this song.

4. Aaj ki raat nahi shikwa shikayat ke liye -Dharmaputra -1961- N Datta -Sahir Ludhiyanavi

I had not listened to this song for decades and was delighted to discover this while researching for the blog. Just like Ravi & Sahir, N Dutta and Sahir had a great chemistry and had given numerous masterpieces. This one shows the softer side of MK’s singing.

5. Kho Gaya Hai Mera Pyar-Hariyali Aur Rasta-1962-Shankar Jaikishan-Hasrat Jaipuri

The film Hariyali Aur Raasta had great songs by SJ , that were msostly rendered by Mukesh and Lata; this solo by MK is one of the rare ones that SJ had composed for him and is quite a popular one.

6. Dhoonde Nazar Nazar-Dilli Ka Dada-1962-N Dutta-Jan Nissar Akhtar- Duet Asha Bhosle

A nice melody by N Dutta , rendered beautifully by  MK & Asha.

7. O Bedardi Kyon Tadpaaye-Godaan-1963-Pt Ravi Shankar-Anjaan-Duet with Geeta Dutt

The veteran classical Sitar maestro Pt Ravi Shankar composed a handful of songs for few films , but all were simply outstanding. This rare duet of MK & Geeta must have been forgotten by many. Note the use of predominantly Indian classical instruments by the maestro in the orchestration.

8. Chodkar Tere Pyar Ka Daman-Woh Kaun Thi-1964-Madan Mohan-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan-Duet with Lata Mangeshkar

When Rafi & Lata did not sing together for few years, MK got the opportunity to sing some duets with her. One of the typical sweet romantic melodies by the ghazal king Madan Mohan.

9. Dil Laga Kar Hum Yeh Samjhe-Zindagi Aur Maut-1965-C Ramachandra-Shakeel Badyuni

A rare association of CR with Shakeel Badayuni, that tabla pattern is  vintage CR!. One of MK’s great songs …

10. Ari Oh Shok Kaliyon Muskura -Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hain-1967- Madan Mohan- Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

When I heard this song after a long time , I could not guess the music director correctly as it had shades of SJ in the first prelude and also reminded me of OPN -it was only after listening to that distinct string arrangement that I guessed correctly it was Madan Mohan. A superb ghazal by MK.

11. Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet Sada-Purab Aur Paschim-1970-Kalyanji Anandji-Indeevar

Readers may find it strange that I have  included this and not  the most popular song of MK -Mere desh ki dharti! It is just because everyone must have listened to that ‘n’ number of times in all our National days. This is rare and personally I like this song for MK’s superb rendition , K-A superb orchestration, and the powerful lyrics of Indeevar. I could not get the original video link embedded here due to technical issues and so this is from a live performance of MK. I am providing a link to the original song as a hyperlink< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdmUuRELfWI&list=RDTdmUuRELfWI&start_radio=1>

12.Aur Nahi Bas Aur Nahin-Roti Kapda Aur Makaan-1974-Laxmikant Pyarelal-Santosh Anand

I conclude the blog with this pathos by MK that may not be that popular , but is a complex tune that was composed by L-P with MK getting his third & last  Filmfare award.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:

I sincerely thank the publishers of following  Internet sources   for the information that I could gather for this article:

1. You Tube
2. Wikipedia

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the  original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.