Mohammad Rafi in his place, Kishore Kumar in his place. It is Mukesh who sits on the same level with these two despite singing lesser songs. Such a ‘sad’ voice of the Hindi film world, whose lyrics find expression of their separation to everyone. Such a voice whose vision of sung songs has reached our souls. Such a powerful singer whose melodious voice gives us a special kind of comfort. Listening to his soothing songs runs a wave inside, a wave that makes the mind tremble. And when Mukesh sang Dard, it was as if Dard found the words. The inner suffocation continued to be expressed in the lyrics but its traces could not disappear. The pain sung by Mukesh hurts us too.
Mukesh Chand Mathur was born on July 22, 1923 to Jorawar Chand Mathur and Chand Rani in Ludhiana, so last month was our beloved Mukesh’s one hundred and first birthday. Mukesh, who dreamed of becoming an actor since childhood, was on the path of singing. Mukesh also started learning music after seeing his elder sister taking music lessons. One day his distant uncle actor Motilal heard him sing Mukesh at his sister’s wedding and became a fan of his voice. Motilal brought him to Mumbai, where Pandit Jagannath Prasad began sculpting Mukesh. Mukesh sang his first solo song ‘Dil Hi Buza Hua Ho To Fasal E Bahar Kya’ for the 1941 thriller film ‘Innocent’. He also worked with Nalini Jayavant in this film. But recognition came from the song ‘Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De’ sung in the 1945 film ‘Pehli Nazar’. The song was picturized on Motilal itself. People thought that this song was sung by famous singer of that time KL Sehgal. Even Sehgal himself could not understand when he sang this song.
Mukesh then sang songs for Dilipkumar. One of these songs is the song ‘Suhana Safar’ from the movie ‘Madhumati’. The words of this song have become ingrained in our lives like an idiom. Mukesh was paired with Raj Kapoor and what happened after that is history. When Mukesh was not around, Raj Kapoor said, “My body remains, but my voice is gone.” But Mukesh was also considered the voice of Dilip Kumar and Manoj Kumar. Among the songs shot on Rajesh Khanna, the songs in Kishore Kumar’s voice are mentioned, but ‘Kahi Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye’ from Mukesh’s ‘Anand’ has a different status.
Mukesh became a producer in 1951 and brought out the films ‘Malhar’ and ‘Anurag’ in 1956. But both the films flopped. In times of financial crisis, he returned to the world of music. Films like ‘Yudhi’, ‘Madhumati’, ‘Anari’ gave her singing a new identity. He received a nomination at Filmfare for the song ‘Jees Desh Mein Ganga Revante Hai’.
In the 70s, Mukesh became the voice of every big star. In 1970, Mukesh got another filmfare for a song in Manoj Kumar’s film ‘Pehchan’. And then in 1972, he was given the Filmfare Award for the third time for singing in Manoj Kumar’s film. In 1974, Mukesh was awarded the National Film Award for the song ‘Kai Baar Yun Bhi Dekha Hai’ from the film ‘Rajnigandha’. This was a song when Mukesh didn’t sing for a hero but carried forward the situation of the film. This song got such beats in Mukesh’s voice. In 1976, Mukesh won his fourth Filmfare Award for the title song ‘Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai’ from Yash Chopra’s film ‘Kabhi Kabhi’. Mukesh sang the last song of his career ‘Chanchal, Sheetal, Nirmal, Komal’ for his friend Raj Kapoor’s film ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’.
On August 27, 1976, during a concert in America, he suffered a heart attack and left us forever. His words trailed off. As he himself sang, ‘Ek din bik jayega, mati ke mole, jag mein reh jayenge pyare tere bol’. Today 27th August completes 47 years of his absence. This is then and now, whenever ‘live here, die here’, ‘am I a wanderer or am I a star in the sky’, ‘someone’s smile is lost’, ‘ek pyaar ka nagama hai,’ mauj ki rawani’ hai , Zindagi aur kuch bhi hai, teri meri kahani hai’, ‘O jaane wale ho sakte come back’, ‘Oh my rhythm meets the river water, the river meets the sea. ‘, ‘Koini Smit Khowai Jaye’, ‘Duniya Banane Wale Kya Tere Maan Mein Samayi’, ‘Sajan Re Zooth Mat Bolo, Khuda Ke Paas Jana Hai’, it feels like Mukesh is humming the mantra of life. The philosophies that were written by the lyricists became more effective, easier to communicate as Mukesh voiced them. Those words have come to be expressed more simply. Such is the Mukesh of whom Madhya Pradesh poet Ashutosh Dubey wrote:
Mukesh is the voice of a time when sadness was respected. It was a musical passage to grief, to grief, to failure, to philosophy, to truth. Nowhere else is there such bitterness in sound. After him, our film music ended the chapter of that sad silence, which was the natural echo of his voice. When the songs of Lakshmi Pyare’s ‘Dosti’, which featured Rafi’s lyrics, went viral, it was realized that ‘Milan’ would also feature Rafi. But the hero of ‘Milan’ was a simple sailor. His voice could only be Mukesh, who explains to Lata that it is not ‘noise’, but ‘sore’. Even in the lullabies sung by Mukesh, the sound of nostalgia seems to have dissolved: I wake up, you sleep. The garden was burnt, leaving only one bud. A few half-burned memories remained. Pancham’s favorite singer was Kishore, but whenever he made Mukesh sing, he sang a lot. Be it ‘jees gali mein tera ghar na ho balma’ or ‘kahi karti hogi wo mera intezaar’. Mukesh is perhaps the forgotten chapter for the new generation. He has an army of singers singing rumanas in equally soft tones. But it’s hard for us to forget Mukesh who sang: Boond Chupi Kis Badal Mein Koi Jaane Na!
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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood hit, Mukesh
First published: August 27, 2023, 20:10 IST