Noted playback singer Mahendra Kapoor, whose voice has delighted music lovers across generations, died here this evening of a heart attack. He was 74 and is survived by wife, three daughters and a son. Family sources said he was suffering from a kidney ailment and undergoing dialysis. He had recovered from the ailment and was well.
Noted singer Mahendra Kapoor passes away
The end came suddenly at 1930 hrs and he died in his sleep, the sources added. The Maharashtra government had recently announced the Lata Mangeshkar award for his lifetime contribution in the field of playback music. The funeral will take place on Sunday (Sep 28).
Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar on January 9, 1934, but soon moved to Mumbai. He was inspired by Mohammed Rafi and won an All India singing competition early in his career. He is best remembered for his songs for B R Chopra’s films like ‘Dhool ka Phool’, ’Gumrah’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Hamraaz’, ‘Dhund’ among others. Kapoor was also the voice of Manoj ‘Bharat’ Kumar in movies like ‘Upkar’ and ‘Purab aur Paschim’, especially in numbers of “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” and “Hai Preet Jahan Ki Reet Sada”.
Apart from Hindi, he was also the voice of Dada Kondke in most of his Marathi movies. However, Kapoor did not restrict himself to Kondke’s movies in Marathi. His son Rohan Kapoor starred in few films like ‘Fasle’ and ‘Love 86′. Mahendra Kapoor received the national award for best male playback singing for ‘Mere Desh Ki Dharti…’ in ‘Upkar’.
Kapoor was also the reciepient of the Padmashri award. ‘Chalo Ek Bar Phirse…’ in ‘Gumrah’ won him his first Filmfare award in 1963. ‘Neele Gagan Ke Taley… (Humraaz) in 1967 and ‘Nahi Nahi Bus Aur Nahi…’ (Roti Kapda aur Makan) again won him the Filmfare award in 1974. ‘Dhagala Lagli Kalla, Paani themb themb gala….’ (Bot Lavin Tethe Gudgulya) is Mahendra Kapoor’s best remembered Marathi song for actor-filmmaker Dada Kondke.
However, his other well-known songs include ‘Ratri Khel Chale, Ya goodh chandnyacha….’ (Ha Khel Sawalyancha) and ‘Sur tech chedita, geet umatale nave…’. Some of his notable songs include ‘Neele Gagan ke tale…’ (Humraaz), ‘Chalo Ek Baar…’(Gumrah), ‘Kisi Pathar Ki Moorat se…’ (Humraaz), ‘Lakhon hain yahan dilwale…’ (Kismet), ‘Mere Desh ki Dharti…’ (Upkar), ‘Bharat ka rehne wala hoon…’ (Purab aur Paschim), ‘Fakira chal chala chal…’ (Fakira), ‘Badal jaye agar mali…’ (Baharein Phir Bhi Aayengi), ‘Mera pyar hai woh…’ (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi), ‘Ab ke baras…’ (Kranti), Tere pyar ka asra…’ (Dhool Ka Phool).
**Prez, Deshmukh condole Mahendra Kapoor’s death
**President Pratibha Patil today expressed grief over the death of noted playback singer Mahendra Kapoor. In a condolence message, the President said Kapoor enthralled millions of Indians by his voice. His songs reflecting patroiotism will be remembered in the years to come, she said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh described Kapoor as a ‘great and versatile singer’. “It is sad that he passed on the eve of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar’s birthday as the state government had a few days ago announced that Kapoor would be given the Lata Mangeshkar award next month”, Deshmukh, who is in Europe on an
official visit, said.
Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil also paid tributes to Kapoor, saying the singer had contributed to Marathi music. “He will be remembered as the voice of actor-film maker Dada Kondke in whose films he was a permanent fixture as a playback singer”, he said.