Persang Karaoke pays tribute to the legendary singer - Mukesh ji

          Mukesh Chand Mathur was born in Ludhiana to Zorawar Chand Mathur and Chand Rani. He was the sixth among ten children in the family. Zorawar Chand Mathur was an engineer by profession and it was quite natural for Mukesh to follow the footsteps of his father. Mukesh Chand Mathur shifted base to Delhi after the 10th standard and became an employee of the Department of Public Works. But destiny had different plans for this talented young man. It is said that Mukesh Chand Mathur was always inclined towards cultivating his voice, but because of the constant pressure in a family of ten children, had not the opportunity to do so.

         Though he did not receive any formal training, Mukesh made it a point to listen closely to the voice of his sister's trainer. It was later in Delhi that Mukesh got his first taste of playback singing when he decided to visit recording studios in the city and get his voice noticed by established musicians. The studio visits also helped Mukesh to polish his own voice and practice playback singing.

         Mukesh's chief inspiration in Bollywood playback was the then erstwhile singer and actor K L Saigal. Mukesh was such a fan of K L Saigal's voice that he tried hard to emulate all the skills that he noticed in the maestro's voice. In fact, there was a time when K L Saigal himself could not make out the difference between his and his follower's voice! But it was actor Motilal who first realized the natural talent in Mukesh and decided to take him along to Bombay. Though it is a little hard to believe today, Mukesh's first break in the Bombay film industry was with a bit role in front of the camera. Yes, Mukesh debuted as an actor and singer in the Bollywood film 'Nirdosh', which went down the drains without notice. His first big break came four years later when he was called to sing for the character played by Motilal in the 1945 film 'Pehli Nazar'. The track 'Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De' played an important role in his career and brought offers of big budget movies which went on to win him awards galore.

         One of the classic true stories of musicdom concerns a top-notch classical vocalist, playback singer Mukesh and veteran music director Kalyanji. The singer was leaving the composer's music room after a sitting when the classical luminary entered for a social call. After Mukesh departed, this worthy told Kalyanjibhai, "Look at the irony! What does that man know about classical raag and sur? And he drives a Mercedes and I have to travel by bus!"

          Kalyanjibhai beckoned the man to sit next to him and asked him to sing Chandan sa badan chanchal chitwan along with the harmonium. The classical singer sang the line, with excessive murki as per his training.

          Kalyanjibhai again explained to him the exact notes. Try as he might, the classical maestro could not get the requisite straight and heart-touching rendition needed for this Saraswatichandra classic. Gently, the composer drove home his point by telling him, Ab aap ko pataa chalaa ke woh Mercedes main kyoon ghoomte hain? (Do you now realise why he drives a Mercedes?)

          Mukesh was probably the least classically-accomplished among our master-singers, but he has an amazing 90 per cent success record among his songs. According to industry insiders, even K.L. Saigal, Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar were far from highly-trained.

         

          Mukesh is best known for the songs that he sung for actor Raj Kapoor in Bollywood. On 26 August 1976, singer Mukesh and son Nitin Mukesh sang together at a concert in Detroit in the USA for the first time. Sadly, it also happened to be their last. To Mukesh’s, “Saaya hi apne saath tha, saaya hi apne saath hai…,” Nitin replied,“Is dil ke aashiyan mein unke khayal reh gaye, tod ke dil woh chal diye, ham phir akele reh gaye… 

           Mukesh was ‘dubbed’ as ‘aam aadmi ka singer’ and his fame reached far up the Russian terrains. “Awara hoon has been recorded in 14 Russian dialects. It’s customary to play "Mera joota hai Japani" and "Ichak dana" (both from Shree 420) at a wedding there.

Kisiki muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar

Kisika dard mil sake to le udhaar,

Kisike waaste ho tere dil mein pyaar

Jeena issi ka naam hai…