Aug 27 marks the death anniversary of Mukesh Chand Mathur, better known by his mononymous epithet as simply Mukesh.
I have to be honest - Mukesh was never my favorite singer. My dad was a fan though and being a die-hard Saigal aficionado, he would often wax eloquent about how awesome Mukesh was because he sounded so much like Saigal. In fact, Saigal himself is said to have been amazed when he heard Mukesh's rendition of 'Dil Jalta Hai' remarking that he didn't remember recording the song. Of course, Mukesh was only doing what every upcoming male playback artist from those times did - mimicking his role model, Saigal. But what made my dad his fan was the very thing that turned me against him. I was a rebellious teen and could not see the merit in either Saigal or Mukesh (I know better now!), and it just seemed 'cool' to scoff at everything the older generation liked and have 'cooler' musicians and singers to idolize - like Kishore Kumar. R.D.B and the Beatles! (My love for Rafi too grew much later and snowballed into a lifelong obsession!). Also, add the fact that I wasn't a huge RK fan and Mukesh was known to be RK's voice.
Somewhere along the way (I cannot pinpoint when) I learned to discern the nuances in Mukesh's singing and look upon him as more than just RK's ghost voice. True, he wasn't as technically perfect as Rafi or indeed, his other contemporaries, but there was something true, something raw, something unique about his voice that seemed to reach the very depths of the soul of the listener, tug at their heartstrings and make them weep at the sheer emotion he brought to his singing. That rawness, that feeling was what drew me to him. Today 'Dil jalta hai' (and many other Mukesh songs) stands among my favorite songs ever. (I'm looking very sternly at my teenage self and telling her not to be an idiot!😡🤢)
He might have been looked upon as a 'limited' singer and there were occasions when he could sound 'besur'. But the man himself was so affable and humble, that he recognized these limitations in himself, often complimenting his peer, Rafi and telling him sincerely that he couldn't sing like him. In fact, on one occasion when a musician kept messing up a recording and he and Lata had to record several times to get it right, Mukesh is said to have jokingly looked around asking: "Who's that trying to imitate me?"
Such were those times, and such was the friendly camaraderie even among seemingly rival artists. They truly wished well for each other and did not let ego stand in the way of true appreciation. Later, after Mukesh's death, when Kishore Kumar did concerts often taking Nitin Mukesh along with him, he would introduce him as his bhai's son. Lata Mangeshkar fondly referred to him as Mukesh bhaiyya and he called her 'didi' even though he was older.
Mukesh's first foray into Hindi films was courtesy of his cousin, Motilal who heard him singing at his sister's wedding and offered him a chance to come to Bombay, which a young Mukesh immediately jumped at. Even as a young boy, Mukesh had shown himself to be an eager pupil often sneaking into his sister's music lessons. He later trained under Pandit Jagannath Prasad - because in those days you had to be a trained singer if you wanted to be taken seriously.
He starred in his first film, Nirdosh, opposite Nalini Jaywant where he also sang, but his first big break as a singer came with Pehli Nazar (1945) and Anil Biswas' Dil jalta hai. Later he also sang in films such as Anokha Pyar for Anilda and Mela and Andaaz for Naushad. In fact, these two music directors are credited with removing Mukesh's fixation with Saigal and encouraging him to come into himself and carve his own niche.
He did sing for RK in NeelKamal and Aag, but it was Barsaat that firmly established him into the RK-Shankar-Jaikishen camp creating a super-duper successful collaboration that endured for years. RK is said to have been heartbroken on the news of Mukesh's death lamenting that he had 'lost his voice'. He died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 53 while performing in a concert in Detroit in the United States. His son, Nitin Mukesh carried on his legacy for a while, but could not reach the heights of success his father did (perhaps because the times were different and the audience was different).
I have several favorite Mukesh songs but I want to post the Non-RK ones here (because I know the RK ones will come 😊)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTkQePgB30w
Dil Jalta Hai from Pehli Nazar. Amazing singing! ❤️👏
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz9wpt_bNi4
Jhoomti chali hawa yaad aa gaya from Sangeet Samrat Tansen (Wonderful rendition!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4I-nnDV6-g
Baharon ne mera chaman loot kar from Devar (Beautiful, beautiful song)
What are your favorite songs by this exemplary singer?
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
Jhanak
Shiv Shakti
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