Mahendra Kapoor

Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was a celebrated Indian playback singer known for his powerful voice and iconic patriotic songs in Hindi cinema.

Born in Amritsar, Punjab, in British India, he soon moved to Mumbai to pursue his musical career.

He was inspired at an early age by the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi, whom he considered his mentor. He began learning classical music under several renowned teachers, including Pt. Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, and Pt. Tulsidaas Sharma. Kapoor developed a distinctive style largely molded on Rafi's approach.

He won the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition, which led to his debut as a playback singer. His first playback song was "Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi" in V. Shantaram's film Navrang in 1958, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra. His career spanned five decades from 1956 to 1999, during which he recorded approximately 2,500 songs in various languages.

He became most closely associated with patriotic songs, particularly "Mere Desh Ki Dherti" from Manoj Kumar's film Upkaar. He lent his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films, including Upkaar and Purab Aur Paschim.

Mahendra Kapoor also had a lengthy association with director-producer B.R. Chopra, singing memorable songs in films such as Hamraaz, Gumrah, Dhool Ka Phool, Waqt, Dhund, and Nikaah. Other popular songs in his repertoire included "Chalo ek baar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono" from Gumrah and "Neele gagan ke tale" from Hamraaz. He was involved in more than 320 film productions throughout his career.

In 1972, Mahendra Kapoor was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors, by the Government of India for his contributions to music.

He was married and had three daughters and one son. He died on 27 September 2008 in Mumbai due to a heart attack.