Mahendra Kapoor was born on 9 January 1934 in Amritsar, Punjab, and died on 27 September 2008 at his home in Mumbai. He was a playback singer who recorded songs in Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi and other languages, and he received the Padma Shri in 1972.
He trained in classical music and considered Mohammed Rafi his mentor and guru. In 1957 he won the All-India Metro Murphy singing contest, whose judges included Naushad, Anil Biswas, C. Ramchandra, Madan Mohan and Vasant Desai. His film debut came in V. Shantaram’s Navrang (1958), composed by C. Ramchandra.
He became closely associated with patriotic songs, mainly through the actor-director Manoj Kumar. “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” from Upkar (1967) won him the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. He also won the Filmfare Award for “Chalo Ek Baar” from Gumrah (1963), for “Neele Gagan Ke Tale” from Hamraaz (1967) and for “Aur Nahi Bus Aur Nahi” from Roti Kapda Aur Makaan (1974).
In 1988 he sang the title song of B. R. Chopra’s television series Mahabharat, which reached a very large audience on Doordarshan.
His voice, strong and clear, suited songs of duty and courage. His son, Rohan Kapoor, is an actor and singer.
Featured image: Mahendra Kapoor, from an official portrait (cropped). Photo by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, licensed under GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons.
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