It was a day to mourn, as Bollywood lost the veteran ace singer Mahendra Kapoor, aged 74, as he breathed his last on Saturday evening at his residence, Bandra in Mumbai. Being prone to heart problems, Kapoor had earlier suffered a stroke and dysfunction of Kidney too.
Mahendra Kapoor showcased his uniqueness of rendering the most patriotic songs that had Manoj Kumar on the screen. Born in Amritsar at Punjab, Kapoor was shot to fame as he won a singing competition in the late 1950s at All India Youth Festival. Kapoor commenced his career as playback singer for the song, 'Aadha Hai Chandra Ma, Raat Aadhi' composed by music director C Ramachandra. His very first song won him the laurels and he continued striking gold in the world of music. A diehard fan of all-time versatile singer Mohammad Rafi, Kapoor had some traces of his panache of singing.
Mahendra Kapoor shared a good rapport with his favorite producer-director B R Chopra and sang as many songs for his films. Some of his most memorable songs 'Meri Desh Ki Dhartee', 'Sona Ugle, Ugle Heere Moti' for Upkaar on Manoj Kumar won him the prestigious honors including India's Highest Civilian Award, the Padmashree. He crooned the title song for Chopra's famous TV series, Mahabharat, in 80s.
Also he holds the credits of bagging Filmfare Award for his enchanting songs, 'Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se' in Gumrah, again churned out by Chopra in 1963 and one more for 'Neele Gagan Ke Tale' in Humraaz.
Mahendra Kapoor conducted the most popular reality TV show Antakshari along with his son, actor turned anchor Rohan Kapoor.
He is survived by three daughters and a son, Rohan Kapoor.
Musicmazaa.com conveys it's heartily condolences to the entire family and relatives who are more distressed over his demise'.