Mahendra Kapoor
| Mahendra Kapoor | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 January 1934 |
| Origin | Amritsar, India |
| Died | 27 September 2008 (aged 74) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Genres | Playback singing |
| Occupation(s) | Playback singer |
| Instruments | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1956–1999 |
Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer.
In a career spanning five decades, his repertoire extended to 2500 songs in various regional languages, including popular songs such as 'Chalo ek baar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono' (Gumrah), and 'Neele gagan ke tale' (Hamraaz). His name however became most closely associated with patriotic songs including 'Mere Desh Ki Dharti' in Manoj Kumar's film Upkaar. In 1972, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He is perhaps most notable for lending his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films, mainly in patriotic genre of music.
Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar, but soon moved to Mumbai. At an early age he was inspired by singer Mohammed Rafi but he started learning classical music under classical singers like Pt. Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pt.Tulsidaas Sharma. Kapoor created a style of his own and won the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition, which led to his debut as a playback singer in V. Shantaram's Navrang in 1958, singing Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra.
Some of Kapoor's most notable songs were the ones he performed in B.R. Chopra's films (Dhool Ka Phool, Gumrah, Waqt, Hamraaz, Dhund and Nikaah) and for Manoj Kumar (Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim).
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