Best songs of Mukesh

Best of Mukesh by Roshan and Madan Mohan

A tribute to Mukesh on his 42nd death anniversary (22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976)

RRoshan-Madan Mohan-Mukeshoshan and Madan Mohan were in tandem in relation to Mukesh at least in one respect: Both used him very prominently in 1950 – Roshan in Bawre Nain, which was his second movie, in which Mukesh sang a solo, Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahi, and two duets, Mujhe sach sach bata (Rajkumari) and Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aya nahi karte (with Geeta Roy/Dutt); Madan Mohan in Aankhen, which was his debut movie, in which Mukesh sang a solo, Preet laga ke maine ye phal paya and a duet, Humse nain milana B.A. pass kar ke (with Shamshad Begum). The songs of Bawre Nain went on to become all-time great classics; those of Aankhen, too, are quite popular till this day. With such beginning, one would have expected them to use Mukesh consistently. But for inexplicable reasons, their trajectory diverged completely – while Roshan remained steady with Mukesh, giving him a large number of everlasting songs, Madan Mohan almost blocked him out of his radar screen, bringing him back in fits and starts after a gap of several years.

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Shankar-Jaikishan’s songs for Mukesh

A tribute on Mukesh’s 93rd birth anniversary (22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976)

Shankar-Jaikishan and MukeshMukesh debuted as (actor-)singer in 1941 with Nirdosh, i.e. 8 years before Shankar-Jaikishan’s debut in 1949 with RK Films’ Barsaat. After some initial struggle, Mukesh got a chance to work with the music titan of the era, Anil Biswas, courtesy his relation Motilal’s recommendation. Dil jalta hai to jalne de from Pehli Nazar (1945) created a sensation making Mukesh one of the leading singers of the time. Three big films with the successor stalwart, Naushad, in 1948-49 – Mela, Anokhi Ada and Andaaz – further boosted the popularity of Mukesh. Thus, when he first sang for SJ in their debut film, he had already achieved fame for his sweet, mellifluous voice. But this association proved to be the most important factor in the later career of Mukesh.

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Made for each other: Mukesh and Kalyanji-Anandji

A tribute to Mukesh on his death anniversary August 27, and a tribute to the music duo

Mukesh and Kalyanji-AnandjiIn the surfeit of TV programmes associated with Centenary Celebrations of Indian Cinema last year, I closely followed the ones on film music. There was one presented by a young lady on Kalyanji-Anandji. After a quick reference to their early career in the 60s, she went in detail about their ‘music’. Her conclusion at the end of the half- an-hour programme was that KA were famous for their songs by Kishore Kumar for Amitabh Bachchan. This struck me as quite odd, as one singer I associated most prominently with the duo was Mukesh. For Mukesh too, if I make a list of his ‘quintessential’ songs, several KA songs would figure at the top. With about 100 songs they composed for him, they must be very close to SJ, if not outnumber them. This is remarkable, considering that Shankar Jaikishan, arguably the most successful composers in the history of film music, who had debuted a decade earlier, had made Mukesh a part of RK camp as the voice of Raj Kapoor. With such a handicap, it is to the credit of the genius of KA and their special bonding with Mukesh that they were able to create a special niche with his songs, no less in quality to SJ’s.

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The Maker of Mukesh: Anil Biswas

Continuing Anil Biswas Centenary Year celebration, a tribute to his most famous protégé, Mukesh, on his birth anniversary, July 22

Anil Biswas and MukeshAnd the rest is history. A worn-out cliché, but nothing describes Anil Biswas’s role in the emergence of Mukesh better. Mukesh was a struggling singer-actor in the period 1941-1945, when his brother-in-law, Motilal, took him to his close friend, Anil Biswas, and requested him to try out the young boy. Impressed with Mukesh’s singing, Anil Biswas suggested that in Motilal’s forthcoming film, Pahli Nazar, the boy could be given a chance. The producer of the film, Mazhar Khan, was furious at the prospect of his film being ruined by this new singer. So, Motilal said, that in that case, ‘I would sing my songs’. Anil Biswas, who was familiar with Motilal’s singing for him earlier, told him in his inimical style, ‘Tu rahne de, ye gana main khud gaaunga’.

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Mukesh’s best songs by SD Burman

A tribute on his death anniversary August 27

Mukesh and SD BurmanFor someone who is a great fan of both Mukesh and SD Burman, the most intriguing question is why did SD Burman use him so sparingly. Whenever he did use him the results were stunning. The best example is O janewale ho sake to laut ke ana from Bandini. This film had superlative songs by Lata Mangeshkar (Mora gora ang laike, Jogi jabse tu aya mere dware), Asha Bhosle (Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko babul, O panchhi pyare), Manna Dey (Mat ro mata laal tere bahutere) and SD Burman himself (O re manjhi mere sajan hain us paar). That Mukesh’s O janewale stands equally tall among these gems is a testimony to the greatness of both SD Burman and Mukesh. Earlier a similar phenomenon happened in Bambai Ka Babu with Mukesh song Chal ri sajni ab kya soche towering over outstanding songs by Mohmmad Rafi and Asha Bhosle. There was something special in Mukesh’s voice which made his few songs leave an impact far deeper than more numerous songs of other singers.

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