MUKESH CHAND MATHUR

Name                                     Mukesh Chand Mathur

Date of Birth                         22^nd July, 1923

Birth Place                             Punjab (India)

Father’s Name                      Lala Zorawar Chand Mathur (Engineer)
 

Mother’s Name                    Smt. Chand Rani (Music Teacher)

Spouse                                   Smt. Sarla Trivedi

First Song                              Dil Hi Bujha Hua Ho To

Favorite Singer                     K.L. Saigal

Mukesh Chand Mathur was an Indian Playback Singer of Bollywood. Along with  He was one of the three leading male Bollywood playback singers from the 1950s to the 1970s. Mukesh was the sixth in a family of ten children. Mukesh left school after the 10th standard and worked briefly for the Delhi Department of Public Works. Mukesh experimented with voice recordings during his employment in Delhi and gradually developed his singing abilities.

Mukesh's voice was noticed by Moti Lal (a popular actor in Hindi films, also a distant relative of Mukesh) when he sang at his sister's wedding. Motilal took him to Bombay, let him stay with him and even arranged for singing lessons for him. During this period, Mukesh managed to bag a role in a Hindi film, Nirdosh (1941). His first song was Dil Hi Bujha Hua Ho To as an actor singer for Nirdosh. He got his break as a playback singer in 1945 with the film Pehli Nazar. The first song he sang for a Hindi film was Dil Jalta Hai to Jalne De, which was incidentally picturised on Motilal. In 1974, Mukesh received National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song Kain Baar Yoon Bhi Dekhaa Hai from Rajnigandha, and Filmfare Awards for the songs Sab Kuch Seekha in the movie Anari, Sabse Bada Naadan Wahi Hai in Pehchaan, Jai Bolo in Be Imaan and the title song of Kabhie Kabhie.

Mukesh died of a heart attack on 27^th August, 1976 in Detroit, Michigan, USA, where he had gone for a concert. His body was carried back to India by Lata Mangeshkar, where a grand funeral ceremony took place as many famous actors, personalities of the Indian film industry, and fans paid tribute to the late singer.

After Mukesh's death, his newer unreleased songs released in 1977 with films like Dharam Veer, Amar Akbar Anthony, Khel Khiladi Ka, Darinda, and Chandi Sona. The year 1978 also featured a good number of Mukesh songs, films like Aahuti, Paramatma, Tumhari Kasam, and Satyam Shivam Sundaram, where Mukesh sang his last film song Chanchal Sheetal Nirmal Komal.