Mahendra Kapoor Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography& More

 

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	Playback Singer
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 180 cm in meters- 1.803 m in feet & inches- 5’11”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Playback singer: Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi (Song)/ Navrang (Film)
Last Film	Tawaif (1984)
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Padma Shri (1972) • In (1968) he won National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" from the movie Upkar • In (1964) he won award for the song "Chalo Ek Bar" from the movie Gumrah • In (1968) he won award for the song "Neele Gagan Ke Tale" from the movie Hamraaz • In (1975) he won award for the song "Aur Nahi Bus Aur Nahi" from the movie Roti Kapda Aur Makaan • In (1967) he won "Mian Tansen Award" from the movie Sati Nari for the song Tum Nacho Ras Barse • In (2000) – "Life Time Achievement Award" • In (2002) – "Madhya Pradesh State Award" • In (2008) – "Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award"
Personal Life
Date of Birth	9 January 1934
Birthplace	Amritsar
Date of Death	27 September 2008
Place of Death	Mumbai, India
Age (at the time of death)	74 Years
Death Cause	Heart attack [1]The Indian Express
Zodiac sign	Capricorn
Signature
Nationality	British Raj,India
Hometown	Mumbai
School	St Xavier's School
College/University	St Xavier's College
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Pravinlata Kapoor
Children	Son-Ruhan Kapoor Daughter- Three daughters- Benu, Anu and Purna
Favourite Things
singer	Mohammed Rafi
food	kheema matar, biryani and butter chicken

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mahendra Kapoor

• Does Mahendra Kapoor Smoke? : No ^[2]Filmfare

• Does Mahendra Kapoor drink alcohol? : No ^[3]Filmfare

• Mahendra Kapoor was an Indian playback singer. He was widely known for his singing in patriotic songs.

• Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar. He inherited his musical genes from his mother Shano Devi (Shanti).

• Mahendra was a natural entertainer as well. In his school (St Xavier’s), documentaries on British royalty would be screened in the AV (audiovisual) period. Once, when the projector failed, the teacher asked the students to sing and entertain the class. Mahendra sang Noorjehan’s songs and left all enthralled.

• Later, Mahendra attended St Xavier’s College, Mumbai where he acted in plays directed by co-collegian,  Vijay Anand (Indian filmmaker). He also got engaged to Praveen (his wife) during that time.

• Mahendra participated in the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition in 1957. He sang the non-film song, Ilaihi koi Tamanna Nahin, composed by Rafi, who helped him grasp the nuances. He won the contest judged by maestros like Naushad and Madan Mohan, which facilitated his entry into films.

• His voice was always been associated with Manoj Kumar. His many songs (mostly patriotic) were filmed on Manoj Kumar (Indian actor).

• Mahendra Kapoor was inspired at an early age by the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi. He always considered Mohammed Rafi (playback singer) as his mentor. Mahendra was around 13 when he heard the Mohammed Rafi number Yahan Badla Wafa ka (Jugnu, 1947). He was mesmerized by the singer. He made desperate efforts to find out Rafi’s house in Bhendi Bazaar and met his ‘guru’ even though the area was riot-affected post the 1947 Partition.

• He was married and he had three daughters and one son. His son Ruhan Kapoor is an actor and singer, who has acted in a few films like  Yash Chopra’s Faasle (1985).

• He was the first Indian playback singer who recorded music in English like Amar Akbar Anthony, Waqt Ki Hera Pheri Hai, etc.

• He has sung most of the hit songs which were from B.R. Chopra (Indian director) and Manoj Kumar’s movies.

• Mahendra Kapoor has also sung & covered almost every variety and genre of songs such as Patriotic, Romantic, Bhajans, Qawwalis, Naats, etc. Also, watch this rare interview of  Mahendra Kapoor in which he is expressing his views on how he used to get nervous before his recordings, but that nervousness would get him clear all his problems and levels of success in life.

• His various songs from the movie Bandhan (1998), Shakti (1982), Doli (1969), Ek Nazar (1972), Admi Aur Insaan (1969), Sangam (1964), and Tawaif (1985) were quite popular.

•  He was a religious soul and had sung many Bhajans too like the Devotional song Om Namah Shivay. ^[4]The Times Of India

• Mahendra Kapoor’s collection of songs extended to 25,000 songs in various regional languages, including notable and memorable hits like ‘Chalo Ek Baar Phir Se Ajnabi ban ayen hum Dono’ from the film Gumrah (1993), ‘Neele Gagan Ke Taale’ from the film Hamraaz (1967), and in various languages.

• He was an integral part of BR Chopra’s popular Television saga Mahabharat. Any episode of the epic show was incomplete without a 4 line verse in Mahendra Kapoor’s voice. In the 1980s, Mahendra sang the title song of this show. Here is another rare Youtube video, in which Mahendra Kapoor is singing the Mahabharat title song. A fantastic song that is beautifully sung by the legendary Mahendra Kapoor. Watch this video here-

• Apart from Hindi films, he also sang songs in Marathi, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, and Punjabi languages. ^[5]The Indian Express

• His songs in Punjabi films like Yamla Jatt (1960), Jijaji (1961), and Shehar di Kudi (1968) proved to be quite popular.

• His super hit duet with Lata Mangeshkar truly showed his talent and melodious voice in the song “Akash Pe Do Taare”.

•  It is also known that Mahendra Kapoor’s unforgettable patriotic song “Mere Desh Ki Dharti”, in Manoj Kumar’s film Upkaar became iconic and remained one of the greatest ever patriotic songs in the history of Indian cinema.

• Mahendra’s association with patriotic numbers began with Mera rang de Basanti Chola for Manoj Kumar’s Shaheed (1965). His son Rohan Kapoor talked about his father in an interview, he said,

Dad enjoyed singing patriotic songs; he had witnessed the freedom movement. He even began his shows with a patriotic song. It brought in the vibrancy. Indians abroad would get ecstatic and cry!”

• All around the world, Mahendra Kapoor was idolised by millions of his fans as The Voice Of Their Nation, India.

• Mahendra Kapoor was awarded the Padmashri and the Lata Mangeshkar Award. He also bagged the Punjab state award thrice and the Gujarat state award for six years in a row. ^[6]Hindustan Times

• Lately, he was planning to start a music school for which he was going to approach the chief minister for land. Mahendra mesmerised the nation with his melodious voice for more than five decades.

• On 27 September 2008, he died due to a  cardiac failure at his home in Mumbai. It was a joint surgery that became a precipitating factor towards his demise. After the operation, he developed an infection in his bladder, which travelled to his kidneys. ^[7] The Indian Express

• Mahendra was a devotee of Goddess Katyayani in the Chhatarpur temple in Delhi. A day before he passed away, he called up the priest and said,

Convey my last pranam to Maa. I’ll not be able to pay my respects again’