The RK connection with Mukesh
Raj Kapoor and Mukesh soon became virtually synonymous, whether for the RK banner (Awara, Shree 420, Sangam, Mera Naam Joker) or outside (Chori Chori, Teesri Kasam, Diwana, Chhalia), and the singer became linked also with the “sad” litany, despite the fun songs and the romantic duets he sang in these and other films.
But Mukesh was more than just about Raj Kapoor or pathos. He forged a brilliant team with Manoj Kumar (Himalay Ki God Mein, Purab Aur Paschim, Anita, Shor, Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Sanyasi) and to lesser extents Dilip Kumar (Madhumati), Dharmendra (Devar), Shashi Kapoor (My Love), Jeetendra (Vishwas), Sunil Dutt (Milan) and Rajesh Khanna (Anand) and almost all the top heroes down to Amitabh Bachchan (Kabhi Kabhie).
He broke the pathos image with songs as funny as Yeh kaisa aaya zamana (Humjoli), as naughty as Bina badraa ke bijuriya (Bandhan) and as fast and westernised as Naach hasina naach (Ek Bechara), scaling the high octaves too with songs like Jhoomti chali hawaa (Sangeet Samrat Tansen) and Yeh kaun chitrakaar hai (Boond Jo Ban Gaye Moti). While his last recording was for Satyam Shivam Sundaram (Chanchal sheetal nirmal komal) his last released songs came in as late as the small, unreleased films Nirlaj and Shubh Chintak in the late ‘80s and in the 1997 TV serial Chand Grahan that was actually recorded for a film.
Two other aspects stand out in Mukesh’s career: One, that he never distinguished between the big-name and small-time composers, and two and partially related, the fact that in his 35-year-old career, he has easily had at least as many films that are remembered today only or primarily for the one or more songs he sang in them, like Daan Singh’s My Love, S N Tripathi’s Rani Rupmati, Brij Bhushan’s Milap, Shamji-Ghanashamji’s Thokar, Dattaram’s Parvarish and many more like Aabroo and Sambandh.
No fair!
Thanks to the fact that Mukesh never was manipulative, he was often sidelined by the industry without cause. Recalls son Nitin Mukesh, “After a humongous hit like Sangam in 1964, my father barely recorded a dozen songs in two years. But then came Milan, and after that he never faced a lull again.”
Finally, Mukesh was also a hugely-lucky singer for those who worked in him in their debut films. So whether it was S-J (Barsaat), L-P (Parasmani), Sonik-Omi (Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya) or Bappi Lahiri (Nanha Shikari), the music directors had long innings, as did actors for whom he was the first voice – the list including Sanjeev Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Rishi Kapoor.
Today, son Nitin Mukesh is a performer in demand as much for his father’s immortal oeuvre as Nitin’s own film and non-film repertoire, and grandson Neil Nitin Mukesh gets set for his acting debut in Adlabs’ Johnny Gaddar, co-starring the same Dharmendra whose first voice too Mukesh was in Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere!