Music / Film & TV
Mukesh
1923–1976 · playback singer
Beloved Hindi film playback singer, the singing voice of Raj Kapoor, who died of a heart attack in Detroit in 1976 while on a North American concert tour.
- Born
Delhi, British India- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 53- Birth name
- Mukesh Chand Mathur
- Detroit years
- 1976
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Mukesh was one of the defining voices of Hindi cinema from the late 1940s, a playback singer whose recordings were lip-synced on screen by stars such as Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar and Dilip Kumar. His song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from Rajnigandha (1973) won him India's National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. In the summer of 1976 he was touring North America with Lata Mangeshkar and his son Nitin Mukesh. On August 27, 1976, the day of a concert in Detroit, he complained of chest pain and died of a heart attack at 53. According to accounts of the tour, Lata Mangeshkar and Nitin Mukesh completed the Detroit program in his place. His body was flown home to India.
Highlights
- Voice of Raj Kapoor in dozens of Hindi films
- National Film Award for "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" (Rajnigandha, 1973)
- Died in Detroit on August 27, 1976, during a US concert tour