Mahendra Kapoor: Not a pushover or an 'also-ran'

One of the most derogatory phrases or terms in any language is ‘a poor man’s...’ Sadly, Mahendra Kapoor had to live his whole life with the condescending label, ‘a poor man’s Rafi’. In spite of his staggering range and powerful vocals, Mahendra Kapoor was always considered a Rafi replica. Though he considered Rafi as his teacher and Rafi also considered him his student, their voice differed with a different tonal quality and timbre.

Like his mentor Rafi, Kapoor could also sing at a high-pitch and that enabled him to sing scores of patriotic songs, especially for Manoj Kumar.

If Rafi was a versatile genius, Mukesh, was a master of pain, pathos and poignancy. Talat Mahmood was the King of ghazals and lilting numbers and Kishore was the voice of the masses, Manna Dey, was an expert in singing raga-based classical numbers, Hemant da had a perfect baritone, and Mahendra Kapoor was the vibrant voice of India. 

He got into playback singing through an all-India singing competition. Music director C Ramchandra gave him his first break with ‘Aadha hai chandrama’ for V Shantaram’s ‘Navrang’ in 1958. This opened up an entire new world for him. Despite being a Punjabi, Kapoor did not have a thick Punjabi accent while singing the songs.

A famous film critic once wrote that, “had Mahendra Kapoor sung only for ‘Gumrah’ in his entire career, he would still be remembered for the extraordinary rendition of the songs in the film, especially, ‘Aap aaye toh’ and ‘Chalo ik baar phir se’”.

Kapoor was B R Chopra’s first preference. His vibrancy in the song, ‘Neele gagan ke tale’ in ‘Hamraaz’ (1967) stays with you forever. One more canorous song that immortalised Kapoor was ‘Sansaar ki har shai’ (‘Dhund’, 1973). Written by Sahir Ludhianvi, one of the couplets of this song was, ‘Hum log khilaune hain, ek aise khiladi ke, jis ko abhi sadiyon tak ye khel rachana hai’. Kapoor sang it so soulfully that these lines get embossed on the hearts and minds of the listeners.

Kapoor could sing softly as well. He sang a slow and soulful number ‘Dil lagakar hum ye samjhe’ (‘Zindagi Aur Maut’, 1965, lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni, Music: C Ramchandra). ‘Mera pyaar woh hai jo’ (‘Ye Raat Phir Na Aayegi’, 1966 ) is yet another gem by Kapoor which hasn’t lost its sheen and popularity even after nearly six decades.

A ghost voice of Manoj Kumar, Kapoor sang quite a few popular songs for the actor. Manoj Kumar considered Kapoor as more of his dost-voice (friendly voice) than a ghost-voice. He won a National Award in 1968 for the patriotic song ‘Mere desh ki dharti’ in Manoj Kumar’s film ‘Upkaar’. 

Kapoor also sang a duet with the redoubtable Rafi. The song was ‘Kaisi haseen aaj baharon ki raat’ from the 1967 film ‘Aadmi’, which was originally recorded as a duet with Rafi and Talat Mahmood. Manoj Kumar, one of the lead stars refused to use Talat’s voice for him and the song was re-recorded with Kapoor, replacing Talat. His constellation of songs proves, he may not have been the first choice. But listeners loved his voice.

Listening to Mahendra Kapoor will make you feel that there’s a kind of grounded relatability in his voice. He also lent his voice to B R Chopra’s T V serial ‘Mahabharat’. Kapoor was the constant male ghost voice in B R Chopra’s films from ‘Aasra’ in 1959 to ‘Nikaah’ in 1982. He was the first Indian playback singer to record music in English.