Mukesh Chand Mathur Death Anniversary:​​Born on July 22, 1923, Mukesh was a music lover from childhood. He was the sixth of ten siblings.

After this break, he had to wait a long time. Mukesh passed the 10th grade and began working in the public service. But Motilal once again put his hand on his shoulder and gave him the opportunity to sing for the first time in his own film, Pehli Nazar. The song was composed by Anil Biswas and was titled "Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De, Aansoo Na Baha, Fariyaad Na Kar."

Remember anything? Yes, in the 2001 film Gadar, Sunny Deol, while singing this same Mukesh song, said to Ameesha Patel, "That new singer Mukesh has done wonders. What a song he sang... let the heart burn."

Mukesh was so influenced by K.L. Saigal Sahab and he started singing in Saigal Sahab's style to such an extent that after listening to this song Saigal Sahab himself was surprised and said, "I don't remember when I sang this song", meaning that he had started considering Mukesh's voice as his own.

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Here superstar musician Naushad entered Mukesh's life and he freed Mukesh from the tag of being a copy of Sehgal Sahab and gave him the skill to sing in his own voice and in his own style.

Naushad commissioned Mukesh to sing in films like "Mela," "Anokhi Ada," and "Andaz." You might be surprised to learn that Mukesh had previously served as Dilip Kumar's voice before Raj Kapoor, and Mohammad Rafi used to sing playback for Raj Kapoor. Songs from Mehboob Khan's film "Andaz" became even more popular.

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People liked these songs very much and Mukesh became established as a singer because of his voice, which could fill the heart with pain.

Mukesh and Saral's Love Story: They Married on July 22, 1946

Mukesh fell in love with Saral when he was 23. But in Saral's father's eyes, singing in films was considered a profession that was not at all respectable. In his opinion, Mukesh would have been better off if he had been an engineer like his father. Saral's father was a millionaire, and he was right. But Mukesh and Saral were determined to get married. They married in a temple on July 22, 1946. Notice the date: today is both their birthday and wedding anniversary.

Then relatives from both sides said that Saral would not be able to survive on such a low income and they would separate in some time, but separation? These two were so close that only death could separate them, apart from that no one had the courage to snatch Saral from Mukesh.

Mukesh had five children, half the number of his father, among whom Nitin Mukesh, like his father, took up playback singing and gave some memorable songs to the film industry.

After this, Dilip Kumar chose Mohammed Rafi to sing his songs instead of Mukesh and on the other hand, Raj Kapoor saw his own voice in Mukesh. Mukesh and Raj Kapoor's association was such that except for a couple of songs, he worked with Mukesh till his last breath.

Since Raj Kapoor's films featured Shankar-Jaikishan music, 133 of Mukesh's 1,300 songs were composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. However, most of Mukesh's chart-topping hits were with Kalyanji-Anandji. Mukesh recorded 99 songs with this duo, falling just one short of a century. Among these standout songs are:

From the song "Naina Hai Jadoo Bhare" composed by Kalyanji in the film "Bedard Zamana Kya Jaane" (1958) to the song "Chahein Aaj Mujhe Napaak Karo" from the 1977 film Darinda, he gave many great songs.

Among these, songs like 'Chhaliya Mera Naam', 'Puche Mere Toot Hue Dil Se', 'Dum Dum Diga Diga Mausam Bhiga Bhiga', 'Mujhko Is Raat Ki Tanhai Mein', 'Humko Tumko Pyar Hai', 'When did I think that I would have a beloved like the moon', 'Time is loyal', 'When someone breaks your heart', 'We will talk about what you like' etc. became very famous songs.

The best feature of Mukesh's songs was that they represented the common man. His voice was such that anyone could hum along to his songs. Because Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar were the most popular at that time, they had no time and were so busy with their schedules, Mukesh, unlike them, sang only a few songs. After Raj Kapoor, Mukesh also sang several songs for Manoj Kumar, of which the aforementioned song "Koi Jab Tumhara Hriday Tod De" from Purba Aur Paschim was a huge hit.

He also sang for Laxmikant Pyarelal in the 1968 film Milan, and its songs also became record-breaking hits. The song "Sawan Ka Mahina, Pawan Kare Sor" remains a popular song even today.

It's also remarkable that Mukesh sang very few songs for Salil Chowdhary, but the ones he did sing became record-breaking hits.

'Maine, Tere Liye Hi Saat Rang Ke Sapne Chune', 'Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye' both these songs were in Anand and you all know how popular Anand's songs became.

He also received his first and last National Award for a song composed by Salil Chowdhury. His song "Kabhi baar yun bhi dekha hai, yeh jo man ki seema rekha hai..." from the film Rajnigandha won a National Award but didn't even receive a nomination in any Filmfare category.

But Mukesh was honored with a Filmfare Award four times. Shankar Jaikishan composed the music for three of these songs.

His first award came 15 years into his career for the song "Sab Kuch Sikha Humne Na Sikhi Hoshiyaari" from Raj Kapoor's film Anari. This was not only Mukesh's first award ceremony but also Filmfare's first.

But after this, he had to wait 11 more years for his next award. He received his next award for the song "Sabse Bade Naadaan" from the film Pehchan. He received another award just two years later for the sarcastic song "Jai Bolo Beimaan Ki" from the film Beimaan.

The fun began when Khayyam, who, like Mukesh, had composed music for a limited number of films, invited him to sing for his film Kabhi Kabhie. The lyrics for Kabhi Kabhie were written by Sahir Ludhianvi, and every singer longed to sing Sahir's songs. Once this team was formed, the songs turned out to be one better than the other.

The songs from this 1976 film were in such demand that Mukesh even traveled abroad to perform concerts with Lata Mangeshkar. The song "Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai" from this film won a Filmfare Award. However, the song "Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon" from this film was the most popular.

This song also has a strong cricketing connection with Mukesh. Legendary leg spinner Bhagwat Chandrashekar was a huge Mukesh fan. So much so that whenever then-captain Sunil Gavaskar needed a boost, he would play Mukesh's songs.

And our former and all-time greatest Indian captain, World Cup winner Mahendra Singh Dhoni, loves "Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hoon." Dhoni loves this song so much that he even announced his retirement with it.

Mukesh went to Michigan, United States, with his wife in 1976 to perform this song and other concerts. On the morning of August 27th, he went to the bathroom and almost immediately returned, his hand on his heart, saying he was having chest pains. Everyone was aware of his condition. It was due to his heart weakness that he had reduced his singing, even though his contemporary, Kishore Kumar, had sung over 2,600 songs. He was immediately taken to the hospital, and the doctors, upon checking his pulse, declared, "He is no more."

Lata Mangeshkar and Nitin Mukesh performed the concert with tearful eyes. Lata Mangeshkar brought his body back to India.

When Raj Kapoor heard this news, he cried inconsolably. With a choked voice, he said, "I have lost my voice."

The entire Bollywood industry was stunned by this news. Mukesh ji was only 53 years old.

Mukesh is gone, but his voice, his legacy, lives on forever. Manmohan Desai, along with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, considered themselves fortunate to have recorded a song in Indian film music that had never been done before, and could never be done again.

Yes, I'm talking about the song "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyar" from the film Amar Akbar Anthony. This song featured Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh himself, and Lata Mangeshkar. A song like this has never been, and never will be, made again.

Even after Mukesh's death, many of his films continued to be released for the next three years, and people continued to appreciate his voice. If someone asked me which Mukesh song I remember first, I would name this song without a second thought.