Mahendra Kapoor

Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. He was born 9 January 1934 in Amritsar, India. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as 'Chalo ek baar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono' (Gumrah) and 'Neele gagan ke tale' (Hamraaz). His name however became most closely associated with patriotic songs including 'Mere Desh Ki Dharti' in Manoj Kumar's film Upkaar. In 1972, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He lent his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films and had a lengthy association with director-producer B.R. Chopra.Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar, but soon moved to Mumbai. At an early age he was inspired by legendary singer Mohammed Rafi and considered him his mentor, he started learning classical music under classical singers like Pt. Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pt.Tulsidaas Sharma. Kapoor created a style of his own moulded largely on Rafi, and won the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition, which led to his debut as a playback singer in V. Shantaram's Navrang in 1958, singing Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra. Mahendra Kapoor died 27 September 2008 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.