Legendary Playback Singer Mukesh honored with a Google Doodle on his 93rd Birthday on 22nd.
Decades before single-name stars Madonna and Prince became superstars, there was the mononymous Mukesh, one of Bollywood’s most acclaimed playback singers. Mukesh first rose to fame as the singing voice of actor, Raj Kapoor in the smash hit Andaz (1949), a Hindi film about a tragic love triangle.
Born Mukesh Chand Mathur in Delhi, India on July 22, 1923, Mukesh was discovered by Motilal, an actor and distant relative, when he sang at his sister’s wedding. The talent that earned him the nickname “The Man with the Golden Voice” took time to develop. Early on, he studied with classical musician Pandit Jagannath Prasad, and for years emulated his idol, singer K.L. Saigal. Working with music director Naushad Ali, who gave him the songs for Andaz, he eventually came into his own.
In 1974, Mukesh won the National Film Award in India for Best Male Playback singer for his song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from the film Rajnigandha. He followed that up with wins in 1976 at the Filmfare Awards for four songs, most notably "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein,” the title track of the film Kabhie Kabhie and the inspiration for today’s Doodle.
