Celebrating The Iconic Bond Between Raj Kapoor And His Eternal Voice, Mukesh

Dost dost na raha, sang Mukesh for Raj Kapoor in Sangam. In real life, the two remained the closest of friends and inseparable on screen, so much so that when Mukesh passed away suddenly, Raj Saab lamented, “I have lost my voice!”

Mukesh was Raj Kapoor’s permanent ghost voice. No Raj Kapoor film was possible without Mukesh’s singing. Mukesh first sang for Raj Kapoor in Neel Kamal, and there was no looking back. When RK turned director with Aag in 1948, Mukesh sang the heart-wrenching Zinda Hoon Iss Terah.

Recalled Nitin Mukesh in a past interview, “Raj Uncle was very close to us. In fact, when I was off to a boarding school in London, it was Raj Uncle and Krishna Aunty who came to the airport to see me off. He had the right to drop in at any time in our home with Krishna Aunty, and we would all be excited to see them. Back then, we lived in a one-room flat on Napean Sea Road. Raj Uncle would drop in at 3 a.m., and the entire neighbourhood would know THE Raj Kapoor had come to meet his dear friend Mukesh Chand… That’s what Raj Uncle called my father. Raj Uncle would be very distressed to see his dear friend living in such humble conditions. But my father was like that only. Saadgi (simplicity) was his nature. He did not believe in any kind of ostentation and always taught us, his children, to value human relationships over money.”

Raj Kapoor’s association with Mukesh dated back to the 1950s. Interestingly, in Mehboob Khan’s Andaz, released in 1949, Mukesh sang for Dilip Kumar while Raj Kapoor’s ghost voice was Mohammed Rafi.

“Most of Raj Uncle’s songs were sung by my father. But beyond their inseparable association on screen, they were friends for life. And that friendship was handed down to me and Chintu (Rishi Kapoor). In Raj Uncle’s Mera Naam Joker, when Chintu was 14, I sang that snatch of a song With A Cheer, Not A Tear for him. However, my father also sang a song Teetar Ke Do Aage Teetar for Chintu in Mera Naam Joker. So Chintu insisted he sang my father’s song first. But I confirmed with Raj Uncle, and he told me my song was recorded and filmed first,” said Nitin Mukesh.

Before his sudden death, Mukesh sang one of his last songs for Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He was also supposed to sing Woh Aurat Hai Tu Mehbooba for the same film. But with his demise, the song was inherited by his son Nitin Mukesh.