Music tracks conceived by Mahendra Kapoor to be released soon

Mumbai: Veteran singer Mahendra Kapoor will be remembered by his fans on his third death anniversary on September 27.

His son Ruhan, who has taken up singing as a full time profession, said that he would soon be releasing an album of music tracks conceived by Kapoor. "Before his demise, my dad had conceived some music tracks. In his memory, I have created an album out of these tracks that will be released soon," Ruhan said. Kapoor, who had mesmerised listeners all over the world with his melodious voice, died of cardiac failure three years ago. Remembering him, actor Manoj Kumar said, "I shared many memorable moments with Mahendra Kapoor. I remember him everyday; after all he was my voice." Mahendra Kapoor lent his voice to many patriotic songs picturised on Manoj Kumar. "Manoj Kumar and my father had a great bond and the two were dedicated patriots. They gave immortal national songs which are remembered by every Indian and will be cherished forever," Ruhan said. In a career spanning five decades, Mahendra Kapoor sang many hit songs of yesteryears and his repertoire extended to 25,000 songs in various languages. He is best known in the Marathi film industry as the voice of Marathi actor Dada Kondke. Kapoor was one of the singers who dominated the golden age of Hindi film music. His most famous patriotic song was `Meri Desh Ki Dharti, Sona Ugle, Ugle Heere Moti` in the film `Upkar` for which he won the National Film Award in 1968. He sang many hit songs for BR Films` like `Dhool Ka Phool`, `Gumrah`, `Waqt`, `Hamraaz` and the title song of Chopra`s popular TV Serial `Mahabharat`. Kapoor was also a pioneer in conducting the popular reality show `Antakshari` on Television with son Ruhan who played lead roles in films in the 1980s like Yash Chopra`s `Faasle` (1985), `Love 86` (1986) and `Imaandar` (1987). "Dad had a humorous side to his personality that many people are unaware of. We always enjoyed his jokes and anecdotes. He often impersonated people flawlessly," said a nostalgic Ruhan. PTI