Nitin Mukesh Remembers Father Mukesh on His 50th Death Anniversary: ‘Not a Day Goes By When the World Does Not Remember Papa’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Nitin Mukesh was 26 when his legendary father, singer Mukesh (real name: Mukesh Chand Mathur), died. On Mukesh’s 50th death anniversary on August 27, Nitin Mukesh remembers his father and the enduring appeal of his songs. “Not a day goes by when the world does not remember papa, or listen to his songs. And that will be true even 50 years from now,” he tells Variety India.

What are some of the best memories you have of your father?

I would spend almost all my waking moments with him. There are endless memories… whenever I asked to accompany papa for a recording or a show, he would never refuse.

Did he attend any of your recordings as you had sung in a few films before he died?

Papa attended the recording of “Teri Jheel Si Gehri Ankhon Mein” for “Dhuen Ki Lakeer” (1974). The composer was Shamji Ghanshamji and my co-singer was Vani Jairam. He was very happy with my singing. During my first live show with him, he told me, “Tu accha gaata hai (You sing well).”

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It is said that he never really wanted you to follow him in his profession.

Yes, because papa always said, “Singing is a beautiful hobby but a painful profession.” He had seen a lot of hardships and struggles ever since he landed in Mumbai at 16, armed only with his singing talent, voice, and fantastic looks. He was worried about how life would turn out for me. Since I wasn’t a degree holder, he tried his best to make me one. He even sent me to the London School of Economics, but when I insisted he bring me back within three months, he said, “Now I know that you really want to pursue singing as a career.”

He got you to assist filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Why was that?

Papa wanted a life without any pain for me, so this was a kind of back-up plan. He thought that a director was like the captain of a ship; if I became one, I could choose to sing songs in it. So, he requested Hrishida to let me assist him, which I did in eight films. 

He was closer to Raj Kapoor and Manoj Kumar, so why did he ask you to assist Hrishikesh Mukherjee?

Papa’s logic was simple: Raj uncle and Manoj uncle would pamper me because I was his son. Hrishida was very loving off the sets, but on sets, he was a strict disciplinarian. He thought that I would learn better that way.

Mukesh’s songs are fewer as compared to Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. Yet, he ranks right up there with them. What do you think is the reason for this? 

As composer Kalyanji (of Kalyanji-Anandji) once said and my friend Sudesh Bhonsle has often repeated, ‘Mukesh got to sing only classics!’ Almost every song he sang was a hit. Like Lataji (Lata Mangeshkar), his voice was truly blessed with something that made him stand apart. He sang all kinds of songs, but tell me if anyone surpassed him in the pathos he brought into the emotional songs. It is not easy to sing such songs. Papa would tell me, “Feel the song, understand its meaning and let it sink into your heart. Sing it from your heart and not from your throat.” That is why he would often break into tears while singing his songs. 

He faced so much struggle, heartbreak and failure, but he eventually became ‘Mukesh’. Fifty years after he left us, his songs still live on, and there is a Mukesh in every city in the country and in every town in the world who sings his songs and earns for his family.

After a show in Kansas, a young Gujarati man met me and started sobbing. He requested me to place my hand on his head to bless him. He said, “Food is cooked in my house in Gujarat today because I sing Mukeshji’s songs in my shows here.” In the West Indies, they refer to me as the son of “Mighty Muka” (Mukesh). I know of so many people who love papa so much that they have his photos in their homes, offices or shops. Members of a fan organization greet each other with “Jai Mukesh-ji,” not “Namaste.” Papa is forever.