Veteran singer Bhupinder Singh breathed his last on July 18 at a Mumbai hospital. The singer, 82, was suffering from a colon ailment and had tested COVID positive a few days ago. He died after suffering a cardiac arrest on Monday evening.
The Amritsar-born singer began his career in Delhi with performances at the All India Radio. A musician at heart, he was known to have brought in drums, bass and guitar to ghazals. Along with his wife Mitali Singh nee Mukherjee, and other singers, he put out some of the most memorable ghazals of that era including, 'Kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi', 'Dil dhoondhta hai', 'Do diwane shahr mein', 'Naam gum jayega', 'Karoge yaad to', 'Kabhi kisi ko mukammal', 'Ek akela is shehr mein' and others.
He would often say, 'I was discovered by Madan Mohan', a renowned music director who brought him to Mumbai and gave him his first song 'Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bulaya Hoga' in 'Haqeeqat'. The music industry referred to him as a fine human being. He was said to be close to Madan Mohan, SD Burman and others but he had a long association and friendship with the legendary RD Burman.
In an exclusive chat with Bombay Times Asha Bhosle reminisced about the late singer-musician. “I feel so bad to hear this. Bahut hi bura lag raha hai yeh sunke ke woh nahi raha. Industry ke bahut accha acche log gaye iss saal. Itne acche muscians chale gaye. Bhupinder Singh ke saath bahut purnana jaan pehchaan tha Pacham ka aur mera. He was closer to Pancham and unke saath zyada hamara milna hota tha. We have known him since he first sang for Madan Mohan ji. He had worked a lot with Pancham in many of his recordings. Hum usko Bhupi bulatein the,” said Asha Bhosle.
Bhupinder Singh was not just a singer but one of the finest guitarists in the Hindi music industry during the 60s and 70s. Asha Bhosle recalls, “Bhupi had played the guitar for Dum Maro Dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna), and Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko (Yaadon Ki Baaraat), both composed by Pancham. He was a tall, good-looking man – lamba, sunder aadmi, bhaut aaccha rehne wala, bahut garvishth jaisa tha. Pancham and I have done a lot of songs with him. Once we did Bappi Lahiri songs together and bahut accha daur tha woh. (Duets ‘Kisi Nazar Ko Tera Intezar Aaj Bhi Hai’ and ‘Awaaz Di Hai Aaj Ek Nazar Ne’ from Aitbaar (1985) composed by Bappi Lahiri). We have sung Gulzar Bhai ke gaane also together.”
Talking about singing some of the much-loved songs in the 70s Asha Bhosle spoke to us about some of the beautiful memories of the camaraderie that they all shared during those days. “We have sung so many duets together. Pancham’s Jab Andhera Hota Hai from the film Raja Rani (1973) was sung by Bhupi and me. He sang the aalap there. When we did that song, uss waqkt humlog recording ke liye pahunce and Bhupi was playing that song on his guitar. Pancham then told him, ‘Bhupi idhar aa’, and he came up to Pancham. ‘Iss gaane mein main jo aalap bolta hoon who aalap karo’. So, in that song, after the hook line there is a ‘Pa pa papapa pa …’ that Bhupi had sung. This is an old song, from Raja Rani. I don’t think you’d have heard this one - youngsters toh sunte nahi hai purane gaane aaj kal. We used to perform this song at our shows also. He would sing with me on stage.”
The fact that Bhupinder Singh had a completely different style of singing was well known. His distinct, deep voice could emote like very few could. Asha Bhosle recalled how she would sometimes tell him how to sing. “There was a film starring Jaya Bhaduri and I had sung a song with Bhupi in that film. It was composed by Pancham and written by Gulzar Bhai. Bhupi was a good singer and he had a different style of singing and would sing songs in the ghazal style – bahut accha gata tha aur alag hi style ka gata tha. I would always tell him, ‘Bhupi tu muh khol ke gaa. Don’t sing like ghazal singers, open your mouth and sing. ‘Log bandh kamaron mein, Chain se jab sote hain… jab andhera hota hai – aise gaao, I would tell him. He would tell me, ‘Haan Masterni, sikhao ab mereko’. He was close to Pancham, a good friend. Bhaut accha dost tha Pancham ka. Jab bhi aata tha, he would stay till evening. He was a good man. He was such a fabulous guitar player – there was no one like him. When a singer plays the guitar he plays it like a song – woh gaane jaise guitar ko bajata tha. That’s how his hands would move. But then he quit playing the guitar and would say that he wanted to only be a playback singer. But that did not work out as well as he would have liked it to. If he would’ve remained a musician he would have surpassed everyone. He had a great hand with guitar.”
Bhupinder Singh is survived by his wife Mitali Singh and son Nihal.
‘Man with a velvet voice, loved him’Deeply saddened about the demise of Bhupinder Singh ji. His voice brought joy to millions and had a uniqueness. Condolences to his family. RIP Bhupinder ji. Om Shaanti
– Ajay DevgnIn memoriam #BhupinderSingh ji. A (man) with a voice from a gentler time. Tragically poetic that he should follow Lataji, as he did so beautifully in the song #NaamGumJaayega composed by #RDBurman and written by Gulzarsaab. Unki awaaz hi pehchaan hai, aur hamesha yaad rahegi
– Vishal DadlaniDevastated. I loved this man to bits. What a singer! What a voice! What a master guitar player! Hindi film music industry will never have another #BhupinderSingh RIP Maestro. Play the riff up there, yet again!
– Mohit ChauhanDil dhoondta hai phir wohi fursat ke raat din..the man with the velvet voice..Bhupinder Singh is no more...RIP
– Shekhar Suman
Some of Bhupinder Singh’s other memorable songs Beeti Na Bitai Raina, Parichay (1972)
Jab Andhera Hota Hai, Raja Rani (1973)
Naam Goom Jayega, Kinara (1977)
Do Deewane Shehar Mein, Gharaonda (1977)
Zindagi Zindagi Mere Ghar Aana, Dooriyan (1979)
Huzoor Is Kadar, Masoom (1983)
Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Aasmaan, Sitara (1984)
Badlon Se Kaat Kaat Ke, Satya (1998)
Start a Conversation
Post comment