A commemorative postage stamp on Mukesh Chand Mathur, Hindi film industry playback singer, 1973 National Film Awardee for Best Male Playback Singer [a part of the series ‘Golden Voices of Yesteryears‘] :

Issued by India

Issued on May 15, 2003

Issued for : The Department of Posts is issuing a set of postage stamps to honour four such great legends of yesteryears: Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi and Hemant Kumar.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Four Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Overall size : 2.90 x 3.91 cms.

Printing size : 2.90 x 3.91 cms.

Perforation : 13.5 x 13.5 with elliptient hole on each 39.1 mm sides

Paper : Matt Chromo

Stamps Printed : 0.8 million

Miniature Sheet : 0.1 million 

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Calcutta Security Printers Ltd.

Name : Mukesh Chand Mathur

Born on Jul 22, 1923 at Delhi, British India

Died on Aug 27, 1976 at Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

About : 

• Film music is omnipresent in India. Songs in different languages, sung by talented singers and set to catchy tunes fill the urban and rural landscapes of the country, emanating from radio sets, public address systems and cassette players. They bring to the common man everything ranging from the classical to semi-classical mode, and folk music from different parts of the country to the new sounds of fusion. Marriage parties, political rallies, cultural functions – whatever be the occasion, the songs keep the gathering engaged for the most part. It is not surprising then, that film music is often described as the ‘folk music’ of the present generation.
  
• Songs are a crucial ingredient of Indian films. The allure of the films, even if they have melodramatic and escapist recipes, is often due to the songs. The technique of playback i.e. using a voice ‘double’ to sing for the actors has been in use since the 1930s. The popularity of the songs ensured that some of the singers went on to become cult figures and cultural icons.
  
• Mukesh (1923-1976), with his mellifluous voice, captured the imagination of not just the Indian audience, but music lovers in many other parts of the world also with songs like Awara hoon…. and Mera joota hai japani…. He made his debut as a singing hero in the film Nirdosh (1941). The song Dil jalta hai to jalne de…. for the film Pahli Nazar (1945) established him as a prominent name in Indian Cinema. He also sang Ghazals, Bhajans and the Shri Ram Charit Manas in his unique style. Mukesh went on to win five Filmfare awards. He received the National award in 1974 for the best playback singer for his song Kai baar yun dekha hai…
• Text : Based on material received from the proponents of the stamps.

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Mukesh 2016 Kishore Kumar 2003 Mohammed Rafi 2003 Hemant Kumar 2003 Danmal Mathur Sachin Dev Burman