Mohammed Aziz was a Multilingual Indian Singerfamous for his super-hits including My Name Is Lakhan, Aap Ke Aa Jane Se, Mera Karma Tu, etc.
Biography/Wiki
The legendary singer, Syed Mohammed Aziz-un-Nabi, was born on 2 July 1954 (age 64 years; at the time of his death) in West Bengal. His loved ones used to call him by the name, ‘Munna.’ He was a Bollywood, Odia, and Bengali playback singer. Famous singer, Mohammed Rafi, was Aziz’s inspiration. He started singing when he was very young. He was often considered as an heir to Mohammed Rafi.
It is quite difficult to believe that Aziz had sung around 20k (20,ooo) songs in his lifespan. Also, there are hundreds of Bhajan and Sufi songs sung by him. His duets with some veteran female singers such as Asha Bhonsle, Anuradha Paudwal, and Kavita Krishnamurthy, were much loved and appreciated by the audience.
Mohammed Aziz was one of the very few singers, who could sing at the 7th note (Saatwan Sur), for instance, his song “Saare Shikawe Gile Bhulaa Ke Kaho.”
Family & Religion
Mohammed Aziz was born into a Muslim Family in Guma, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. He was married at the time of his death. His daughter’s name is Sana Aziz. He followed the Islamic religion.
Career
He began his career by singing in a restaurant named, Galib, in Kolkata. He made his Bengali debut with the film, ‘Jyoti‘ and ‘Which became his Bollywood debut in the year, 1984. In 1985, when Anu Malik offered him the song, Mard Taangewala, from his film, Mard, it proved out to be a breakthrough song of his career.
Mohammed Aziz’s voice is often mistaken as that of Shabbir Kumar’s. Many renowned music directors including Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Naushad, Rahul Dev Burman, Bappi Lahiri, and Anu Malik, started approaching Aziz after his songs gained momentum among the audience. He was a well-known face in the Odia industry; as he worked in that industry for a long time and sang many bhajans as well. Since 1967, he has been giving stage shows across and outside India. In the 80’s, Aziz gave some best songs of his career for which he is even remembered today, such as My Name is Lakhan, Apke Aa Jane Se, Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka, etc.
It was the music director, Laxmikant Pyarelal, who recognized his talent and also worked with him in many films. After Laxmi, Aziz’s career took a U-turn since other music directors preferred other singers such as Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, etc over Mohammed Aziz. He gave his voice to many iconic actors like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun Chakraborty, etc.
Awards
- He was honored with BFJ Award, thrice, in Kolkata.
- He also received the Mother Teressa International Award.
- Awarded with Aashirwaad Award, twice, in Mumbai.
- He was honored with an Award from the former President of India, “Gyani Zail Singh” for excellence in music.
- He was also nominated twice for the Best Male Playback Singer award.
Controversy
In 2017, Mohammed Aziz posted a 5-minute video in which he was seen slamming Karan Johar. A dialogue from Karan’s film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, mouthed by Anushka Sharma’s character about legendary singer, Mohammed Rafi; “Rafi, Woh Toh Gate Kam The Aur Rote Jyada The,” hurt Aziz’s sentiments. Aziz condemned such disgraceful remarks in Johar’s film.
Death
On 27 November 2018, the legendary singer, Mohammed Aziz, died due to cardiac arrest at Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai. He was 64 years old at the time of his death.