Veteran playback singer Mohammed Aziz died in Mumbai today at the age of 64 after suffering a heart attack.
Aziz had sung around 19,000 songs in his career. Apart from Hindi, he sang in Bengali and Oriya films.
Aziz, who had had a show in Kolkata yesterday, returned to Mumbai by flight this afternoon. As soon as he landed in the city, he complained of chest pain. His driver rushed him to Nanavati hospital at Vile Parle where he was declared dead.
“He was having problems on the flight itself, but he just wanted to get back home,” said daughter Sana Aziz in a press statement. “He had been doing shows non-stop in Bengal and the Northeast for the past few months.”
Aziz made his singing debut in Bengali cinema before getting a break in Hindi. He shot up the charts with the popular track ‘Mard Tangewala’ from Manmohan Desai’s blockbuster Mard (1985). The song, composed by Anu Malik, was picturized on the reigning superstar of Hindi cinema, Amitabh Bachchan.
Thereafter, Aziz began singing regularly in Hindi cinema and worked with a number of well-known composers, especially Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Some of Aziz’s biggest hits were ‘My Name Is Lakhan’ from Ram Lakhan (1989), ‘Tera Beemar Mera Dil’ from Chaal Baaz (1989), ‘Kaagaz Kalam Dawaat La’ from Hum (1991) and ‘Imli Ka Boota’ from Saudagar (1991).
Aziz’s style of singing reminded some fans of the great Mohammed Rafi, who had passed away in 1980, and of Mahendra Kapoor.