After the golden era of Rafi, Kishore, and Mukesh, there was void in film industry. To fill the gap, came many singers in the 1980s who made a place in the hearts of music lovers. One of the most prominent from those was Mohammed Aziz. Aziz was known for his high vocal range and sang numerous hit songs. Some of his most famous songs include “Main Hoon Mard Tange Wala,” “Tune bechain itna jyaada kiya,” “Main teri mohabbet me pagal ho jaaunga,” “Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka,” “My Name Is Lakhan,” “Aap Ke Aa Jane Se,” and many more.
Early Life and Career
Mohammed Aziz was born as Sayed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi on July 2, 1954, in in Guma. It’s a village in West Bengal’s Barasat sadar subdivision in North 24 Parganas district. Aziz was exposed to film music through radio. Soon he fell in love with the voice of Mohammed Rafi and started imitating him. Aziz started his musical career in the 1970s. He started his career with live performances in local restaurants. He also sang in famous Galib Bar in Kolkata. In his local stage shows, he was known as young Rafi.
His big break came with the Odia film “Manini (1979),” under the music direction of Radha Krushna Bhanja. He followed it with many songs in Odia films. In 1982, He also sang in Odia film Jaga Hatare Pagha with the song “Rupa Sagadi re Suna Kaniya,” directed by Mohammad Mohsin.
In 1982,he decided to move to Bombay to try out Hindi films. He was first noticed by music director Sapan-Jagmohan, who gave him his first break in “Ambar (1984), where he sang two songs, “Teri Raah Mein Ek Deepak Jala Kar” and “Kab Talak Dulhe.” He followed it with films like “Dushmano Ka Dushman,” “Ghar Dwaar,” “Dulhan Har Raat Ki,” “Dharm Adhikari,” and “Aakhir Kyon?” where he sang the soulful “Ek Andhera Lakh Sitare.”
“The Voice Of Amitabh” – Mohammed Aziz
In 1985, he sang for Amitabh Bachchan starrer “Mard” directed by Manmohan Desai. The songs “Mard Tangewala” and “Hum To Tambu Mein Bambu Lagaay Baithe” catapulted Aziz to immense fame. With the success of Mard, he was dubbed the new voice of Amitabh, a great honour for a new singer. His powerful rendition won him acclaim and set the stage for a great career. He gave a series of hits that defined the 1980s and 1990s Hindi music scene. Aziz’s versatility allowed him to sing across various genres, from filmi to classical, and even bhajans and Sufi devotional songs. His inherent ability to sing at the 7th note (Saatwan Sur) distinguished him from his contemporaries.
After the phenomenol success of Mard, Aziz went on to sing many superhit songs for Amitabh Bachchan, such as “Gori Ka Saajan Saajan Ki Gori (Akhiri Rasta),” “Disco Bhaangra (Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi),” “Jaane Do Jaane Do Mujhe Jaana Hai,” “O Bahena O Bahena,” (Shahenshah), “Behna O Behna (Aaj Ka Arjun),” “Aag Lag Jaaye Kahin (Akyla),” Ek Doosre Se Karte Hain Pyar Hum (Hum),” Main Aisee Cheez Nahin,” “Rab Ko Yaad Karoon,” “Tu Mujhe Qubool Main Tujhe Qubool,” “Tu Na Ja Mere Badshah” (Khuda Gawah),” “Kabhi khushyun ki (Marityudata),” “Aur kya Zindagani hai (Ek Rishta), and many more.
Collaborations
Throughout his illustrious career, Aziz collaborated with a plethora of music directors and singers. He lent his voice to songs alongside legends like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, K.S. Chithra, Sulakshana Pandit, Usha Mangeshkar, Anuradha Paudwal, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, Alka Yagnik, Salma Agha, Hemlata, and Sapna Mukherjee, to name a few. His duets remain evergreen, and his solo performances continue to captivate listeners.
He also worked with all the top music directors of his time, including Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishan, O. P. Nayyar, Ravi, Khayyam, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R. D. Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan, Usha Khanna, Anu Malik, Anand-Milind, Jatin-Lalit, Ravindra Jain, Raamlaxman, Aadesh Shrivastava, Nadeem-Shravan, Viju Shah, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen, among others.
Famous Songs
Some of his most notable songs are “Aate Aate Aate Teri Yaad Aa Gayi and “Jaan Ki Baazi,” “Aaj Biraj Mein Holi Re Rasiya (Man Maryada),” “Aye Sanam Tere Liye,” “Mera Karma Tu” (Karma), “Duniya Mein Kitna Gham Hai,” “Sharafat Ali Ko Sharafat Ne Mara” (Amrit), “Pyar Hamara Amar Rahega (Muddat),” “Tu Kal Chala Jaayega (Naam),” “Aaj Kal Yaad Kuch Aur Rahta Nahin,” “Tu Ne Bechain Itna Ziada Kiya” (Nagina), “May Se Meena Se Na Saqi Se (Khudgarz), Chhodenge Na Hum Tera Sath O Sathi (Marte Tam Dak),” “Phool Gulab Ka (Biwi Ho To Aisi),” “Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka (Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka),” “Ungli Mein Angoothi Angoothi Mein Nagina (Ram Avatar),” “Tera Beemaar Mera Dil (Chaalbaaz),” “Main Hoon Hero,” “Mere Do Anmol Ratan,” “My Name Is Lakhan” (Ram Lakhan), “Main Teri Mohabbat Mein Pagal Ho Jaoonga (Tridev),” and many more.
In the 1990-91, he was one of the top performer with songs like “Ae Mere Saathiya,” “Baali Umar Ne Mera Haal Woh Kiya” (Awaargi),” “Kasam Se Kasam Se O Rabba Kasam Se,” “Tune Pyar Ki Been Bajai,” “Kitne Dino Ke Baad Hai Aayi Sajna Raat Milan Ki” (Aayee Milan Ki Raat), “Kagaz Kalam Davaat” (Hum), “Imli Ka Boota,” “Radha Naachegi” (Saudagar),” “Bahut Jatate Ho Pyar (Aadmi Khilona Hai),” and many more.
Later Work
In the early 90s, with the emergence of new singers, Aziz, like many of his contemporaries, found himself with less and less work. Despite being a powerful and versatile singer, his career saw a big slump in the mid- to late-90s. Some of his songs from this phase were “Chaukhat Pe Tumhari Hum (Ankhen),” “Aise Teri Yaad Aati Hai,” “Pyar Ki Ganga Bahe,” (Khalnayak), “Pee Le Pee Le Oh More Raja,” “”Yeh Aan Tirangaa Hai,” (Tiranga), “Bhangda Paale (Karan Arjun),” “Jo Hona Hai (1998),” and “Durga Hai Meri Maa (Mela).”
From 2000 on, Aziz hardly sang in Hindi films, but he continued to sing in Odia films and other regional languages.
Aziz had a daughter, Sana Aziz, also a singer. She performed in Bengali albums and telefilms. The music world bid farewell to Mohammad Aziz on November 27, 2018, when he passed away due to a heart attack.
Mohammed Aziz on IMDB
