Mahendra Kapoor was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono (Gumrah) and Neele Gagan ke tale (Hamraaz). His name however became most closely associated with patriotic songs including Mere Desh Ki Dharti in Manoj Kumar's film Upkaar. He considered Mohammad Rafi as his Guru. In 1972, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. He lent his voice to actor Manoj Kumar in most of his films and had a lengthy association with director-producer Baldev Raj Chopra. He also sang 2 English songs mahendra kapoor - yogi, please help me/ sally 1968. released on 45 RPM EP by the gramsphone company of india “His masters voice “

Upkar (transl. Favour) is a 1967 Indian Hindi film directed by Manoj Kumar. The film held the top spot at the box office in 1967 and was the highest-grossing movie of the year. It was Manoj Kumar's directorial debut film. Upkar was highly acclaimed, winning Filmfare Awards awards for best film, best director, best story, best dialog, and best lyrics.