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Mangesh (formerly of duo Nitin-Mangesh) is a highly creative and original composer of Indian Film music. Having worked in the Mumbai film industry for fifteen years, he has composed for and worked with legendary artists such as Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
From a very young age, Mangesh has had a very keen interest in music and spent many hours listening to the works of various film composers. But one musical duo in particular was to have the most influence on his career -the reknowned Shankar-Jaikishan.
It was their music that directly inspired Mangesh to enter the world of film composition. He was nspired to create, and to question the very methods of composing, how songs are actually created and what degree of creativity goes into each arrangement.
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Mangesh wrote his first composition in his early teens and was recieved well by friends and family. He later went to study at a Classical Music academy in Rajkot for two years.
During the sixties, he formed a multi-talented musical group named the 'Young Artists Circle' which was comprised of a cast of ten members. They performed songs by Shankar-Jaikishan and toured successfully around the state of Gujarat, gaining many fans along the way.
Through a mutual friend, Mangesh then later met (who was going to be) his future partner in music - Nitin. They both shared a strong interest in film music and struck up a friendship which later lead them into forming their own music group - 'BlueBird'. The group performed original compositions by Mangesh and Nitin and ranged from simple, melodic numbers to fast paced Qawali type songs - There was no other group like that at the time and were gaining a name for themselves as they toured Gujarat. They were bringing something unique to the scene and as a result, they were gaining popularity.
Through the support of their fans they felt confident enough to take their compositions to Mumbai - the capital of Bollywood films. Many years of hardship and struggle followed before they finally got their first picture - 'Samaanta' in 1972. It was released but the film itself was later banned by the goverment due to its political themes. In the mid seventies they managed to strike a deal with Guru-Dutt Films and were involved with the film 'Qaid', starring Vinod Khanna and Leena Chandavarkar. The film had a substantial amount of success and ran for 20 weeks all over India. Its success followed two more titles in which the music duo were involved with - 'Aafat' (1977) and 'Khanjar' (1980). He has also co-produced the 1978 Gujarati film 'Parnetar' in which he directed the music and sang with Usha Mangeshkar.
Mangesh has worked on various projects including two Hindi albums with U.K based artists as well as performing his compositions on BBC Asian television. He has also composed English songs for artist Leesha Paradise and for Jona Lewie on his single 'Love Detonator' in the early part of the eighties.
Currently, Mangesh continues to compose, write and record a variety of Hindi songs for films.