Mahesh-Naresh will be constantly beating in the hearts of Gujarati viewers

- Maheshbhai-Nareshbhai has said goodbye to us, but the Gujarati film industry and music world have been giving invaluable heritage. We will say with love, 'Goodbye, Mahesh, Nareshbhai ...'

Just a few days ago, a video-clip was circulating in which a man became very emotional by touching the hand of his sick and bedridden brother and sang 'O Saathi Re ...' (181 film 'Mukadra Ka Sikandar'). Needless to say, the video clip was of two brothers, Maheshkumar and Nareshkumar. Naresh Kumar is a superstar of Gujarati films and he has made more than 200 films in his four-decade career. And another Maheshkumar who gained tremendous popularity as Nareshkumar's elder brother and music director. He is the music-director of Maheshkumar & Party. It often happens that an event or a story or a video ceremony is made. This video was almost like that too. Maheshbhai died at the age of 8 in Gandhinagar after a long illness. Two days later, Nareshbhai succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad. This popular couple left their bodies the way they lived.

Like 'Muqaddar ka Sikandar', these two brothers lived and died. The story of these two brothers is also a reflection of the film. Maheshbhai was born in Kanoda village of Mehsana district of Gujarat on January 8, 19 and Nareshbhai was born on August 30, 19. Maheshbhai was the eldest of seven siblings. He lived in a room with his parents-in-law and Mithabhai Wenkar com and worked in weaving. After this they came to Ahmedabad. Both brothers worked for the family's livelihood, and at an early age they began to make a living by doing small chores. They could not get an education due to extreme poverty. At that time, Maheshbhai started promoting music. God’s blessing got him a golden throat. And with his help he started learning music lessons with musical instruments. He could sing songs in female voice as well as male. And that became their USP. After a while he also started singing songs in programs. This was followed by the formation of Maheshkumar & Party. The music group started singing songs in various programs.

Veteran actor and Gujarati theater director Amit Dwivedi, who had an early collaboration with the group, said. 'We did a lot of programs together during 191-18. At that time our base was Ahmedabad. Abhay Shah, who organized music programs, used to organize music programs in small centers of Gujarat. In it I played small plays. Maheshbhai sang songs with his small music group and Nareshbhai danced to Mahmud's songs at that time.

The group traveled in a station wagon. They were polite and humble until the very end. After this, Dwivedi recalls an incident that took place in 19 and says, "Once Maheshkumar and party used to travel from Mumbai in an Africa steamer. At that time, the Indian Music Party was going to give a program abroad for the first time. At that time our Gujarati dramas were taking place in Mumbai, but my flight was delayed that day. And I was about an hour late. Coincidentally, Maheshbhai was waiting for producer Abhay Shah at the theater. He immediately requested them to sing for about 20 minutes. Or the show will be canceled. He began to sing cheerfully, playing the tabla and arranging the harmonium. And the show survived the cancellation.

After a successful tour of Africa, he started performing regularly in Mumbai. The show was a huge success and Nareshbhai was a gifted dancer. And mimicry is more than aflatoon. After Johnny Walker he started calling himself 'Johnny Jr.' I remember watching Maheshkumar & Party's show exactly what the show was really Aflatoon and Kabil A-Tarif. Towards the end of 190, the two brothers shifted from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. And the flats lived in the Posh Pader Road area with both families and after this the family grew. So they moved to a bigger house in the dark (west) of Pedder Road, although at that time poverty was far away from them.

Popatlal Shah, Maheshbhai's permanent manager, remembers how the music-director was like an unusual religious ritual. 'After all the shows they put a bundle of notes in their pockets. On his way back home, he would distribute the notes to beggars when his car stopped at a signal. He says, "Whenever we go for the Ahmedabad show, a crowd of about 100 people gathers outside the hotel to meet them. Most of them are from their com. Maheshbhai, always listening to their problems in peace and helping them financially, he had made a rule that he would not bring the profit made in Gujarat to Mumbai.

He said that Maheshkumar & Parties may have done more than 15,000 shows and it has never happened that the show has been announced and then canceled during his entire career. Nareshbhai was just as kind as his brother. They respect even the most caring.

As his reputation grew, so did the attention of the Gujarati film industry. At one point, Madhukant Patel, the director of Gujarati films, went to see Maheshkumar & Party's show with producer Mafatlal Shah. He offered him a job and it was a film, 'Venine Aavaya Phool' (150). As a music director, he has composed music for more than 100 films and won a number of awards. Along with this, Nareshbhai's popularity also increased. He became the first dancing hero of Gujarati films and even got a title like 'Amitabh Bachchan of Gujarati films'. Naresh Kumar was the hero when his elder brother made a Hindi film 'Chhota Aadmi'. Maheshbhai also composed a song for the film, which had lyrics. 'I am a small man, not Amitabh' I sang this song by Kishore Kumar.

After this, the two brothers also entered politics. In 191, Maheshkumar was offered a seat in Patan by the BJP, from where he was easily elected. And a total of four times they were elected from there. Nareshbhai contested and won the Karjan assembly seat in 2008. However, he returned to Gujarat before joining politics. Nareshbhai's son Hitu Kanodia has also won the assembly elections from Idar (in 2012). And in 2012, Naresh Kumar was given the Dada Saheb Phalke Academy Award.

According to Niranjan Mehta, producer and promoter of Gujarati plays and films, the highest quality of these two brothers was that they were down-to-earth. 'I organized a concert with Purushottam Upadhyay (a well known Gujarati music composer and singer). I once decided that this program would be based on Gujarati film songs and Maheshbhai would sing two favorite songs. Maheshbhai came to the program and sang two songs and did not take a single rupee as a free to come to the show, 'says Niranjanbhai, adding,' Maheshbhai is very soft-spoken and introverted. He asked Nareshbhai what he was bothering about. He said, "Nirubhai, my biggest annoyance is that I haven't got an education."

Humility was on the side, but they were very close to each other. Their families also live in the same house. They were a pair of Ram-Lakshman. In their stage program, they sang the pertinent song 'We will do together, we will move together, we will live together, we will die together ...' Both the brothers have followed his word and left the stage of life one by one ... both of them. For this we will say nothing, but with love, 'Goodbye, Maheshbhai, Nareshbhai ...'

Thus, Maheshbhai-Nareshbhai has bid farewell to us, but the Gujarati film industry and music world have been giving invaluable legacy. This legendary legacy will continue to beat in the hearts of viewers in India and South Africa and other countries ....