Orchestra performance pioneer no more

AHMEDABAD: Mahesh Kanodia, 83, well-known Gujarati singer, music composer, film producer and three-time MP, breathed his last at his Gandhinagar residence on Sunday morning.
Hitu Kanodia, BJP MLA from Idar, confirmed his uncle’s demise. “He was suffering from paralysis for long. He did not wake up on Sunday according to his routine. We thus got worried and called the doctor.He declared him dead,” said Kanodia, who is a Gujarati film actor.
He added that hospitalization of his father Naresh — a former Gujarati film actor and younger brother of Mahesh Kanodia — due to Covid-19 infection had upset him and he was not keeping well. Naresh Kanodia is under treatment at the UNMICRC in Ahmedabad.
Mahesh Kanodia’s last rites were performed in Gandhinagar with several members of Gujarati film fraternity and political circles were present. Mahesh Kanodia’s wife Uma and daughter Pooja have passed away earlier, said the family members.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted, ‘Saddened by the passing of Mahesh Kanodiaji. As a politician, he was dedicated for the cause of empowering the poor and backward. He played an important role in popularizing Gujarati folk music.’
Hitu Kanodia told TOI that since 1947, Mahesh Kumar & Party was a known orchestra in Gujarat and beyond. “Hindi music was popular, but none had thought about organizing events around the film music. He could well be pioneer in the field of orchestra not only in Gujarat but perhaps in India. My father (Naresh Kanodia) also debuted in these performances. It was later named ‘Mahesh-Naresh,’ to signify bond of the brothers, which continued till he breathed his last,” he said.
Experts of the Gujarati film industry said that Mahesh Kanodia rose to fame with his ability to sing in more than 20 voices including female playback singers. He and Naresh Kanodia have performed in hundreds of shows in India and abroad.