Born on August 18, 1967, into a family of musicians, Mehndi is the typical lion-hearted Leo. That is why his mother, Sardarni Balbir Kaur, herself a Prabhakar in music, named him after the character of a dacoit, Daku Daler Singh, played by the legendary Prem Nath in a movie she saw much before he was born. In fact, an astrologer had told Msehndi's mother that she would beget a son whose name would start with the letter D and that he would do well as a musician. The moniker Mehndi, of course, came much later when elder brother Amarjeet suggested the name after listening to the soulful Pervez Mehndi of Pakistan.


True to his name, the mischievous Mehndi would sneak into his mother's lap during the paath, render a shabad and go back to his playing. There began his first coaching in the nuances of music by the doting parents who were sure their little one was naturally gifted. That was also the reason why his parents, unlike others from the baby boomer generation, never pressured him into studying for a conventional profession. Nor did they pull him up for running away from home to Jaunpur, where he was tracked down performing live in front of a 10,000-strong mela crowd.
All of 11, his neck overflowing with garlands of flowers, sandalwood, currency notes and hold your breath, singing songs against the then government's 'forced contraception'


First Step

After years of intense training and having honed not only his vocal skills, but also learnt the tabla, harmonium and tanpura, the mellifluous Mehndi moved to Delhi along with his family in 1983, and mounted his professional career, initially singing ghazals inspired by the poetry of Qateel Shifai and Firaq Gorakhpuri. Gradually, however, he moved towards pop after realising people wanted him to pack more beats and not just sit on stage banging merrily on a harmonium. Thanks to his musical pedigree, it didn't take him long to devise his unique style of singing and live performances. Indisputably Punjabi in both language and rhythm, Mehndi's new avatar boasted of energetic dhol beats, strings wafting in and out, a groove to die for and the superstar crooning along like the only 'un. Music to return repeatedly. Folksy yet in accord with modern times. Simply said, it sounded like nothing before or since.

Forming his own group in 1991, it was not long before he had the whole of Delhi swinging to his tunes. Not just the pulsating music and foot-tapping numbers, the powerhouse performer had people talking about his sense of style: the quintessential diamante-studded pug and the flowing robes inspired by the wardrobe of Baba Ala Singh, sipahsalar of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Three years after constituting his band, Mehndi emerged as the most sought-after and popular performer at Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he won the Second Prize at the Azia Danysy Festival, 1994. It was also the year when Magnasound was quick to realise his multi-platinum potential. It not only signed him for a release next year, but such was his pre-release popularity that the label gave Mehndi top billing! Soon, the entire sub-continent resounded with just one note Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra! Yes, the Sardar from Patna, had hit the bull's eye, not in his second, not in his third, but in his very first attempt at Punjabi pop.


The Big Movement

The nation screamed for more, bhangramuffins went berserk and people all over the world were succumbing to the Mehndi mania, which had only begun. Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra's opening lines _ Gadey te na chadhdi, gadheeray te na chadhdi _ could be heard across the country, channels loved him and Mehndi debuted on Times FM's Indipop 10 on number 2, climbing to the top spot in two weeks and remaining on No.1 a whopping six months! The reign on the chart lasted over a year. Besides undisputed worldwide sales, in the Malayalam-speaking Kerala alone, the album sold more than 1,00,000 copies!
Mehndi's next, Dardi Rab Rab Kardi, turned out to be an even bigger hit than Bolo Ta Ra Ra.

Giving two superhits within a span of as many years, that too, non-film music, established Mehndi as the undisputed Pasha of Indipop. Once again, the high-spirited singer had brought joie de vivre back with an album packed with eight of his trademark pacy numbers. He was also the only Asian artist chosen to perform at the Tam Tam Festival, 1996, in France, an international trade fair for music industry professionals, where he thrilled all those present with his dynamic performance. It was in the wake of the stupendous success of the albums that spawned a whole lot of balle balle brigade and basement bhangra caught on as the latest buzzword for music and dance masti. And with his third Ho Jayegi Balle Balle, too, selling more than four lakhs in just over a month of its release, the guy's fame was thrust into top gear. So much so that it became difficult for the music company to play down Daler's popularity.