Rajive Mohan was a South African singer, composer, lyricist, sound engineer and music producer from Durban, best known as the band leader of Dilkash, a popular show band famed for live Bollywood style entertainment. He died at his home in Durban in the early hours of Monday 2 November 2026, four days before what would have been his 58th birthday. His brother, Viren Mohan, said he had collapsed and was rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead.
Mohan spent decades at the centre of the Indian South African music scene in KwaZulu-Natal. Through Dilkash he brought Hindi film music and Bollywood songs to weddings, festivals, concerts and community events, and admirers came to call him South Africa's AR Rahman, after the celebrated Indian composer. He wrote and performed his own songs as well, and The Post noted that music lovers would know his hits Pasina, Aitbaar and Chance.
Much of his work happened beside the spotlight rather than in it. He accompanied many local and international artists on stage, and fellow musicians remembered him as a composer, sound engineer and band leader whose arrangements gave other performers a foundation to build on. The singer Deshan Styler Naidoo called him an absolute icon of the country's music industry who for decades had gifted audiences with his musical genius, and described him as a genuine, warm and joyful soul who brought people together.
His sudden death drew wide tributes. Dr Rajendran Govender, a commissioner at the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission), said Mohan had been a bridge between cultures, generations and musical traditions. He said Mohan understood that true greatness was not always about standing in the spotlight but sometimes about helping others shine within it, and that his humility was as remarkable as his talent. The musician Tansen Nepaul shared the news with a heavy heart, saying Mohan was well known in the industry and that his contribution to the arts was known internationally.
The cause of his death was not made public beyond his family's account that he collapsed at home. He was survived by his family, including his brother Viren; tributes also offered condolences to Vindantha, whom Naidoo addressed with the affectionate title Akka.
Govender closed his tribute by saying that a musician may leave the stage of life, but the echoes of his music remain long after the final curtain falls. For many in Durban's music community, Rajive Mohan's songs and the countless performances he shaped remain the measure of his life.
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