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LATA'S TOP TEN
By Subhash K Jha in Mid-Day,
September 29, 1999
Mumbai, 28 Sep :
If you think about it, Lata Mangeshkar is
the only real phenomenon
of our times. She has been
defying the law
of gravity for more than 50 years by
staying firmly ensconced
in her position, as though age
has bypassed her.
At 20, she sang Madhubala to eternal
fame with Ayega
aanewala in Mahal. At 44, she
immortalised Dimple
Kapadia by singing Hum tum ek kamre
mein band hon in
Bobby. At 69, Dimple's daughter Twinkle
attained an aura
of stardom when Lataji sang Madhosh dil
ki dhadkan for her
in Jab Pyar Kissise Hota Hai.
Barely a year later,
Preity Zinta swung and sang into
action with Jiya
jale in Dil Se. Right now it's Urmila
Matondkar serenading
Govinda with Hum Tumpe Marte Hain.
Lataji has lost
count of the number of songs she has
sung. Some of the
more popular numbers don't find favour
with her. She shocks
me when she dismisses the songs we
grew up thinking
of as imperishable classics as "Theek
hai". But there
are innumberable songs in her awesome
repertoire which
cannot be denied either on merit or
success. Songs that
contributed to shaping one of the
greatest success
stories of the 20th Century. Here's
looking Lataji's
Top 10 chart-toppers. And why she likes
them so immensely.
View picture here:
http://www.mid-day.com/bollywood/images/2809lata.jpg
1. Aayega aanewala
(Mahal, 1949; music by Khemchand
Prakash) - This
was the song that defined the beginning
of the Mangeshkarian
magic and transformed Madhubala into
an instant living
legend. Ironically, Madhubala didn't
lip-sync it on screen
at all! It was played in the
background. But
what an impact it made! With one song
Lataji wiped away
all the careers of existing female
singers. Ashok Kumar
who played the lead in Mahal still
recalls how everyone
in the room reacted when the then-
unknown Lata was
asked to sing. Even today mention of
Aaayega aanewala
lights up Lataji's eyes. "It's hundred
percent my favourite.
I had done a number of rehearsals
for the song. Actually
the composer Khemchand Prakash
heard me singing
for Anil Biswas. A number of tunes were
readied for Aayega
aanewala. I was given strict
instructions about
the importance of the song. The
producer Ashok Kumar
and the director Kamal Amrohi told
me I had to sing
as though the heroine was approaching
from a distance.
Since the studio was very large, I was
placed in one corner
of the room and told to gradually
approach the microphone
in the middle of the room while
singing. There were
no dubbing and editing devices in
those days. We had
to do it all in one go. I still
remember we recorded
the entire day."
2. Pyar kiya to darna
kya (Mughal-e-Azam, 1960; music by
Naushad) - The image
of Madhubala dancing in a thousand
images reflected
on the walls of the sheesh mahal set is
as alive today as
it was in the 60s. The lyric by Shakeel
Badayuni has acquired
the hue of an emblem accentuating
rebellious love.
It was composed by Naushad who suggested
the key line Pyar
kiya koi chori nahi ki to Badayuni. The
line became the
highlight of the song. Naushad feels
Lataji gave her
best to Mughal-e-Azam. Listen to Lataji
sing Pyar kiya to
darna kya and you'll know why the
composing genius
Sajjad Hussain once exclaimed, "Lata
sings, the others
weep before the microphone."
3. Aaja re pardesi
(Madhumati, 1957; music by Salil
Chowdhury) - From
my conversations with Lataji I gather
Salil Chowdhury
is one of her absolute favourite
composers. "I love
all the songs of Madhumati," the
Nightingale confesses
excitedly, and blushingly remembers
how happy everyone
was on the day Aaja re pardesi was
recorded. "Lyricist
Shailendra gave me flowers. The
director Bimal Roy
came forward to congratulate me. The
song was beautiful
and it was such a big hit too." The
song won Lataji
her first Filmfare award.
4. Kahin deep jale
kahin dil (Bees Saal Baad, 1962; music
by Hemant Kumar)
- Prior to this song, Lataji had fallen
seriously ill. Doctors
had predicted that she'd never be
able to sing again.
Being a born fighter, the Nightingale
swore to bounce
back. Her first recording after her
illness was this
high-pitched number of haunting
dimensions. Lataji
was nervous and apprehensive.
"Fortunately the
recording went off very well. Hemant
Kumar was of a very
quiet temperament. He knew exactly
what to compose
for me." Interestingly Hemant Kumar
recorded Lataji's
voice during the rehearsal and okayed
it as the final
take, the Nightingale says she's glad she
made a comeback
after her illness with an intricate song
like Kahin deep
jale. She had a point to prove to her
detractors who were
waiting for her downfalls and she
proved it. The song
won her another Filmfare award.
5. Allah tero naam
(Hum Dono,1961; music by Jaidev) -
When Dev Anand's
Navketan banner decided to give this
prestigious assignment
to S.D. Burman's assistant Jaidev.
It was on condition
that Lataji sing for the film.The
softie that she
is Lataji immediately set aside her
differences with
Jaidev to sing one of the tallest
devotional numbers
ever. Classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj
remembers waking
up from sleep with tears streaming down
his streaming down
his cheeks after hearing the bhajan in
Hum Dono. "Allah
tero naam her very first song that we
recorded for the
film," Lataji recalls. "Like Shankar - Jaikishan, Jaidev's tunes were
steeply scaled."
Though
she has sung at
unbelievably high-pitch all her life
Lataji detests singing
at what's traditionally the male
scale.
6. Naina barse rimjhim
(Woh Kaun Thi,1963; music by Madan
Mohan) - Every song
in Woh Kaun Thi is precious to
Lataji's heart.
But Naina barse was the all-time hit."
There's an interesting
story attached to Naina barse
since I was indisposed
Madan bhaiyya recorded the song in
his own voice for
the shooting. Onlookers at the shooting
in Shimla were aghast
when 'ghost' Sadhana sang in a male
voice.When Madan
Mohan missed getting the Filmfare award
for his score in
Woh Kaun Thi. Lataji was truly heart
broken. "He never
got any popular award," she laments
"People realised
his greatness only after his death."
7. Aa jaan-e-jaan
(Inteqaam, 1969; music by Laxmikant-
Pyarelal) - Cabaret
songs used to be sister Asha Bhosle's
domain. Until Aa-jaane-e-jaan.
Tuned and styled specially
to suit Lataji,
Aa-jaan-e-jaan is today regarded as the
best cabaret song
in Hindi films Tell her this, and
Lataji laughs. "I
remember telling Laxmikant not to give
me any cabaret songs
to sing. He assured me I could swing
it without a hitch.
Aa jaan-e-jaan was tailored to suit
my taste and style."
The song cracked open the charts
it's a favourite
with Helen who danced to the opulently
orchestrated numbers.
8. Bindiya Chamkegi
(Do Raaste, 1969; music by Laxmikant-
Pyarelal) - Filmmaker
Raj Khosla was a man of many
talents, Music to
him was life, A born singer he could
hum tunes for hours-together.
Bindiya chamkegi was a
Punjabi folk tune
that Khosla had board his mother
singing. He wanted
it in his film. Not a hot favourite
with the singer
herself. Bindiya chamkegi brings the roof
down at every live
concert of Lataji. When spectators
break into a jig
in the aisles the decorous Nightingale
baulks. But what
to do. Its just one of those unavoidable
things . Interestingly
Lataji sang this Punjabi-folk hit
long before it became
fashionable to have such items in
Hindi films.
9. Dil deewana (Maine
Pyar Kiya, 1989; music by Raam
Laxman) - Who would
believe that Lataji was ready to call
it a day when she
agreed to a sing this song for the
little -known Raam
Laxman? And who would believes that
Raam Laxman had
originally prepared the tune for a
nondescript film
called Agent Vinod for the Rajshris?
Prior to the recording
of Dil deewane Lataji's health had
deteriorated. But
I still recorded five songs in one day
for Maine Pyar kiya.
"Dil deewana is no doubt a lovely
song," she concedes
softly. It boosted the career of
RaamLaxman who had
been struggling for more than a
decade. It also
turned around the slumping fortunes of
the HMV music company
which according to rumours was on
the verge of closure.
Finally Dil deewana helped Lataji
to change her mind
about quitting playback singing. There
was hope for film
music.
10. Jiya jale jaan
jale (Dil Se, 1998; music by
A.R.Rahman) - This
is by far Lataji's most favourite
number of the 90s.Mention
Rahman and the experience of
working with him
in Chennai and she expresses the joy of
a flower that has
newly learnt to bloom. "A.R. Rahman's
style is amazing,"
she enthuses. "No doubt his style is
Indian. But there's
heavy Arabic influence I don't think
that man thinks
of anything except his music." During
recording she kept
humming an alaap at the end to a
herself. Rahman
overheard her. "Keep doing it, I'll just
continue to records,"
he urged the Nightingale. "At first
I didn't think all
that much of the tune," Lataji
confesses. "But
when I heard the recorded song I was
floored. I got to
sing an outstanding number after quite
a while," she sighs
as she prepares to give voice to
Aishwarya Rai in
Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein for the next
millenium.
Lata
Mangeshkar : A living legend...
