Lata and Madanmohan.
Madanmohan, the king of ghazals gave a separate dimension to the sweet voice of Lata. Most of his compositions had ghazal andaz and Lata could use her classical base with her expression to provide life in the compositions. In Anpadh, “aap ke nazro ne samkha”, picturised on Mala Sinha became a big hit due to Lata’s melodious presentation.
In Woh Kaun Thi, in 1964, all the songs sung by Lata including “naina barse”, “lagja gale”, had a serene dimension. Viewers were confused about the identity of Sadhna who was presented as a ghost at times by Raj Khosla, and the composition of Madanmohan had enhanced the suspense in the film. Similarly Lata’s song “tu jaha jaha chalega” in the film Mera Saya, picturised on Sadhna had an everlasting appeal.
In films related patriotic subject matters, like Haqeeqat, Madanmohan had created tunes which had softened the complexity existing in the film like the song “zarah si aahat hoti hai” written by Kaifi Azmi, picturised on Priya Rajbangsh and sung by Lata. Lata was even sublime in the song “teri aankho ke siva duniya me rakha kya hai”, picturised on Asha Parekh in the film Chirag, which was sung brilliantly by Rafi as well.
In Mausam, in 1975, also Madanmohan had created immortal compositions for Lata, which were picturised on Sharmila Tagore and Sanjeev Kumar, including “dil dhoondta hai phir wohi” which was sung with Bhupinder Singh and “chari re chari” which was sung with Rafi. The songs sung by Lata also in the film Heer Ranjha and Hanste Zakhm, composed by Madanmohan had everlasting appeal.
Even during the black and white era, Madanmohan had provided tunes for Lata which brought tears in the eyes of the listeners like the song in the film Adalat, picturised on Nargis, titled “tumko jo shikayat haito”. Nargis was found in a kotha after Pradeep Kumar who had an affair with her in the past saw him at an old age. The other song in the film sung by Rafi and Lata and composed by Madanmohan, titled “zameen se hume asmaa par” was also very successful.
In a span of 25 years Lata created an everlasting combination with Madanmohan and most of the songs composed by Madanmohan had not lost their appeal even today. The immortal songs should be preserved and restored.
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