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Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 27th September, 2010. She had remained a sensation even in her 80s.

Starting her journey from the early 40s, Lataji created an impression with the songs “ayega anewala” in the film Mahal, composed by Khemchand Prakash. The songs of the horror film were picturised on Madhubala who later became a legendary star of bollywood films. Lata faced the competition from eminent singers Noorjahan, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, and others and emerged victorious in the 50s and 60s.

Her sweetness of voice compelled composers to give the best tunes ever created in Indian film history. Along with Rafi, Lata had the record of singing songs of almost all the composers of the golden age. Everlasting gems of Lata include “tu jaha jahan chalega” composed by Madanmohan, “duniya kare sawal” composed by Roshan, “hume tum mil gaye humdum” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir teri kahani yaad aye” composed by Naushad, “ajare pardesi” composed by Salil Choudhury, “allah tero naam” composed by Jaidev, “piya tose naina lage re” composed by SD Burman, to name a few.

Lata had sung more than 30000 songs during her singing career which was more than 65 years long. She had sung for Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Wahida Rehman, on one hand, and did sing for the new actresses of the 90s namely Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, etc. Her patriotic songs “aye mere watan ke logon” brought tears even in the eyes of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Articles after articles can be devoted to the Indian nightingale, Lata who had remained an institution in different types of songs including Hindustani classical, folk songs, lift romantic songs, to name a few.

Lata Mangeshkar sung songs in more than 15 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali and others. She played a very significant role in Bengali film industry in the world of playback singing. Some of her hit songs included “jago” in Raj Kapoor’s film Ekdin Ratre, composed by Salil Choudhury, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela, to name a few.
Singers of the present age consider Lataji as their idol and try to emulate her style. Even reputed singers like Sonu Nigam feel privileged to get his son record his son at such tender age with evergreen legend Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music all over the world expect Lataji to continue the great work that she started 70 years ago. Her works should be restored.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2009. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s.

Other notable songs of Salil Choudhury in bollywood films include “tasveer teri dil me” from Maya, “zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai”, “kahin dur jab din dhal jaye” from Anand, “rajnigandha” from Rajnigandha, “jago mohan pyare” from Jagte Raho, to name a few.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 27th September, 2009. She had turned 80 years of age.

Starting her journey from the early 40s, Lataji created an impression with the songs “ayega anewala” in the film Mahal, composed by Khemchand Prakash. The songs of the horror film were picturised on Madhubala who later became a legendary star of bollywood films. Lata faced the competition from eminent singers Noorjahan, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, and others and emerged victorious in the 50s and 60s.

Her sweetness of voice compelled composers to give the best tunes ever created in Indian film history. Along with Rafi, Lata had the record of singing songs of almost all the composers of the golden age. Everlasting gems of Lata include “tu jaha jahan chalega” composed by Madanmohan, “duniya kare sawal” composed by Roshan, “hume tum mil gaye humdum” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir teri kahani yaad aye” composed by Naushad, “ajare pardesi” composed by Salil Choudhury, “allah tero naam” composed by Jaidev, “piya tose naina lage re” composed by SD Burman, to name a few.

Lata had sung more than 30000 songs during her singing career which was more than 65 years long. She had sung for Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Wahida Rehman, on one hand, and did sing for the new actresses of the 90s namely Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, etc. Her patriotic songs “aye mere watan ke logon” brought tears even in the eyes of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Lata Mangeshkar sung songs in more than 15 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali and others. She played a very significant role in Bengali film industry in the world of playback singing. Some of her hit songs included “jago” in Raj Kapoor’s film Ekdin Ratre, composed by Salil Choudhury, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela, to name a few.
Singers of the present age consider Lataji as their idol and try to emulate her style. The listeners of music all over the world expect Lataji to continue the great work that she started 70 years ago. Her works should be restored.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of the most gifted creators of Bengali modern songs during the golden age. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his base in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best music out of Lata Mangeshkar and their combination had created evergreen gems which are cherished over the years. In 1959, Salil Choudhury’s composition for Lata “jare jare ure jare pakhi” created sensation in Bengal.

Lata’s melodious voice enchanted the viewers and the east –west blend of Salil Choudhury as usual created new dimension in Bengali modern songs. The other 1959 creation included “na jeona. In 1960, Salil Choudhury composed “o banshi hai” and “ogo aar kichu to nai”. Those songs captured the romantic andaz of Lata.

In 1961, Salil Choudhury came out with Sri Lankan folk song in his creation for Lata titled “saat bhai chompa jagore”. The other song in that year “ki je kori, dure jete hai” was another creation in a somber mood. In 1963, Salil Choudhury’s creations “keno kichu kotha bolona”, “o tui nayano pakhi” were everlasting hits and had not lost their appeal even today.

In 1967, Salil Choudhury created “ke jabi aye” and “nishidin nishidin baje” in a unique style. Till this period Salil Choudhury’s orchestration used to include light orchestration. The song “Jodi baron koro” had such a brilliant interlude where Salil Choudhury showed his excellence in the part “birohini udashi” where Lata was matchless. “o jhar jhar jharna” was a fast number composed in the same year.

In 1969 only, Salil Choudhury created two gems “na mono lagena” and “ore o mon moyna”. The early 70s brought out Salil Choudhury’s experiments with the notations of piano, like “pa ma garesa’ sung by Lata. Lata also sang “o projapoti projapoti pakhna melo”. Another Salil Choudhury’s masterpiece included “antabiheen katena ar jeno” and “kichu to chahini aami” in 1972.

Salil Choudhury’ s “o mor moyna go” in 1975 for Lata, showed his jugglery with the guitar. The other song “jhilik jhilik jhinuk khuje pelam” was innovative too.

Some of the other masterpieces included “aaj noi gungun gunjon preme” and “aaj tobe eituku thak”. Salil Choudhury was solely responsible for Lata’s dominance in Bengali modern songs, although media had brought other names whose contributions are negligible in comparison to Salil Choudhury. In fact the Indian audience was not matured enough to appreciate Salil Choudhury’s experiments including calypso, Hungarian folk, etc. Otherwise he would have been ranked as one of legend of legends like Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of Lata and Salil Choudhury should be restored.

Review of Uttam Kumar's Shankhabela.

Review of Uttam Kumar’s Shankhabela.

Uttam Kumar was the uncrowned monarch of Bengali classic films of the 50s, 60s and 70s. He had acted in around 205 films, so most of his films are landmarks in Bengali film industry. But some of the films created history due to some unique reasons. Shankhabela is one of that kind of film.

The film as released in 1966. Uttam Kumar was big corporate officer in the film who had married Madhabi Mukherjee and had a small son. Due to requirement of corporate world, he had to give parties distribute drinks to the business tycoons of the respective jurisdiction and get involved in drinking himself. All these activities were not like by Madhabi Mukherjee. She felt that all those activities could spoil her son.

After repeated requests when Madhabi saw that Uttam Kumar could not avoid parties, drinking, etc., she left the house and lived separately with her son. The son fell seriously in due period of time and was brought before Bosonto Choudhury, a specialist doctor in Kolkata. He asked her to get her son admitted in the hospital.

While treating the child he tried to reunite the family which was virtually separated. He called Uttam Kumar, the father of the child, and told him about his son’s sickness and rebuked him for failing to fulfill the responsibilities of a father. After curing the child he asked Uttam Kumar to take his wife and child back home thereby ending their mental differences.

The important fact in the film was that the composer Sudhin Dasgupta, used Manna Dey, the legendary singer of bollywood films to sing songs for Uttam Kumar, for the first time. He was associated with successful Hemant Kumar whose matched him the most. Manna Dey was previously used in the song “lag lag lag lag velki khela” in Uttam Kumar’s film Goli Theke Rajpoth in 1959, by Sudhin Dasgupta, but that was not a musical film, and the musical excellence of Manna Dey remained unnoticed.

Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar’s spirited performance in the songs “ke pratham kache asechi”, “ami agantuk ami barta dilam”, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” flabbergasted the Bengali audience. Due to the success of Shankhabela, Manna Dey dethroned Hemant Kumar from being the dominant singer in Bengali films, and created a magical combination with Uttam Kumar till his death. Manna Dey’s hit songs for Uttam Kumar stormed Bengali films like Anthony Firingi, Nishi Padda, Chowrangee, Jibon Mrityu, Stri, Chaddabeshi, Chiradiner, Sanyasi Raja, etc., to name a few.

Besides, Uttam Kumar gave the most romantic lips in a boat with Madhabi in Mython in the romantic song “ke prothom kache esechi”. The composition was totally westernized and the lyrics written by Pulak Banerjee was very romantic. Even legendary composer Naushad appreciated Sudhin Dasgupta for making the tune of “ke pratham kache esechi”, when Sudhin Dasgupta went to Bombay to place it before Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar.

The other aspect of the film directed by Saroj De ( the main director of Agragami), was the casting of Bosonto Choudhury in the role of the doctor. He was assisted by a panel of doctors including Mrinal who had his debue in the film, but his personality overshadowed the romantic personality of Uttam Kumar. Critics argue that Bosonto Choudhury gave his best performance in the film Shankhabela. The film addressed the intellectual viewers of Bengal and other parts of the country and could be very well categorsied as cine-classic. The film and the songs should be restored for those reasons.

Lata and Wahida Rehman

Lata Mangeshkar had galvanized the careers of majority of bollywood actresses from 50s to 80s. Among them she had an excellent combination with Wahida Rehman and most of the songs have become immortal over the years.

Wahida Rehman had also given lisp in songs sung by Geeta Dutt including songs like “waqt ne kiya kya hasee sitam”, but whenever Lata had sung any song for Wahida Rehman the song had created a different dimension. Lata’s song for Wahida Rehman titled “aaj phir jeen ki tamanna hai” and “piya tose naina lage re” from the film Guide in 1965, composed by SD Burman had become extremely successful.

Lata’s songs “aa aa bhi ja” from Teesri Kasam composed by Shankar Jaikishan and picturised on Wahida Rehman was also successful. Raj Kapoor played his role extremely well opposite Wahida Rehman in this film. Lata’s song “sawan aye ya na aye” in Dil Diya Dard Liya and “phir teri kahani yaad ayi” composed by Naushad, picturised on Wahida Rehman and Dilip Kumar became very popular in the 60s.

Lata’s song “kahi deep jale kahin dil” picturised on Wahida Rehman from the film Bees Saal Baad, composed by Hemant Kumar had a spooky flavour. Biswajeet gave an everlasting performance opposite Wahida Rehman in the film. Lata’s songs from the film Neel Kamal, picturised on Wahida Rehman opposite Raj Kumar and Manoj Kumar and composed by Ravi were also successful.

Lata had also sung elegant songs in the film Dharti, picturised on Wahida Rehman opposite Rajender Kumar, composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The films where Lata and Wahida Rehman’s combination stand out include Reshma aur Shera (composer – Jaidev), Mujhe Jeene Do (composer –Jaidev), Ram Aur Shyam (composer – Naushad) , Prem Pujari (composer – SD Burman), Talash (composer – SD Burman) , etc.

The viewers expect the combination of Wahida Rehman and Lata to perform again in their old ages as their contribution is unforgettable for different generations.

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Lata and Hema Malini.

Lata Mangeshkar had dominated bollywood music for more than 50 years. Nearly all the leading actresses of bollywood films from Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit had been indebted to the legendary singer. Hema Malini had also given lips in numerous landmark hits of Lata.

In Naya Zamana, the title song of the film composed by SD Burman and picturised on Hema Malini was a big hit. Dharmender played the central character in the film. In the film Gora Aur Kala, the song “dheere dheere bol koi sun na le” sung by Lata and Mukesh, composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal and picturised on Hema Malini and Rajender Kumar was also successful.

In Seeta Aur Geeta, Hema Malini gave lips on successful songs of Lata composed by RD Burman, including “ek ladka mujhe kal raat sapno me mili”. Hema Malini was sublime in Sholay and all the songs sung by Lata and composed by Rd Burman were successful. The song “jab tak hai jaan” was not only melodious but also showed the choreographic skills of the legendary dancer.

Lata also sang semi-classical songs for Hema Malini in films of Gulzar, including Kinara, where the song of Lata and Bhupinder Singh titled “naam gum jayega, chehera yeh badal jayega”, is considered one of the most quality songs of that period, where the powerful lyrics of Gulzar had matched the class of composition of RD Burman. Jeetender and Hema Malini got the role of their life in Kinara, where Dharmender played the role of the husband of Hema Malini who got killed in a road accident against the car of Jeetender.

Even in the film Abhinetri, Lata’s song “sa re ga ma pa”, picturised on Hema Malini was a big hit. Shashi Kapoor acted opposite Hema Malini in the film. The combination of Lata and Hema was successful also in the film Johny Mera Naam, Raja Jani, Jugnu, etc., where the songs have become immortal over the years.

The songs and the films should be restored for the future generations.

By: Supriya Chatterji.

Lata and Sadhna.

The leading actresses of the 50s and 60s were indebted to Lata for shaping their career in bollywood with the outstanding she had provided to most of them. Sadhna had created a lasting impression in the minds of viewers with her glamour and powerful performance in most of her films.

She was blessed with immortal music composed for her by legendary composers and melodious songs sung by Lata. In Asli Nakli, Lata’s song “tera mera pyare amar” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, became a big hit. In Mere Mehboob, Lata’s song “mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam”, and “mere mehboob me” sung by Lata and composed by Naushad became everlasting hit.

In Aarzoo, Sadhna ‘s glamour and performance opposite Rajender Kumar was complimented by romantic songs of Lata composed by Shankar Jaikishan including “aji ruth kar ab”, “bedardi balma”, etc. In Rajkumar, Sadna balanced the performance of Shammi Kapoor. Lata’s songs like “aja ai bahar” composed by Shankar Jaikishan contributed a lot for the success of the film.

In Woh Kaun Thi, Madanmohan’s composition of music had created a great impact on the minds of the viewers. Lata’s songs for Sadhna, including “lag ja gale”, “nina bares rimjhim rimjhim” had maintained both the uncanny atmosphere and the melody of the composer. Manoj Kumar also performed very well as a doctor in the film.

In Mera Saya, the title song “tu jaha jaha chalega” sung by Lata and composed by Madanmohan stands out as one of the most legendary compositions of the legendary composer. The film involved suspense relating the death of Sadhna, the wife of Sunil Dutt in the film and the song haunted the audience throughout the film.

The other successful songs of Lata that were picturised on Sadhna include “humne tumko pyar diya hai jitna” from the film Dulha Dulhan, composed by Kalyanji Anandji, which was also sung by Mukesh for Raj Kapoor in the same film, “hume teri mohabbat ka sahara mil gaya hota” from the film Baharen Phir Bhi Ayegi, composed by LP, etc.

The films of Sadhna and the songs by Lata should be preserved for generations because they have lost their relevance even after 40 years of their composition.

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Lata and Jaidev.

Lata and Jaidev

Jaidev is one of the off-beat music composers who had composed music for selected films but most of those films had received critics acclamation. Lata had a fantastic combination with Jaidev and contributed a lot for his success in bollywood films. Jaidev’s bhajan “allah tero naam, ishwar tero naaam” in the film Hum Dono sung by Lata and picturised on Nanda in 1961 had become almost a national song for the country. It was composed in raag gour sarang and the movement of the song was really unconventional.

Jaidev’s composition for Lata in the film Mujhe Jeene Do, including the song “raat bhi kuch bheegi bheegi”, became very successful. The film was based on the life of dacoits and Sunil Dutt and Wahida Rehman received credit for their realistic performances in the film. In Prem Parvat, Jaidev’s composition for Lata titled “yeh dil aur unki, nigahon ke saaye” became very successful. The film had Hema Malini and and other less known performers.

Lata’s song in the film Reshma Aur Shera titled “ek meethi si chubhan” became very successful. The film had Sunil Dutt and Wahida Rehman in the lead roles with Amitabh and Vinod Khanna in small roles. Jaidev could create the folk effect of Rajasthan as the film was based on Rajasthan.

Similarly Jaidev’s composition in the film Gaman , Ankahi had been highly appreciated by the musical community and Jaidev also received national award for his classical composition in these films. Similarly in the film Kinare Kinare, Jaidev’s composition for Lata like “aaj achanka kaise toote”, “ har aas ahska baar hai” became very very successful. The film had leading actors like Dev Anand, Meena Kumari and Chetan Anand.

Whenever Jaidev’s name appears in the list of music composer for bollywood films, his extraordinary treatment of ragas and folk effect is kept in mind and as Lata had dominated the industry for more than 30 years, Jaidev and Lata’s combination created a different impact in the mind of music lovers. The songs should be preserved for immense musical value.

Lata and Kalyanji Anandji.

Kalyanji Anandji had contributed to Indian films for more than 40 years. As Lata had dominated bollywood industry for more than 30 years, she had sung a number of songs composed by Kalyanji Anandji.

Her song ‘bekhudi me sanam” which was picturised on Babita and was alson sung by Rafi, created an everlasting impact on the mind of the viewers. Lata also contributed in the film Jab Jab Phool Khile, where Kalyanji Anandji’s music provided hit songs for Shashi Kapoor and Nanda.

Kalyanji Anandji gave excellent music in the film Kora Kagaz. Although Kishore Kumar stole the hearts of people with his tragic song “mera jeevan kora kagaz’, but Lata was sublime with the song “mera parne me”. All the duet songs sung by Kishore and Lata in Johny Mera Naam, picturised on Dev Anand and Hema Malini, and composed by Kalyanji Anandji became hit, including “o mere raja”. Similarly in Zangeer, the song “chakku churiya” sung by Lata and picturised on Jaya Bacchan became successful.

In Geet, all the songs sung by Lata and composed by Kalyanji Anandji were highly appreciated including “mere mitwa”. Rafi also sang very successful songs in Geet which were picturised on Rajender Kumar. Lata’s songs were also successful in Gopi, where the songs were somposed by Kalyanji Anandji.

Even the songs in the film Don, composed by Kalyanji Anandji and sung by Lata were very very successful, including “jiska mujhe tha intezer”. The film was based on action, but Kalyanji Anandji had given melodious songs and all were hits. Lata was also sublime in Muqaddar Ka Siqandar. Kalyanji Anandji composed the music and Lata’s songs were picturised on Rekha and Rakhi.

Kalyanji Anandji had survived the transition of bollywood film music along with Laxmikant pyarelal and contributed to the film music of 80s with Lata. The songs should be preserved for immense musical value.

By: CR Chatterji.

Salil Chowdhury and Lata.

Salil Chowdhury had made his major experiments in bollywood films with the help of Lata. He gave the solo song “jago mohan pyare” in Jagte Raho, in 1956, where there was chorus effect with the solo song. As it was film related to social justice produced by Raj Kapoor, there were hardly major sequences for songs, otherwise he would have given more songs to Lata.

In Madhumati, in 1958, Bimal Roy gave scope to Salil Chowdhury to compose a number of songs as it involved the romantic story between Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala. All the songs composed by Salil Chowdhury and sung by Lata including “aaja re pardesi”, “dil tarap tarap ke keh raha hai aa bhi ja”, “daiyare daiyare jangal papi bichua”, were big hits. Salil Chowdhury also won the filmfare award for the best composer in that year.

In Maya, Salil Choudhury’s composition for Lata and Rafi titled “tasveer teri dil me” became big hit. It was picturised on Mala Sinha and Dev Anand. Also the songs composed by Salil Choudhury in other films like “na jiya lage na’ sung by Lata was successful.

Salil Choudhury gave successful songs to Lata in the films Parakh, Half Ticket, Anand, etc. Also he gave excellent songs to Lata in Bengali films like “hai hai pran jaye” in Marjina Abdulla, “biswapita tumi he prabhu” in Sister, etc. Lata’s major basic discs in Bengali include songs composed by Salil Choudhury, a number of them were used for bollywood films as well.

The major basic discs in Bengali composed by Salil Choudhury for Lata include “saat bhai champa”, “aakash pradeep jale”, “ na mono lagena”, “aaj noi gungun gunjan preme”, “ore mono pakhi”, etc.

Salil Choudhury had gone abroad a number of times and most of his compositions had western influence including songs from Russia, Hungary, Poland, etc. He used the western touch and mixed it with the eastern classical and folk music and created history both in bollywood films and Bengali films. If 50 best songs of Lata are selected obviously 5 compositions of Salil Choudhury will stand tall among other compositions. The songs should be restored for immense musical value.

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Laxmikant Pyarellal and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarelal and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarelal had a very eventful musical combination with Lata over 40 years. They were as respectful towards Rafi as they regarded Lata. Even during the phase when music got commercialised in the 80s, Laxmikant Pyarelal survived in the industry and provided everlasting tunes to Lata.

In Parasmani, in n1963, Laxmikant Pyarelal had given immortal tunes to Rafi including “roushan tumhi se duniya”. The same film had a melodious duet song for Lata and Rafi titled “woh jab yaad aye bahut yaad aye”. Their composition for Lata and Mukesh titled “sawan ka mahina”, picturised on Nutan and Sunil Dutt became an everlasting hit in the 60s.

Laxmikant Pyarelal’s composition in the film Izzat, titled “yeh dil tum bin kahi lagta nahi” sung by Lata and Rafi was a masterpiece. In those days producers never dictated terms to the composers and as such the best compositions of Laxmikant Pyarelal came in the 60s and 70s, which included “woh hai zara khafa khafa” sung by Lata and Rafi in Shagird, picturised on Saira Banu and Joy Mukherjee. Laxmikant Pyarelal’s composition in Jigri Dost, titled “raat suhani” sung by Lata and Rafi and picturised on Mumtaz and Jeetender had a huge romantic appeal.

In the early 70s, also Laxmikant Pyarelal created semi-classical compositions like “patta patta” sung by Lata and Rafi which also became hit. After the death of Jaikishan in 1971, Raj Kapoor used Laxmikant Pyarelal for the rest of his films and Lata made significant contribution in all those films. Songs like “hum tum ek kamre me bandh ho” from Bobby, “satyam shivam sundaram” from Satyam Shivam Sundaram, became landmark hits.

Also songs like “koel bole”, “dafliwale” from the film Sargam picturised on Jaya Prada and Rishi Kapoor, and sung by Lata and Rafi, created sensation in the late 70s. Even in the early 80s, the title song of the film Ek Duje Ke Liye, became very very successful. Laxmikant Pyarelal had the capability of catering to the needs of the new generation and was the only composer of the 60s who could survive in the 80s when action films dominated bollywood.

Lata’s combination with Laxmikant Pyarelal marks diverse types of songs and some of them like “aya sawan jhumke”, from Aya Sawan Jhumke, “aap mujhe acche lagne lage”, from Jeene ki raah, all the songs from the film Banphool, had not lost their appeal even today. The songs should be restored for immense musical value.

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Lata and SD Burman.

SD Burman had experimented with different singers during his tenure in bollywood films including Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle. Among them he had special respect towards Lata due to her melodious voice. Lata had sung the songs “piya to se naina lage re” and “aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai” composed by SD Burman, extraordinarily which gave a new dimension to the film Guide in 1965, picturised on Wahida Rehman. Her song “rulake gaya sapna mera” brought tears in the eyes of listeners in the film Jewel Thief, in 1967, picturised on Vaijayantimala.

Lata was sublime in her performance in Tere Ghar Ke Saamne in the song “yeh tanhai haie re hai”, and the duet song “dekho rutha na karo” with Rafi, composed by SD Burman wchih was picturised on Nutan. The film Abhimaan in 1973, was based on music and Lata’s performance in each of the songs were unique, including the songs “tere mere milan ki”, “teri bindiya re” which were sung by Kishore and Rafi also. Jaya Bacchan gave immortal lips in the legendary songs in the film.

SD Burman had given landmark songs to Lata also in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Chupke Chupke in 1975. the film was based on the story portrayed in Uttamkumar’s Choddobeshi, and the bengali actresses Jaya Bacchan and Sharmila Tagore tried to maintain the Bengali flavour in the film. Lata’s song “chupke chupke” was very big hit.

In Bimal Roy’s Sujata and Bandini, SD gave folk tunes to Lata and in both these films the songs played a significant role for their success. Songs like “mora gora anng laile”, sung by Lata had not lost its appeal even today. SD Burman had lot of love and respect for Geeta Dutt as he gave songs like “jane kya tune kiya”, “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam”, picturised on Wahida Rehman which became very famous during the 50s. Similarly SD had given landmark songs to Asha including “raat nashili hai”, in Jewel Thief, picturised on Tanuja, “acchaji mai hari” the duet song of Asha and Rafi in Kala Pani, 1958.

But whenever he thought about the song which would mark his identity Lata’s name automatically came in his mind. His songs in Milli, like “maine kaha phoolon se”, or the song “dil pukare are are are” from Jewel Thief, shows that SD Burman also believed that Lata was indispensable in the golden age of Indian film music. The songs composed by SD Burman and sung by Lata should be restored and preserved.

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Lata and Naushad.

Lata and Naushad

If Naushad was the musical personality who had nurtured the talent of Rafi, from the beginning, then he is the same person who had given immortal tunes to Lata considering her melodious voice. Lata had a tragic appeal in the song “bhool gaye sawariya” from Baiju Bawra, composed by Naushad in 1953. His composition for Lata in Mughal-i-azam, “pyar kiya to darna kya”, “mohe panghat”, etc., picturised on Madhubala, were landmark hits. Also the duet song of Lata and Rafi in Kohinoor, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan” picturised on Meena Kumari and Dilip Kumar had the class of Naushad and romantic appeal embedded in them. Again in Ganga Jumna, in 1961, Naushad had given folk tunes to Lata including “dhundo dhundo re sajna”, picturised on Vijayantimala, which suited the sequence so well.

In Mere Mehboob, the title song “mere mehboob tujhe”, was sung as brilliantly by Lata as Rafi had done it. Sadhna also gave adequate lips in the song. Also the song “mere mehboob me kya nahin” was successful. Naushad remembered the paradanshin society of Lucknow and Aligarh, while composing the tunes, and Lata pronounced the urdu lyrics written by Shakeel Badayani brilliantly. She was also brilliant in the duet song with Rafi “tere husn ki kya tariff karun” from the film Leader, in 1964, where all the songs were based on classical ragas which were exploited very elegantly by Naushad including raag lalit in “ek shaheshah ne banwake haseen tajmahal”.

Naushad was exceptional in the film Dil diya Dard Liya, where songs like “sawan aye yah na aye”, contained the classical ragas which were sung elegantly by both Lata and Rafi. The other notable songs of Naushad for Lata included “kale ke sapne” and “phit teri kahani yaad ayi” picturised on Wahida Rehman.

Naushad also helped Ghulam Mohammad to complete the songs of Pakiza, in 1971, picturised on Meena Kumari, where Lata’s songs “mausam hai ashiqana”, “inhi logone”, “chalte chalte”, had created history. Naushad never believed in producing more and producing rubbish, as a result, he had limited compositions for Lata, but if 50 best songs of Lata are to be selected, there will definitely be 5 creations of Naushad, because he had given adequate expression to the Hindustani ragas which blossomed under his dynamic creations.

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Lata and Shankar Jaikishan.

Lata Mangeshkar had dominated bollywood film music for over 50 years, so obviously had good relationship with lot of composers. But her relationship with Shankar Jaikishan was very special because they are musical duo who had provided her the number one spot during her days of struggle. In Barsaat, in 1949, the two songs “hawa me urta jaye” and “jiya beqarar hai” had marked the beginning of success of Lata and she never had to look back. In Awara, 1951, all the songs composed by SJ and sung by Lata including “ghar aya mere pardesi”, “dham bhar jo udhar muh fere”, etc. were superduper hits. Similarly in Aah, “rajaki ayegi baraat”, “ aja re” sung by Lata and composed by SJ were evergreen hits.

On one hand SJ had provided romantic tunes to Lata like “aja sanam”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi” etc., which were duets with Manna Dey, on the other hand there pure classical compositions like “aji ruth kar ab”, “bedardi baalma”, etc. from Aarzoo, picturised on Sadhna. SJ had utilised Lata’s range in songs like “woh basanti pavan pawan”, “hum tere pyar me sara alam”, “rasik balma”, picturised on Padmini, Meena Kumari, Nargis, respectively.

When Shankar Jaikishan composed songs for films shot at foreign locations, Lata did sing westernised songs and there too she was brilliant like “hume tum mil gaye humdum”, “o mere shahe khuba”, etc. picturised on Asha Parekh from the film Love In Tokyo. At the same time the song “o mere sanam” picturised on Vaijayantimala in Raj Kapoor’s Sangam, 1964, was very unique.

SJ was probably the most liberal composer of his times and for doing justice to Lata, they did not do injustice to other singers like “mur murk e na dekh” given to Asha, “dil use do jo jaan de de” to Suman Kalyanpur, “titli uri” to Sharda, etc. Yet their compositions for Lata were unforgettable due to stylish orchestration and east-west blend of music like “sayonara” from Love In Tokyo, “gumnam hai koi” from Gumnam. People sometimes have an erroneous perception that just because SJ tunes were popular they lacked in the same amount of quality which Roshan, Khayyam, Madanmohan, Naushad, had in their compositions. If a tune is popular like “ramaiya vasta maiya” based on folk tune, sung separately, by Lata, Rafi and Mukesh, it is not necessary that there is no quality in the tune. Besides, while making the tunes popular, they did not compromise on quality, for example the songs of Lata in the film Junglee, like “Kashmir ki kali hun mai”, “mere yaar shabba khair”, “ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar”, picturised on Saira Banu, were popular and had musical value embedded in them. Even in the duet songs of Lata and Rafi, like “awaaz deke hume tum bulayo”, “sau saal pehle”, “o sanam tere ho gaye hum”, etc., SJ either had instilled classical ragas or did experiment with the orchestration. The death of Jaikishan in 1971, had been the greatest blow to Indian film music, because had the duo survived for another 15 years, they could have provided everlasting tunes and experimented with Lata.

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Lata and Roshan.

The composition of certain composers had given a separate dimension to the existing skills of a legendary singer. It has happened with the combination of Roshan and Lata. Music lovers generally assess the contribution of composers in the success of playback singers on the basis of the number of songs given to the respective singer. But if the quality of the compositions are examined the actual contributors are identified.

Roshan could compose songs for Lata and Rafi only during the 50s and 60s as he died in 1969. But each of the compositions stand out as landmarks in the history of bollywood music. His song “zindagi bhar nahi bhulenge” remains one of the landmark creations where Lata had provided adequate expression for Madhubala in the film Barsaat ki Raat in 1960. Lata was brilliant in the film Aarti, picturised on Meena Kumari and Pradeep Kumar, with songs like “baar baar tohe”, “aapne yaad dilaya tha”, “baharon ki manzil rahi”, some of them being duets sung with Rafi. Similarly her duet with Rafi in the film Taj Mahal, 1963, titled “jo wada kiya ho nibhana parega” had been responsible for the infinite love and respect created for Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal over the years.

In the film Bheegi Raat, Lata’s song “dil jo na keh saka” was as outstanding as Rafi’s version of the same song. Lata ‘s song “duniya kare sawal to hum kya jwab de” in the film Bahu Begum, picturised on Meena Kumari, still haunts the music lovers even today. It almost tells the story of Meena Kumari in the film and the way the raga was used with adequate orchestration, including the use of sexaphone, only Roshan could have done it, the manner in which it was done.

Similarly, the them song in Suchitra Sen’s film Mamta, sung by Lata, titled “rahe na rahe hum” had acted as a bridge in the film. It had brought back memories of the past and had been played a number of times in the same film. Lata was also sublime in her songs in the film Dil Hi to hai, picturised on Nutan opposite Raj Kapoor. If 50 best songs of Rafi are shortlisted, at least 5 of Roshan’s creations will come automatically, similarly, if the best 100 songs of Lata are identified, at least 5 songs of Roshan can be classified as the most outstanding creations of all times. Had Roshan lived for a longer period, music lovers could have cherished even more number of immortal songs which could have got adequate expression by the brilliant voice of Lata.

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Lata’s combination with RD Burman.

Lata Mangeshkar had immortal combination with all the major composers of bollywood films from 40s till today. Among them RD Burman had provided very memorable songs for Lata during the 60s, 70s and 80s. Prominent among them include “bite na bitayi” from the film Parichay in 1972, picturised on Jaya Bacchan. It was a duet song where Bhupinder Singh also had made a memorable performance.

Lata was outstanding in all the songs composed by RD Burmna, in Gulzar’s film Kinara, picturised on Hema Malini, namely “naam gum jayega” and other songs. In Aandhi, the songs “is mor se jate hai”, “tere bina zindagi”, “tum agaye ho” picturised on Suchitra Sen and sung by Lata and Kishore all had philosophical thoughts embedded in them which were appreciated by all sections of the society.

RD Burman gave evergreen songs to Lata in the film Ghar, including “aaj kal paon zameen par”, “tere bina jioya jayena”, etc, picturised on Rekha.

Even the songs in the film Karwa, including the Arabic tune in the song “dilbar” was very well sung by Lata which was composed by RD Burman. In the 80s, also Lata made significant contribution in the film Sagar, where RD’s composition “sagar kinare” had touched the souls of millions of viewers and musiclovers.

Even during his fading times in 1942, A Love Story, Rd Burman asked Lata to sing the song “kuch na kaho” in a different way than the manner it was sung by Kumar Shanu. It was played at the end of the film, and Lata’s version had a tragic note which gave a different meaning to the main song. With RD Burman, making huge contribution to bollywood music during the 70s and 80s, providing every type of tunes including, westernised creations, qawallies, folk songs, eastern classical songs, Lata had given adequate expression to his style of composition of most of them had become immortal with passage of time. Had RD Burman survived for a longer period of time, he could have produced timeless classics which could have been sung by Lata even today.

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Hollywooood

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Review of Uttam Kumar's Shankhabela.

Lata and Wahida Rehman

Lata and Hema Malini.

Lata and Sadhna.

Lata and Jaidev.

Lata and Kalyanji Anandji.

Salil Chowdhury and Lata.

Laxmikant Pyarellal and Lata.

Lata and SD Burman.

Lata and Naushad.

Lata and Shankar Jaikishan.

Lata and Roshan.

Lata’s combination with RD Burman.

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