‘Lambi judai’ in the film Hero sung by Pakistani singer Reshma stands out for its plaintive poignant raw and direct appeal.
Subhash Ghai had first heard Reshma singing at a party hosted by Raj Kapoor’s in 1982. Ghai immediately fell in love with that voice. He met Reshma at Hotel Sea Rock and offered her a song in Hero. Reshma initially refused, arguing she was a gypsy at heart and couldn’t sing in a studio. Ghai assured her she had nothing to worry about and that her singing style would not be cramped in any way by the studio atmosphere.
Reshma apparently told Ghai , “Arrey bhai main khule aasmaan ke neeche gaati hoon. Mujhe toh radio par gaane mein ghabraahat hoti hai.”
Eventually, she agreed. Anand Bakshi was given the job of writing the lyrics and Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed the song. The recording was at Mehboob Studios. Instead of the 100-150 member orchestra that Laxmikant generally favoured, he had just twelve musicians in the studio. Laxmikant felt the less the embellishment, the more her powerful voice-quality would show up in the song.
While recording Ghai and Laxmi-Pyare made the musicians follow Reshmaji’s voice, rather than the other way around. The musicians were instructed to let her sing the way she wanted and to just play along with her voice.
‘Lambi Judai’ became the soul of Hero. Reshma didn’t sing for money or fame. She sang because there were songs to sing. The spontaneity and innocence were part of her nature. She never discussed money. True artistes never do. She sang with a child’s enthusiasm and innocence.
She never cared to save up for illness and old age. She had no money when she fell ill. She died penniless after singing a priceless song like ‘Lambi judai’.
