Subhash K Jha celebrates the incredible Lata Mangeshkar, the Nightingale, with his list of The Rare Songs Of Lataji, some so rare they were never released, in this very special feature.
1. ‘Jo Dard diya tumne geeton mein piro loongee’ (Unreleased): This is actually my favourite Ravindra Jain composition, with exceptional lyrics (by Jain) about accepting heartbreak and betrayal, and flawless singing by Lataji. Jain held on to this precious composition, refusing to give it to any film producer. He sang it in his own voice at many mehfils and then finally invited the one voice that could do justice to this pitch-perfect song. The result is devastating. This is one of Lataji’s finest.
2. ‘Sangg mere aaja sajna’ (Mere Saath Chal): Lataji would always say her toughest challenges were the compositions of her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Regrettably, he never got his due. Lataji sometimes ended up singing songs for her brother in obscure films such as this. Nobody saw this Smita Patil-Farouq Shaikh starrer. But its songs, especially this elegant solo, linger.
3. ‘Tumne piya diya piya sab kuch mujho apni preet dai ke’ (Uss Paar): Every fan of Lataji and Sachin Dev Burman knows Burman dada reserved his best compositions for her. And when they fell out for a few years, he couldn’t sleep or eat properly. Us Paar is one of Sachinda’s best soundtracks. Lataji had two sparkling solos: ‘Yeh jab se hui jiya ki chori’ and ‘Tumne piya’. The latter is filmed on a boat with Moushumi Chatterjee singing to Vinod Mehra. The undulating waves, those lovelorn lyrics by Yogesh, the exquisitely laid-out tapestry of beats and emotions, and above all, Lataji’s voice brimming with sublime passion… this is as flawless as a musical experience can get. Says Moushumi, “Maze ki baat yeh hai, she sounds like me, how did she do it?” Humanity has been wondering the same for almost a century.
4. ‘Chand kyon zard hai’ (Do Shikari): An absolute gem of a love ballad from an obscure unseen Rekha-Vinod Khanna-Biswajeet starrer from 1979 in which the Nightingale is in peak form, negotiating the summits and sighs of Chitragupta’s composition with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel and the spontaneity of a monsoon shower. This masterpiece on romantic yearnings is written by Dr Rahi Masoom Reza. Composer Chitragupta was very dear to Lataji. “He was a prolific, super-talented composer. Among his love songs, this one went unnoticed. A pity that songs were often eclipsed when a movie didn’t run. My other romantic song that Chitraguptaji is known by is ‘Dil ka diya jalaa ke gaya yeh kaun meri tanhai mein’ from Opera House. You prefer ‘Chand kyon zard hai’. I prefer ‘Dil ka diya’,” Lataji’s lilting laughter said it all.
5.’Mohabbat Ke Isharon Mein’ (Dushman Dost): Even Lataji didn’t remember this luminous latent lyrical masterpiece composed by R D Burman for a 1980s potboiler. When I played it for her, she was, for a change, impressed by her own song. It is a truly heartbreaking love ballad, remarkable for the way it expands on the theme of heartbreak using Anand Bakshi’s anguished words to show what a one-way street love can be for those who don’t get it back. And what words Bakshi wrote for Lataji’s evocative throat: milan ki tamanna liye nazar yun bhatakti rahi judai ki diwar se wafa sar patakti rahi…wah! Incidentally, R D Burman was agonized by the obscurity which this love ballad had to face due to inept marketing
6. Tum agar roooth na jao toh main ek baat kahun (Film Unknown): This is an architectural marvel, a monumental ode to love composed by the great Jaidev, who composed such gems for Lataji as ‘Allah tero naam’ (Hum Dono) and Tumhe dekhti hoon (Tumhare Liye). There is no detail of the song anywhere. When I sent the number to Lataji, she remembered recording the song and described it as ‘bahot khubsoorat’ gaana, which was recorded for a film but got shelved. It later surfaced in another album titled Jaidev Unheard in another voice. But the original version by Lataji is a tour de force.
7. ‘Ek Sunehri Sham thi’ (Aao Pyar Karen): Not too many female music composers have risen to make their presence in Bollywood. Usha Khanna did. And some of her most beautiful love ballads were sung by the Goddess Of All Melodious Things. ‘Ek sunehri sham tthi’ as written by the underrated Rajinder Krishan, possesses a gossamer delicacy. The notes are woven with the intricacy of Kashmiri embroidery. Said Lataji about the song, “Usha Khanna was very talented. And one of the rare women among composers in Hindi cinema. She never got her due. But I remember her songs, ‘Ek sunehri shamk conveys the peaceful feeling during an evening spent with someone very dear.”
8. ‘Sooni sooni raahein rahon pe nigahen’ (Phir Janam Lenge Hum): Lataji always wondered why this love song of birha (separation) did not get counted among her best songs. She loved the composition and regarded it among Bappi’s best. “It is very beautifully written and composed.” Bappi lamented the song’s lack of popularity. “It is one of my favourite love songs. Mata Saraswati—that’s what I call Lataji—has sung Gauhar Kanpuri’s lyrics as if every word shatters her heart. I composed this number in Hindi and Gujarati. I recommend it as my favourite Valentine song.”
9. ‘Aa meri jaan main khadi hoon yahan’ (film Goonj): Lataji could be anything from the wannabe mother to the wandering spirit….With Rahul Dev Burman again, this one is a haunting, bewitchingly beautifully crafted number from a long-forgotten 1974 film Goonj that gnaws at our soul and penetrates into our hearts.
10. ‘Kitni dard bhari yeh baat hai’ (Nishana): Lataji sings a melody that the singer considered among her best works in the 1980s. An exquisitely haunting composition by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, ‘Kitni dard bhari’ is textured as poetry of pain (Anand Bakshi) carpeted on a melody embroidered by threads of Lataji’s voice. A pity, the monumental melody was lost in a trashy film.
