‘Chalte chalte yuhi koi mil gaya ttha’, ‘Thare rahiyo ho baqe yaar re’, ‘Inhi logon ne le lee na dupatta mera’, ‘Aaj hum apni duawon ka assar dekhenge’, ‘Chalo dildar chalo chand ke paar chalo…’and then there were the sublime solos by Lataji that were not in the film: ‘Tanhai sunaya karti hai, Pyare babul tumhari duhai’ and ’Pee ke chale’….Every song by Lataji in Pakeezah is an exquisite jewel in the croon.
To imagine this ageless ode to romance and music without that voice is as inconceivable as Agra without the Taj Mahal. Director Kamal Amrohi’s son Tajdar Amrohi said, “It was always my Choti Ammi (Meena Kumari) and Lataji in Pakeezah. If either one of them said no, Pakeezah wouldn’t have happened.”
Lataji who sang the immortal songs of Pakeezah reveals that there is a whole album of her songs in Pakeezah that never made it into the film. “There is one album of Ghulam Muhammad’s compositions for Pakeezah that were featured in the film and another album of songs that didn’t feature in the film. The unused songs of Pakeezah were also very beautiful. But they didn’t become popular because they were not in the film.”
Lataji shared a special rapport with Meena Kumari. Their list of songs together embody the finest moments of Hindi film music: ‘Ajeeb dastan hai yeh’ (Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee), ‘Hum tere pyar mein saara alaam’ (Dil Ek Mandir), ‘Bachpan ki Mohabbat ko’ (Baiju Bawra), ‘Aaja ri aaja nindiya’ (Do Bigha Zameen), ‘Sharaabi sharaabi mera naam’ (Chandan Ka Palna), ‘Dil jo na keh sakaa (Gazal), ‘Nigahen kyon bhatakti hain’ (Baharon Ki Manzil), ‘Husn ki baaharen liye’ (Benazir), ‘Khoyi khoyi aankhiyan’ (Chand), ‘Aaj toh meri haseen udai’ (Gomti Ke Kinare)… the list is endless.
Lataji loved singing for Meena Kumari. “My voice used to match Meenaji to perfection. What an artiste and what a fine humanbeing! During the making of Pakeezah (which went on for a good 20 years) Kamal Amrohi who used to treat me like a daughter invited me home for song rehearsals. Meena Kumari was practicing her steps for my songs in Pakeezah. Meena turned to me and said, ‘When you sing I don’t have to make any effort to act.’ I cherish that compliment.”
Lataji recalled an incident that could have ruined her equation with the mythical tragedienne. “I remember one day she called and introduced herself. She wanted me to come and sing in her house. I declined saying I don’t sing for private functions. She never held that incident against me. She often used to land up at the recording studio for my songs. One day for a recording for Hemant Kumar I had washed my hair and left it open. Meena Kumari who was very proud of her hair , looked at my hair and exclaimed, ‘Kitne lambe baal hain aapke!’ I told her I had never cut my hair in my life. My voice used to match her to perfection.”
Lataji and the Pakeezah actress were phone friends. “Meena Kumari often called to chat . She seemed very unhappy with her life. I met her the Filmfare awards in 1968 . She had became thin and pale. That year I had given up the awards, and she said, ‘It’s like the queen abdicating her throne.’ Later I came to know she was extremely ill. When I reached her place with flowers she looked very ill. She looked at me and said, ‘Allah, aap yahan aaye, main badi khush-kismat hoon.’ We chatted. She asked me for tea, though I sensed she was in no position to offer me anything except her warmth in that condition. She passed away a little later. And then Pakeezah became an instant legend. I cherish my songs for her in that film.”
