Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar

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Lata picks her favorite songs from her long career

Dil mera toda – Majboor (1948, Ghulam Haider)

Lata Mangeshkar

Chanda re ja re ja re – Ziddi (1948, Khemchand Prakash)

Taqdeer jaga kar aai hoon – Dulari (1949, Naushad)

Sajan ki galiyan chhod chale – Bazaar (1949, Shyam Sunder)

Tumhare bulane ko – Ladli (1949, Anil Biswas)

Chale jana nahin – Badi behan (1949, Husnalal Bhagatram)

Aaj mere naseeb ne – Hulchul (1951, Sajjad Hussain)

Bade armanoun sai rakha hai (with Mukesh) – Malhar (1951, Roshan)

Mujhse mat pooch mera ishq – Anarkali (1953, C. Ramchandra)

Jhilmil sitaroun kai tale – Naaz (1954, Anil Biswas)

Ab tera intezar kaun kare – Joru ka Bhai (1955, Jaidev)

Guzra hua zamana – Shirin Farhad (1956, S. Mohinder)

Nain so nain (with Hemant Kumar) – Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1956, Vasant Desai)

Kar gaya re (with Asha Bhosle) – Basant Bahaar (1956, Shankar Jaikishan)

Chand phir nikla – Paying Guest (1957, S.D. Burman)

O mora nadan balma – Ujala (1959, Shanker Jaikishan)

Do sitaroun ka zameen par – Kohinoor (1960, Naushad)

Mere manke diye – Parakh (1960, Salil Chaudary)

Mujhe mil gaya bahana – Barsaat ki Raat (1960, Roshan)

Har ek baat pe – Non Film Ghazal (1961, Faiyaz Shaukat)

Dagabaz ho banke piya (with Usha Mangeshkar) – Burmah Road (1962, Chitragupta)

Tere pyar mein dildar – Mere Mehboob (1963, Naushad)

Jurm-e-ulfat pe – Taj Mahal (1963, Roshan)

Lata Mangeshkar with Madan Mohan

Zara si aahat – Haqeeqat (1964, Madan Mohan)

Sakhi re mera man – Chitralekha (1964, Roshan)

O beqarar dil – Kohraa (1964, Hemant Kumar)

Aaj kal mein dhal gaya – Beti Bete (1964, Shankar Jaikishan)

Dil ka diya – Aakash Deep (1965, Chitragupta)

Baharoun mera jeevan bhi – Aakhri Khar (1966, Khaiyyam)

Jeevan ke do raahe pe – Chhotisi Mulaqat (1967, Shankar Jaikishan)

Kya janoon sajan – Baharan ke Sapne (1967, R.D. Burman)

Aawara aye mere dil – Raat aue Din (1967, Shankar Jaikishan)

Kareeb aai Nazar – Anita (1967, Laxmikant Pyarelal)

Ai suru mera watan Japan – Aman (1967, Shankar Jaikishan)

Thane kain kain bol – Non-Film Bhajan (1968, Hridaynath Mangeshkar)

Soch ke yeh gagan jhoome (with Manna Dey) – Jyoti (1969, S.D. Burman)

Ek meethi si chubhan – Reshma aur Shera (1969, Jaidev)

Ghiri Ghatayen – Non-Film Geet (1969, Hridaynath Mangeshkar)

Thare rahiyo – Pakeezah (1971, Ghulam Mohammed)

Jane kyon log mohabbat kiya karte hain – Mehboob ki Mehndi (1971, Laxmikant Pyarelal)

Raaton ke saye – Annadata (1972, Salil Chaudary)

Sanjh bhai ghar aaja – Non-Film Geet (1973, K. Mahavis)

Bahon mein chale aao – Anamika (1973, R.D. Burman)

Rasm-e-ulfat ko nibhayen – Dil ki Rahen (1973, Madan Mohan)

Panna ki tamanna hai (with Kishore Kumar) – Heera Panna (1973, R.D. Burman)

Apne aap ratoun mein – Shankar Hussain (1975, Khaiyyam)

Pal bhar mein yeh kya ho gaya – Swami (1978, Rajesh Roshan)

Dikhai diye yun – Bazaar (1981, Khaiyyam)

Tum aasha vishwas hamare (with Chorus) – Subah (1983, Hridaynath Mangeshkar)

Husn pahadon ka (with Suresh Wadkar) – Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985, Ravindra Jain)

Source :- My Favorites – Lata Mangeshkar – Vol -2 – Songs from Hindi Films (HMV)

Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar

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Talat Mahmood (Singer)

Talat Mahmood

1. Sapana Ban Saajan Aae – Shokhiyan (Jamal Sen)

2. Tum Na Jaane – Sazaa (S B Burmon)

3. Is Dil Ki Halat – Anhoni (Roshan)

4. Mukh Mod Na Dena – Aashiana (Madan Mohan)

5. Prit Ye Kaisi Bol Ri – Daag (Shankar)

6. Wo To Chale Gaye – Sangdil (Sajjad Hussain)

7. Bahar Aai Khili – Alif Laila (Pt. Shyamsundar)

8. Mitti Se Khelate Ho – Patita (Jaikishan)

9. Kaare Badara Tu Na Ja – Shikast (Shankar Jaikishan)

10. Aja Re Pardesi – Madhumati (Salil Chowdhury)

Chitragupta (Music Director)

Chitragupta

1. Dhire Se Aaja Ri – Albela (C. Ramchandra)

2. Kaare Kaare Baadara – Bhabhi (Chitragupta)

3. Tum Kya Jaano – Shin Shina Ki Bublabu (C. Ramchandra)

4. Tadpaoge, Tadapa Lo – Barakha (Chitragupta)

5. Rasik Balama – Chori Chori (Shanker Jaikishan)

6. Rang Dil Ki Dhadakan – Patang (Chitragupta)

7. Aja Re Pardesi – Madhumati (Salil Chowdhury)

8. Muskurao Ke Ji Nahi Lagata – Kangan (Chitragupta)

9. Sansaar Se Bhage Firate Ho – Chitralekha (Roshan)

10. Hae Re Tere Chanchal – Unche Log (Chitragupta)

Anil Biswas (Music Director)

Anil Biswas

1. Tumhare Bulane Ko – Ladli

2. Badali Teri Nazar – Badi Bahu

3. Aankhon Me Chitt Chor Samae – Mehmaan

4. Man Me Kisi Ki – Aaram

5. Mere Pyar Me – Maan

6. Allah Bhi Hai – Maan

7. Beimaan Tore Nainva – Tarana

8. Ik Pal Ruk Jana – Rahi

9. Ruth Ke Tumto – Jalati Nishani

10. Ja Mai Tose – Sautela Bhai

Note :- Anil Biswas gave Top 10 list of songs composed by himself.

Nalini Jaywant (Actress)

Nalini Jaywant

1. Dekho Ji Mora – Naubahar (Roshan)

2. Yaad Rakhana – Anokha Pyar (Anil Biswas)

3. Zil Mil Sitaron – Naaz (Anil Biswas)

4. Wo Paas Aa Rahe Hain – Samadhhi (C. Ramchandra)

5. Jivan Ke Safar Me – Munimjee (S.D. Burman)

6. Thandi Hawaen – Naujawan (S.D. Burman)

7. Hai Kahin Par – Aandhiyan (Ust. Ali Akbar Khan)

8. Chal Diya – Fifty Fifty (Madan Mohan)

9. Mushkil Hai Bahut – Mahal (Khem Chand Prakash)

10. Missing

Kamini Kaushal (Actress)

Kamini Kaushal

1. Chanda Re – Ziddi (Khem Chand Prakash)

2. Chanda Ki Chandani – Punam (Shankar)

3. Ye Raat Ye Chandani – Jaal (S.D. Burman)

4. Uthae Ja Unke Sitam – Andaz (Naushad)

5. Mohe Bhul Gae – Baiju Bawara (Naushad)

6. Mera Dil Ye Pukare – Naagin (Hemant Kumar)

7. Tum Na Jane – Sazaa (S.D. Burman)

8. Thandi Hawaen – Naujawan (S.D. Burman)

9. Chhed Gayo Mohe – Zanzar (C. Ramchandra)

10. Missing

Manna Dey (Singer)

Manna Dey

1. Khwab Me Koi – Razia Sultan (Khaiyyam)

2. Aaj Phir Jine – Guide (S.D. Burman)

3. Naina Barase – Woh Kaun Thi (Madan Mohan)

4. Rahen Na Rahen Ham – Mamata (Roshan)

5. Ai Dilruba – Rustam Sohraab (Sajjad Hussain)

6. Allah Tero – Ham Dono (Jaidev)

7. Rasik Balama – Chori Chori (Jaikishan)

8. Dhire Se Aja – Albela (C. Ramchandra)

9. Hae Re Wo Din – Anuradha (Pt. Ravishankar)

10. Ishwar Satya Hai – Satyam Shivam Sundaram (Laxmikant Pyarelal)

Meena Kapoor (Singer)

Meena Kapoor

1. Allah Tero Naam – Ham Dono (Jaidev)

2. Jyoti Kalash – Bhabhi Ki Chidiyan (Sudhir Phadake)

3. Jeevan Dor Tum Hi Sang – Sati Savitri (Laxmikant Pyarelal)

4. Piya Tose Naina – Guide (S.D. Burman)

5. Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega – Mera Saya (Madan Mohan)

6. Tum Kahan Ho – Naaz (Anil Biswas)

7. Na Koi Umang Hai – Kati Patang (R.D. Burman)

8. Kahin Dip Jale – Bis Sal Baad (Hemant Kumar)

9. Kaise Din Bite – Anuradha (Pt. Ravishankar)

10. Jo Tum Chhodo Piya – Zanak Zanak Payal Baje (Vasant Desai)

Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar

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Lata Mangeshkar when she was a little kid

Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar: born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, on 28 September 1929 (not 1928 as noted in the Guinness Book of World Records).

Classical background acquired from singing and trainingwith her father, stage celebrity Dinanath Mangeshkar.

Following the early death of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, the eldest daughter Lata came to be placed by her father’s friend, pioneer film-maker Master Winayak, under the musical care of Ustad Aman Ali Bhendibazarwale. After that, Lata came under the training wing of Ustad Amanat Khan Dewaswale and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a disciple of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

Inspired greatly in her early years by legendary singing stars `Malka-e-Tarannum’ Noorjehan and Kundan Lal Saigal. Lata sang K L Saigal in her path-break­ing album, `Shraddhanjali. (Tribute).

Her first song as a playback performer was in the 1942 Marathi film, `Kiti Hasaal’, but the number, Naachu ya gade khelu saari mani haus bhaari, composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar, could not, for some reason, find a place in the film. It is this song rendered for the 1942 `Kiti Hasaal’ that Lata reckons as her starting playback point to have completed 50 years as a singer in 1992.

Acted in the Marathi films `Pahili Mangalagaur’ (1942), `Chimukla Sansar’ (1943), ‘Maze Bal’ (1943), `Gajabhau’ (1944) and `Chhatrapati Shivaji’ (1952).

Acted in the Hindustani cinema version, too, of ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji’ (1952), and also in `Badi Maa’ (1945), `Jeewan Yaatra’ (1946), `Subhadra’ (1946) and `Mandir’ (1948).

Under her own name of Lata Mangeshkar, composed the music of the Marathi film ‘Ram Ram Pahune’ (1950). Then, under the pseudonym of `Anandghan’, was the music direc­tor of four more Marathi films: `Mohityanchi Manjula’ (1963), `Maratha Tituka Melawawa’ (1964), `Sadhi Mansen’ (1965) and `Tambdi Mati’ (1969).

Her favourite song-writers: Pandit Narendra Sharma, Neeraj, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Naqsh Lyalpuri. Influenced on the literary side by Pandit Narendra Sharma and Majrooh Sultanpuri, acquiring the finer points of Hindi and Urdu from them.

Produced in 1953 the Marathi film `Wadal’ and, in 1988, the Hindi film `Lekin’. Winner of four Filmfare Best Playback Singer Awards (1958, 1962, 1965 and 1969) after which she renounced this honor stating that it “be directed to some other female singers who need timely encouragement more than I do now”.

Declared `Asthana Vidvan’ (one entitled to perform in the sanctum sanctorum) by the trust of Balaji Mandir.

Had, starting 1984, an award named after her by the Gov­ernment of Madhya Pradesh (she was born in the city of Indore in that state). The award is called the Lata Mangeshkar Puraskar and has been conferred upon some of her mentors and contempo­raries: Anil Biswas and Naushad Ali, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar, Khayyam and Jaidev, upon her own sis­ter Asha Bhosle too. The only musician to refuse the award: O.P. Nayyar. The award carries with it Rs 100,000 tax free.

Late in 1986, India Today conducted an opinion poll in which it invited (12,800) readers to nominate the person who, in their opinion, most deserved to get the Padma Vibhushan for achievements in art and culture — and to rank seven others in order of preference. The poll came up with the following ranking:

1. Lata Mangeshkar

2. M F Husain

3. R K Narayan

4. Bhimsen Joshi

5. Raj Kapoor

6. Amitabh Bachchan

7. Pupul Jayakar

8. Mrinalini Sarabhai

“The only consensus of opinion was on Lata Mangeshkar, who was unanimously ranked first all along the poll sampling: North or South, East or West, male or female, students or those over the age of 60.” – Raju Bharatan

Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar

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Lata Mangeshkar

The doyen of playback singing in Indian cinema, Lata Mangeshkar’s songs have captured the hearts and imagination of millions around the world. In a career spanning five decades she has sung thousands of songs in several languages. Her voice is a soprano over three-octave.

Born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Lata Mangeshkar is eldest of the five siblings, namely. Asha Bhosle, Meena Khadikar, Usha Mangeshkar, and Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Her father, noted singer and stage actor Dinanath Mangeshkar, was her first teacher. After his demise, in 1942, she began working.

Lata Mangeshkar started her career as a child actress; she was 13 years of age. Her playback singing debut came in Vasant Joglekar’s Aap Ki Sewa Mein, in 1947. At a time when such singers as Shamshad Begum and Noorjehan ruled, she slowly made her presence felt with films such as Majboor and Mahal, for which she rendered the unforgettable Aaega, aane wala. After the Indo-China War, in 1962, her rendering of the song Ae mere watan ke logon, a song written by Kavi Pradeep, moved the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to tears.

Lata Mangeshkar has lent her voice to heroines from Meena Kumari to Madhuri Dixit. She surprised even her fans with the range of her singing when, at the age of 70, she sang Jiya jale for the film Dil Se, which was a huge hit and was recorded in just 40 minutes. She has worked with almost all the leading music directors. She was at her best with musicians such as Naushad, C. Ramchandra, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan, and Shanker Jaikishen. Films like Abhimaan, Dastak, and Amrapali are among her most memorable work. In the 1990s, she came up with vintage winners in Lekin (which she also produced), Rudaali, and the immensely popular Hum Aapke Hai Koun. She has also composed for and produced many Marathi films.

Lata Mangeshkar received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989 and the Bharat Ratna in 2001 – (Source :- Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema)

A thoughtful and considerate father, Rafi made sure his family could live in comfort, long after him.

A compassionate human being Rafi recorded for small time composer Nissar Bazmi who had migrated to Pakistan, a song, for a token fee of Re.1.

Composer Laxmikant vouches ‘He would never ask what he was going to be paid for a song. Apart from waiving off payments, he even helped producers financially. He’d help out the needy. He always gave without thinking of the returns’.

Son Shahid recalls ‘If a producer was in a tight spot Abba wouldn’t accept any money from him. He was a God fearing man. He felt he was an instrument through whom God was singing… whenever he was extra busy he’d ask the producer to give the song to another singer’.

Deeply religious, when Rafi Saab was warned against singing, during a Haj pilgrimage, he practically gave up his career. Returning to it only at the insistence of his sons.

Every music lover will recall the dark years of Hindi playback when Rafi and Lata fell out over the issue of royalty. Perhaps the only time the gentle genius took a firm stand. Here was something that he believed went against his well ingrained value system. Lataji firmly believed that singers were entitled to royalty fees over and above the fee paid for recording. Rafi was of the opinion that a singer’s remunerative claims ended once he or she had been paid for recording a song.

Emotionally coaxed by some producers, the magnanimous Rafi had voluntarily chosen to forfeit all royalty claims. To Rafi, creating financial hardships for his producers was a far graver issue than his rightful claim on his art.

Both were right in their own way. After four years, the two finally called a truce, at the instance of Nargis, at a stage concert, to sing ‘Dil pukare’. Lataji confessed with her natural honesty that she had forfeited the privilege of singing with Rafi, only for a just cause. But then she continued ‘making up with such a honest and guileless person like Rafi Saab didn’t take too long’.

For the honest, principled Rafi life was not always smooth – sailing. With the changing trend of uni-dimensional heroes, the flash and flamboyance of the superstar cult, the complete artiste suffered. From subdued, sensitive vocals, tastes changed to a more open, more demonstrative but largely simplistic style. Characters became stereotypes. Actors became stars.

There was also Kishore Kumar whose star was in ascendance with the patronage he received from the Burmans. There was the coincidental eclipse in the fortunes of Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. At the peak of the Kishore wave in the seventies O.P. Nayyar was quoted as saying. ‘How I wish I had just one film in hand to settle all this nonsense, they’re talking about Rafi. Always remember one thing. That if there had been no Rafi, there would have been no Nayyar’.

But Rafi refused to assert himself. And for this lack of fighting spirit, his mentor Naushad chastised, him. `Is there any male singer today, who’s even a fraction as good as you are? You still have the ability to beat the daylights out of all of them’.

True it was but unfortunate. Rafi Saab did make an amazing comeback as the voice for the young Rishi but his reign was over. Perhaps it was for the best. The true Rafi devotee still remembers him as the voice of the both the intellectually complex Guru Dutt in Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and in the immortal Chaudhvin Ka Chand and of the crazy, prancing,gyrating, lovable Shammi Kapoor. Could such versatility have found true expression in the simplistic stories and portrayals of the seventies? Could such talent have been contained in the black and white persona of later times?

Rafi and only Rafi could have bridged the gap between the classical `Madhuban mein Radhika nache’ that he sang for the Thespian in Kohinoor and the breezy, street smart, cocky `Sar jo tera chakraye’ for comedian Johnny Walker in C.I.D.

Who else but Rafi, can transcend age, culture and religious barriers, override genre and form and sing practically every kind of music known to man?

That he strode the film music scene as a colossus for two decades, leaving behind a legacy of more than 5,000 songs, is what every music lover is grateful for.

In these difficult and hard times, these are songs to live and love by. As Naushad Saab proclaims.Tu hi tha pyar ka ek saaz / Nafrat ki is duniya mein / Ganimat thi teri awaz / Nafrat ki is duniya mein’ – Subhash K. Jha

The fact that Rafi was so immensely versatile and that he could take on the personality of the hero on whom the song was picturised, is mentioned by Jagjit Singh. Jagjit mentions, ‘Every time you hear a Rafi song, you see the hero, you can vividly put in place the situation and correctly assess the mood. That Rafi is singing is probably just taken for granted.’

How else can one explain how the sober, conservative Rafi could articulate the mad, unrestrained youthfulness of Shammi Kapoor. Here was a voice, a style that captured the imagination of a whole generation. Here was a talent steeped in classical learning, that could move young hearts in a beaty, rock ‘n’ roll member. Remember `Tally ho’ from China Town or ‘O Haseena zulfon wali’ or ‘Aaja Aaja main hoon pyar tera’.

Shammi Kapoor has openly acknowledged his debt to Rafi for creating his image as the Yahoo star. There’s the loud flashy ‘Yahoo’ from Junglee composed by the enduring Shankar Jaikishan that became the buzzword of a whole generation. Yahoo stood for rebellion, non­comformity, and absolutely unfettered, voluble love.

Bharat Bhushan’s success as the classical hero, could only be wrought by Mohd. Rafi. Every one of the songs from Baiju Bawra could only have been sung by the Virtuoso – Mohd. Rafi, ‘There’s the peppy `Tu ganga ki mauj’ the enduring bhajan ‘O duniya ke rakhwale’ and of course the moving `Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj’. Again the images of the musically passionate, `Bawra’ Baiju come to mind. His enormous devotion, his phenomenal talent. And of course, only Rafi could have articulated `Baiju’s’ passion. When Bharat Bhushan made his move to Muslim socials, Rafi sang the still hummed ‘Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi, woh barsaat ki raat’. And you picture the sensitive poet-lover completely besotted by the stunning Madhubala, on a romantic, rainy night.

Even for the Thespian Dilip Kumar, Rafi created magic with his voice. This multi dimensional hero’s enormous talent found a befitting vehicle in Rafi’s vocals. There’s Dilip Kumar calling back the condemned Nimmi in the Shangri – la like film ‘Uran Khatola’. The brooding, broken lover in the haunting Madhumati song `Toote huye khwabon ne’ and of course the frisky, energetic rustic lad in `Nain lad jaihen to manava maa kasak hoi bekari’. The confirmed teetotaller Rafi articulates the betrayed trust of the Thespian drowning his sorrows in `Koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin’ and in ‘Mujhe duniyawalon sharaabi na samjho’

Rafi had the amazing ability to completely efface himself and blend his voice into the character that was portrayed onscreen. When the Thespian flirted gently in Leader with ‘Teri husn ki kya taarif karoon’, mischief sparkles in every note.

Jubilee Rajendra Kumar was literally made by Rafi. All those old world songs, steeped in courtly romance and elegant Urdu poetry from ‘Mere Mehboob’ were gems created by the Naushad – Rafi team. The yearning ‘Mere Mehboob’ the paean to love ‘Aye husn zara jaag’. Quivering songs of restrained passion that the natty Rajendra Kumar lip synched for, in his fez and sherwani. As one listens, the door opens, to a gentleman Nawabi lifestyle – full of adab and tehzeeb. And there’s the other face of Rajendra Kumar, the `ganwar’ poet in Geet - ‘Mere mitwa mere meet re’.

Dev Anand’s films were always known for their wonderful music. And the debonair Dev’s voice in early films was The Virtuoso. Whether it’s the gently romantic ‘Abhi na jao’ from Hum Dono composed by Jaidev, the brooding ‘Din Dhal Jaye’ from Guide or that precursor to Sapnon Ki Rani – ‘JiyaO jiya O jiya kuch bol do’ from Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai. Every shade of the Indian Gregory peck has been given voice to by Rafi. Again the marriage between the hero’s persona and the singer is complete and perfect.

The early Jeetendra hit from `Geet gaga pathron ne’ Shashi Baba’s `Ni sultana re’ and ‘Pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana’, the early Dharmendra songs ‘Gar tum bhula na doge’ ‘Chalkayen jaam’, the later ‘Main jat yamla pagla deewana’ – all belonged to one voice – Mohammed Rafi. Right down to Rishi Kapoor in Sargam, Karz and Hum Kisi Se Kum Naheen.

Such was Rafi’s supremacy over the playback kingdom that in his heyday he sang for two songs filmed on the actor – singer Kishore Kumar – ‘Man mora baawra’ from Raagini composed by O.P. Nayyar and `Ajab hai yeh dastaan teri ae zindagi’ in Sharaarat composed by Shankar Jaikishan.

Teetotaller Rafi, under Sachin Da’s baton is the smitten, intoxicated lover in ‘Hum bekhudi mein tum ko pukare chale gage’, which he renders with absolute conviction and is the restrained, gentleman lover in `Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar’.

S.D. and Rafi wrought mega hits like Naushad and Rafi. Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool, and Navketan’s Guide, Kala Bazar, Tere Ghar Ke Samne. For Guide it is said Burman da insisted on the vocals of Rafi, though by that time, Kishore Kumar had practically become the singing voice of Dev Anand. And what a landmark score that decision produced.

Ghazal Badshah Madan Mohan probably found the perfect male voice in Rafi. That wonderfully memorable Ghazal from Chirag `Teri aankhon ke siva, duniya mein rakha kya hai’ could only have been composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Rafi and even that heartrending song of despair and frustration sung by the desperate Ranjha ‘Yeh duniya, yeh mehfil’.

Madan Mohan was also responsible for resurrecting Rafi Saab’s career. At a time when Kishore Kumar was the most sought after playback artiste, Madan Mohan insisted on Rafi’s vocals for Laila Majnu. The songs `Tere dar pe aaya hoon’ and `Barbad-e-Mohabbat ki dua’ went on to become huge hits, wiping out the stigma of non-success on Rafi Saab’s impeccable career – graph.

Laxmikant Pyarelal will always remember Mohd. Rafi with affection and sadness. After recording his last song for Aas Paas composed by them. Rafi Saab said ‘Main chaloon?’. The surprised L – P didn’t reply because Rafi had never said this before. Again before leaving he said ‘To main chalta boon’. He passed away that evening on July 31, 1981 at 7.30 p.m. after a massive heart attack. Some premonition of his impending end had perhaps prompted the sensitive Rafi to speak so.

Rafi Saab was special to L – P. Dosti had proved to be a turning point in their career. And the song `Chahoonga main tujhe’ had won Rafi Saab a Filmfare award and Laxmi – Pyare an award for the score. Other awards including the Padmashri followed but to Rafi, this award was special. The song had been originally written and composed for Laxmikant Pyarelal’s mentor and godmother Lata Mangeshkar. When they were informed that Rafi Saab would be singing it, they were more than alarmed. However Rafi won them over with his enthusiasm and dedication.

Once Mohd. Raft recorded as many as six songs for Laxmikant Pyarelal in one day. That too without the dubbing techniques that are used today. Laxmikant also reveals that Rafi Saab always spared time to record L – P’s songs even if he had four other recordings on the same day.

O.P. Nayyar, along with Asha Bhosle and Mohd. Rafi created the hummable tunes of the late fifties and early sixties. O.P. Nayyar’s compositions, in Rafi’s voice were used to delineate the young, rebellious Shammi Kapoor’s image. There’s the soft, ebullient ‘Jawaniyan yeh mast mast’ from Tumsa Nahin Dekha and the jumpy, `Taarif karoon kya uski’ from Kashmir Ki Kali.

O.P. Nayyar and Rafi created many other lovable hits. There’s `Aaanchal mein sajaa lena kaliyan’ from Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon which had Ustad Amir Khan marvelling at the musically unlettered Nayyar’s prowess. And then Anjaan‘s immortal ode to love in `Aap ke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai’. Even R.D. Burman, largely responsible for promoting Kishore Kumar, used Rafi in his hugely successful Teesri Manzil where Shammi Kapoor wowed an entire nation with his antics. Ironically it was R.D’s rise to fame and patronage of Kishore that eclipsed Rafi Saab’s own career.

One thing that cannot be denied is Rafi’s huge contribution to the success of a whole host of heroes, included among them, Thespian Dilip Kumar, Jubilee Hero Rajendra Kumar, Evergreen Dev, Junglee Shammi, Tragic Bharat Bhushan.

The genial genius of Hindi playback – a kind, generous, considerate and thoughtful human being was Rafi saab. A shining example who has lit the way, blazed the trail for numerous admiring aspirants, from Mahendra Kapoor, to Anwar, Shabbir Kumar, Mohd. Aziz right down Sonu Nigam.

It’s this amazing humility that Lata Mangeshkar speaks of by mentioning `A man of unassuming temperament, Rafi Saab was very melodious. It’s my good fortune that I sang the maximum number of duets with him. He sang every kind of song so brilliantly that even those listeners not very conversant with music, would spontaneously break into appreciative wahs – wahs. Singers like Rafi Saab aren’t born everyday’.

Mohammed Rafi came from a family where humility was equated with worshipping the divine. A disciplinarian father disapproved of Rafi’s abiding passion in music but nothing could tie Rafi Saab down. When he moved to Lahore at the age of 14, from Kotta Sultan Singh village where he was born in 1924, on December 4, Rafi learnt music from classical stalwarts like Ghulam Ali Khan.

The first song that Rafi Saab sang was in Punjabi for the film Gul Baloch, a duet with Zeenat Begum `Soniye ni heeriye ni’. Composer Feroze Nizami spotted the young singer’s potential and found him a job at Radio Lahore. Feroze Nizami also composed Rafi’s first major hit `Yahan badla wafa ka’. And also in Amar Raj, where producer J.B. Wadia was so taken up with Rafi’s voice that he went looking for Rafi, because he wanted none other to sing his song.

Composers have always shared a warm rapport with the Virtuoso. Shyam Sunder who composed Rafi’s first song in Gul Baloch, gave the 25 year old aspirant as many as seven songs in the film Bazaar.

And then came the composer, largely responsible for showcasing and presenting Rafi’s awesome repertoire – Naushad Saab. Rafi’s first song for the composer was `Hindustan ke hum ham hindustan hamara’ for the film Pehle Aap in 1944.

Prophetic lyrics, for soon enough Mohd. Rafi became the voice of Hindustan, expressing the hopes and dreams, wishes and anxieties of a young nation in songs created by Naushad. In 1946, songs in Anmol Ghadi laid the bedrock for a long and enriching relationship between Rafi and Naushad.

Perhaps Rafi’s own disciplined and principled life, was responsible for Naushad promoting Rafi. Angered with Talat Mahmood, whom he found smoking during a recording, the perfectionist composer, hired Rafi on a whim and decided that he would sing all the songs of Baiju Bawra. Rafi’s gentle nature, non-smoking, teetotaller habits, his devotion to his religion and family, were perhaps in more than one way responsible for his huge success.

Naushad Saab’s pays warm and effusive tribute to Rafi by saying ‘Teri awaaz ki shabnam se dhul jati thi gham sare’. For he believed that Rafi’s voice reflected the beauties of life, and it would live through centuries as long as music lived. Naushad placed Optimum faith in young Rafi, when he was struggling to establish himself as a playback singer. Rafi started his career by imitating G.M. Durrani, the reigning male singer despite glaring differences in their respective personalities. Naushad Saab himself favored Durrani’s voice in the forties. One of the earliest songs Rafi sang for Naushad was the duet `Dildaar ki aisi taisi’ for the film Village Girl – with the then formidable G.M. Durrani.

Then came the Fifties and Naushad would compose for no other male artiste but Rafi. So much so that a few prominent singers of the time who went on to become famous in their own right, resented Naushad’s complete patronage of the young Rafi.

It is of course to the maestro’s credit that he with his keen ear recognized genius as soon as he heard Rafi. Together Naushad and Rafi rewrote the rules of film music, introducing a solid classical base in popular music.

Hemant Kumar

An unflinching idealist, fiercely committed to bettering his score rather than quantifying his body of work. Hemant Kumar never thrust his vocals on any song. He could have insisted on singing each and every male number that he composed. After all Hemant Kumar was always a name to ‘record’ with! But he chose Kishore Kumar to vocalize the resplendent nostalgia of Woh sham kuch ajeeb thi in Khamoshi while Hemantda stayed in the background for Dharmendra) with Tum pukar lo.

This was typical of Hemantda, Never an attention-seeker either in real life or his musical output, he always wanted his songs to speak for him. Competition never daunted him. In the 50s when Bengal’s matinee idol Uttam Kumar insisted only on Hemant Kumar’s playback, the singer convinced the superstar that Bhupen Hazarika was just right for a particular song in a big budget melodrama. Likewise in Mumbai Hemantda was accepted as Biswajeet’s ghost-voice after the chartbusters in Bees Saal Baad and Kohraa. Still the composer got Mohd. Rafi to duet with the unusual voice of Aarti Mukherjee in the coltish Saara mora kajra, in the film Do Dil, starring Biswajeet.

There were no shortcuts for Hemant Kumar. He couldn’t make creative compromises even if he wanted to because he didn’t know how. His forte was simplicity and honesty of expression. He never cluttered his compositions with orchestral flourishes to camouflage their inherent weaknesses because there weren’t any to begin with.

As a singer Hemant Kumar embodied the search and discovery of perfection through songs like Yaad kiya dilne kahan ho tum, Rulakar chal diye, Log pite hain and Jab se mili tose ankhiyan. Every composition was sung in a style so different and unique that they became cornerstones of subtle romanticism.

Hemant Kumar Mukherjee sang and composed in perfect harmony. To him music was a platform for sincere self expression rather than an occasion to show off or exhibit his knowledge of the nuances of musical styles. A deeply knowledgeable musician erudition sat lightly on Hemantda’s shoulders. For him skill was superseded by accessibility. He forever wanted to reach out to listeners with tunes that they could share. Hemantda sang and composed for listeners from a plane of expression where he was one of the masses. To do this he never had to lower his standards or dilute his talents. Success came naturally to him in whatever he sang or tuned.

The last song that Hemantda sang in Hindi was Aaja mere pyar aaja for R.D.Burman in a comedy called Heeralal Pannalal in 1978. It was a befitting finale to an illustrious but never cheaply flamboyant career. Exactly twenty-five years prior to Aaja mere pyar for R.D. Burman Hemantda had sung his way into singing superstardom for RD’s father S.D. Burman in Jaal.

A success in whatever he tried–singing and composing in Hindi or Bengali–Hemant Kumar was a far more talented versatile and skilled musician than we can ever imagine. When we listen to Hemantda singing Chandan ka palna with Lataji or composing an enigmatically enriched  tune like Hawaaon pe likhdo for Kishore Kumar we are forced to conclude that in order to be a brilliant creative artiste one must first be a good human being – Subhash K Jha

Hemant Kumar

But it was as a singer that Hemant Kumar obtained an unique berth in the hall of fame. Like Anup Jaiota says, Hemantda’s voice conveyed both the depth of the ocean and the heights of the skies. It is a voice that communicates a profound romance. It is the voice of experienced articulation rather than eager romance. In songs like Main garibon ka dil hoon watan ki zubaan and Hai apna dil to awaara, Hemantda’s seriously reflective vocals soar to the heavens in search of the most exquisite answers to the riddle of life. He was both the riddle and the solution, the singer and the song simultaneously typifying the given experience in a song as well the universal truths underlining the specific song.

Today as we look back on the profound career graph of this expressive singer composer we encounter a never-ending terrain of beauty and harmony helmed by a man who could sing like an angel because he came close to being one in real life.

Hemantda’s career as a singer began in his teens when he sang on radio. In 1937 he recorded his first Bengali songs Janine janite jadi and Balogo more. He began training as a Rabindra Songeet singer under the well‑known practitioner of the style Aanadi Dastidar. Early vocal influences of Pankaj Mullick soon gave way to his own distinctive style.

So pervasive was the `Ilemant Kumar style’ in Bengali films and such was his indomitable powers as a vocalist that all the vocalists in Bengal who followed him modelled their vocals on the singing style of Hemantda.

His compositions in Bengali films like Bhulai Naai and ’42 in the 40′s pioneered a neoclassical movement in Bengali popular music. Hemantda kept opening new frontiers in Bengali cinema with his singing in the 50s. As a composer he shifted base to the mecca of national popularity (Mumbai) where he made an instant impact with the everlasting patriotic strains of Vande mataram in Anand Math. As a singer in Mumbai, Hemantda became a voice to `record’ with in 1952 when he sang Yeh raat yeh chandni phir Kahan in the thriller Jaal for the debonair Dev Anand. Though Dev Anand preferred the voice of Kishore Kumar he still regards the acutely romantic Yeh raat (filmed by Guru Dutt among the fishing nets of a Goan beach) as a favorite.

The association with Guru Dutt continued. In 1957 Hemantda sang one of his career’s best solos Jaane woh kaise log for Guru Dutt in Pyaasa. Songs like these branded Hemantda as the melancholic romantic. However there was a lighter equally persuasive side to Hemantda’s vocals tapped in flirtatious evergreens like Zaraa nazro se keh do jee nishana chuk na jaya and Dil ki umangein the duet with Geeta Hutt, which joyfully exemplifies the vocal genius of Hemant Kumar.

The singer’s special status as a composer-singer hasn’t gone unnoticed by musicologists who have recorded Hemantda’s ability to impart minute details into his renditions. Hemantda’s colleagues like Sachin Dev Burman from Bengal and C.Ramchandra from Maharashtra liked to sing their compositions. But only Hemant Kumar could make an equally successful career as a singer and composer.

It’s hard to say which of the two capacities provided Hemantda with maximum satisfaction. If he excelled as a composer in the Kohraa charmer Yeh nayan dare dare did he fare any lower on the scale of excellence as a singer in the same song? On two songs – Oh zindagi ke denewale and Tere dwar khadaa ek jogi from Nagin. Hemantda could assume two disparate personas of the heartbroken lover and the singing mendicant.

The booming baritone that Uttam Kumar refused to part with no matter what the occasion, communicated the distinct flavour of middle-class romanticism. Hemantda’s vocals were seasoned in the ovigerous vinegar of life’s most precious experiences. The vocalist could express these experiences with an honest and tuneful transparency. He didn’t believe in vocal jugglery, nor did he attempt to sound greater than the sum-total of the composition.

The abiding appeal of Hemant Kumar’s songs is attributable to his expression of the common man’s desires with uncommon genuineness. While Kishore Kumar and Mohd Raft’s vocals represent velvety romance, Hemant Kumar’s chosen thread of expression is cotton– homespun,natural, comfortable subtle and very middle-class in its appeal.

Hemantda was a traditionalist as well as an innovator. If he brought the strains of the Rabindra Sangeet to Hindi music he also introduced electronic music into Hindi cinema through Man dole in Nagin. So popular was the music in Nagin and such was the singer-composer’s sway in the charts that Vyjanthimala was catapulted to instant stardom singing Man dole. To this day the orchestra plays Man dole each time thedancing actress enters a restaurant or a public function.

An unassuming beauty characterized Hemantda’s melody -motivated compositions. Heroines loved the chance to lip-sync Hemantda’s tunes. Did Vyjanthimala ever look more captivating than she did in Nagin’s Man dole? Waheeda Rehman and Sharmila Tagore were infinitely beautified through Hemantda’s O beqaraar dil and Kuch dil ne Kaha in Kohraa and Anupama, respectively.

If as a composer Hemantda elevated feminine beauty to poetic heights as a singer he qualified the subtly rugged side of screen heroism. His songs for Dev Anand ( Yeh raat yeh chandni, Dil hi umangein, Aaya toofan, Teri duniya mein jeene se ), Biswajeet (Beqaraar karke humein, Zaraa nazron se keh do jee, Raah bani khud manzil ) and Dharmendra (Ya dil ki suno, Tum pukar lo) lent a supple poetic romanticism to the image of the actors without interfering with their rugged he-man images.