Cineplot Music

Talat Mahmood – Lata Mangeshkar Duets

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Back to Legends – Talat Mahmood | Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar
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Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar

Talat Mahmood on Lata

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, the youngest captain of the Indian cricket team, at twenty-one(left), visiting the recording studio, Famous in Tardeo where Madan Mohan, Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mahmood (extreme right) were recording songs for Duniya Na Mane (1959).

I first met Lataji around 1950. I happened to arrive in Bombay from Calcutta. And I was already fairly well known and had heard her name too. I liked her singing. In 1950, there was talk of us singing a duet `Shikwa tera main gaoon’ in a film called Anmol Ratan. As far as I can remember, I met her for the first time during the song rehearsal. That song remains one of my favorites — it has wonderful singing. Truly, she adds so much feeling. She knows Urdu very well and is a superb performer. In India, there is no other singer as good as her.

Another memorable song is `Seene mein sulagte hain armaan’ from the 1951 film Tarana. When I sang the duet, I was very new in the field and the film’s composer, Anil Biswas, was a famous man. He did not know whether I could sing well, and with great difficulty managed to persuade the producer to give me a chance. For a new singer that’s the usual problem: convincing the producer. The first song I recorded for Tarana was `Jali jo shaakh-e-chaman.’ On that same day, we also planned to record `Seene mein sulagte hain armaan.’ I liked the song very much because it had excellent lyrics by Prem Dhawan. Anil Biswas’s tune was wonderful and the duet became extremely popular. And whenever I give concerts, I sing it as a solo. It’s a very expressive song.

Lataji’s voice worked well with mine. We both knew each other so well. We had rehearsed a lot together and knew each other’s temperament. So when we recorded a duet, it sounded as though it were composed for us. Adding your own expression to a song gives the song feeling. In this respect, Lataji is a fine artist — she helps a lot. She puts so much expression in her singing, and that helps me too.

When Lataji attends a public event, people are astounded to see how simple and modest she is. When they hear her beautiful voice, they imagine she is a glamorous woman and when they see her, they are struck by her humility. How can it be? I too was taken aback when I met her for the first time. I imagined her to be an extroverted, showy lady. But the most beautiful thing about her is her simplicity and sweetness. Through that simplicity she makes her songs more beautiful.

She has not changed at all since we first met in 1950 while recording `Shikwa tera main gaoon,’ till the last song we sang together in the 1964 film Jahanara which was ‘Aye sanam aaj ye kasam khaayen.’ I haven’t seen any change in her. Whenever we meet, Lataji greets me with great respect and speaks very warmly to me. I have said enough. Now I will hum a little, if it can help. I usually never sing without an orchestra backing me, but I’ll sing a verse:

Seene mein sulagte hain armaan

Ankhon mein udaasi chhaayi hai

Ye aaj teri duniya se humen

Taqdeer kahan le aayi hai

Seene mein sulagte hain armaan

Desires burn in my heart

Sorrow fills my eyes

Away from you, where has fate led me?

Desires burn in my heart

Lata on Talat Mahmood

Nasreen Munni Kabir: Another singer who had such individuality was Talat Mahmood. He started singing professionally at the age of 16, moving from Lucknow to Calcutta and finally settling in Bombay in 1949. He had such a soft and melodious voice. Did you like his singing?

Lata Mangeshkar: Yes, I did. It had a soft tone. He had excellent diction and intonation. I first met him at Anil Biswas’s place where he spent much time. I can’t recall the first duet I sang with Talat Sahib but there were many.

Before Talat Mahmood entered films, he sang ghazals by Daag, Mir and Jigar on All India Radio. His ghazals were very popular and he was well known. I particularly liked his `Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi.’ It was a non-film ghazal by Faiyaz Hashmi. Thanks to the radio, both Talat Mahmood and Hemant Kumar became famous.

Talat – Lata Duets

Talat and Lata sang approximately 67 duets together in Hindi Films. Details are provided below :-

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