Latadi has sung for a wide spectrum of heroines over several decades now – for some she sang in the first film itself. Others were not as lucky. In fact, many names that later became synonymous with Lataji’s voice didnt have her singing for them – for example, Rekha (Saawan Bhadon) and Jaya Bhaduri (though she got Lata’s voice in a back-door way, since she lipsync-ed Madhumati’s song Aaja re pardesi in Guddi). Even from the older lot – like Asha Parekh and Sharmila Tagore – didnt have Latadi singing for their adult/Hindi debuts!

Here is a brief list on some debuts which I recall (in no specific order) – these are mostly post-seventies as my film knowledge is a bit stronger from that era onwards.

Jiya jale – Priety Zinta – Dil Se – This song fascinates me on each hearing. I have heard it a thousand times and every time it is like a fresh one. From the whispered opening to the cascade of alaps in the end, it is a mind-boggling array of vocal virtuosity.

Tu mere aage mai tere peechhe – Saba – I Love You – A forgotten 1991-2 film that couldn t sustain itself beyond the first week at the box office. Views on the songs are always mixed. However, I surely like Raamlaxman’s brisk score. All female songs were by Latadi which included Tu mere aage, Kaash koi likhe, Sunday ko bulaaya and Dil kho gayakya ho gaya. As a heroine, Saba was a sad recipient of Lataji‘s luminous voice. Unfortunately, the album was released on Sterling audio, which no longer exists. And my cassette piece on the verge of dying!

Gapuchi gapuchi gam gam – Poonam Dhillon – Trishul – A cherubic Poonam Dhillon pranced to Lataji‘s endearingly cute voice, set to foot tapping music by Khayyam (quite unlike his trademark style, this one!). As an actor, Poonam was zilch; but she sure had a strong screen presence, an appealing prettiness and immense star value which made her popular. Her full-fledged heroine role was in Noorie, which also had Latadi’s elegant numbers Aaja re and Chori chori koi aaye.

Ja ja mere bachpan / Ehsaan tera hoga, etc – Saira Banu – Junglee – Saira Banu’s peaches-and-cream stunning looks with Latadidi‘s honey-and-milk melodic voice were a lethal combination. The Beauty and the Best met together to create a cinematic debut history.

Jhilmil sitaron ka aangan hoga – Raakhee -Jeevan Mrityu – Laxmikant-Pyarelal‘s towering duet (Lata-Rafi) was the mainstay of this Raakhee-Dharam starrer, produced by the ever dependable Rajshri Productions banner. The song has any lover’s dream lyrics sung with malodorous and melodious finesse by Latadidi and Rafisaab.

Khelo na mere dil se / Zara si aahat hoti hai – Priya Rajvansh – Haqeeqat – You just can t get any lucky than her. With her talent (or rather, the lack of it), she was blessed to get such lovely songs. It is painful to see one after the other brilliant Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar combination songs sacrificed on her deadpan expression! Both these Haqeeqat classics are well known. My personal favorite is ‘Khelo na mere dil se’ wherein Latadi sounds very different – difficult to describe but it’s like a wrapped up rose, and one by one the petals open up as the song progresses.

Mujhe kuchh kahna hai / Jhooth bole kauwa kaate, etc – Dimple Kapadia – Bobby – Another film that needs no mention. Moreover, Latadidi sounded like a dream when she sang on a nervous and nubile Dimple Kapadia. The ‘aah‘in between ‘mujhe kuchh kahna’ is breathtaking, indeed!

Koi pathhar se na maare / Iss reshmi paajeb ki jhankaar, etc – Ranjeeta – Laila Majnu – Ranjita looked achingly attractive in this star-crossed romance. And Lata’s fiery singing of Koi pathhar se na maare mere deewane ko , added fire to Ranjita’s golden aura – making the entire sequence absolutely resplendent.

Jab hum jawaan honge / Baadal yun garajta hai / Apne dil se badi dushmani thi – Amrita Singh – Betaab – A hefty Amrita with Lata’s delicate voice was a distinctive combination. The movie was a hit, and the songs very popular. While Jab hum jawan honge and Baadal yun garajta hai romanced the charts, the lesser known Apne dil se badi dushmani thi plucked the heartstrings. A fantastic score by the versatile R D Burman.

Baadal pe chalke aa, etc – Sonam – Vijay – For this, one has to permanently suspend disbelief. I mean, since Sonam has a voice that is a replica of her uncle Raza Murad’s, therefore, it’s a bit difficult to digest Latadi‘s melodious voice on her. In ‘Baadal pe chalke aa’ , Sonam wears a horrendous bright purple dress that had no design or purpose, except to reveal her cleavage and legs amply. A few years down the line, she was more soberly dressed , and looked appealing, when she proclaimed ‘Zindagi mein pahli pahli baar pyaar kiya hai’ in Lataji‘s harmonious voice in Mitti Aur Sona.

Rajnigandha phool tumhare mahke yunhi jeewan mein – Vidya Sinha – Rajnigandha – Not very sure, but I had read this was her debut film. At least http://www.imdb.com/ informs it is in her debut year. IIRC, the song was not lip-synced, and was used in the background. Still, if it is her debut film, I will grant this one ‘coz the number is firmly associated with her. The song on its own is fragrant and fabulous.

Suno ek baat bolein, humein tumse mohabbat hai / Tumhari palkon ki chilmanon mein – Swaroop Sampat – Nakhuda – This simple but hugely talented actor made a handsome debut in this middle-of-the-road Yashraj production. To complement the theme, and the heroine, Khayyam created some unpretentious and down-to-the-earth melodies. These two Lata-Nitin Mukesh duets were the best ones. Both are such that they immediately bring warm memories of a languid afternoon in a small town.

Bachhe mann ke sachhe – Neetu Singh – Do Kaliyan – Neetu starred as a roly-poly kid in this Parent Trap remake. Latadi modified her voice a lot to suit a kid. And ends up sounding enormously cute! Ravi’s excellent music included Lata-Rafi’s hummable duet ‘Tumhari nazar kyun khafa ho gayi’

Bansi baajegi, Radha naachegi / Teri yaad aati hai – Manisha Koirala – Saudagar – A dew-drop fresh Manisha made a blockbuster debut in this Subhash Ghai mega-drama. From the two Latadi numbers, ‘Teri yaad aati hai’ is absolutely and convincingly a greatly great song. That reverberating orchestra, with hugely evocative veena riffs that meet and part with the anguish of the separating lovers, the underlying chorus and Lata and Suresh Wadkar’s pain-lashed voices take the number to dizzying heights. The sargam/alaap at the end of the song is incredibly outstanding. One of the best scores from the illustrious duo Laxmikant Pyarelal in the twilight of their careers.

Kabhi tu chhalia lagta hai / Maut se kya darrna / Tumse jo dekhte hi , etc – Raveena Tandon – Pathhar Ke Phool – Ooooh, was I mad about these songs? There was no end to it…seriously! I had to buy this album thrice – as each one got corrupted due to overuse! Having Lata Mangeshkar to sing for all songs is nothing short of manna from heaven. And Raamlaxman’s tunes, orchestration, interludes et al were all superb. Another fine 1990-91 musical release with Latadi holding centre stage

Dil deewana bin sajna ke / Aaja shaam hone aayi / Kabootar jaa jaa , etc- Bhagyashree – Maine Pyar Kiya Rajshris, Raamlaxman, Salman Khan (after a flop, nonsensical and nebulous debut in Bahu Ho To Aisi) and Latadidi made a reverberating come-back (after her near-retirement, though her popularity never ever dipped one bit despite not singing much pre-MPK), which also heralded the return of melody to Hindi cinema. Bhagyashri s girl-next-door looks got her rave reviews, and Latadidi s voice matched her persona note by note.

Jinke aage ji, jinke peechhe ji…main unki saali hoon, woh mere jijaji – Kanchan – Sanam Bewafa – Again, http://www.imdb.com/ tells me that her debut was in the 1971 Seema (is this the Shankar Jaikishan one, which had the beautiful Rafisaab song Jab bhi dil udaas hota hai?). I guess that would be as a child star. Thus, Sanam Bewafa was her adult debut. This was the sole number given to her (where Chandni was the main heroine). It is quite a frothy song, though not very great. I like ‘Mujhe Allah ki kasam’ the best from this movie, followed by the title song.

Mai hoon khushrang Henna / Anaardaana /Chhittiye , etc – Zeba Bakhtiyar and Ashwini Bhave – Henna – I still recall how excited I was when one day I came back from college and my sister informed that she had heard the title song playing at some shop. I was sure the cassette was released and rushed to buy it. The listing itself gave me a thrill. Again, all songs by Lata Mangeshkar. Surely, it was a delight that knew no bounds. Sadly, now that happiness and joy seems to be irretrievably lost…sigh! Anyways, Henna’s music was quite good. My topmost fav numbers were the sad version of the title song and ‘Chhittiye‘ (which I suspect was a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan tune and not really Ravindra Jain). For long I would hum ‘Mai der karrta nahin der ho jaati hai’ whenever I reached late anywhere!

Painter Babu I Love you / O mere sajan barsaat mein aa , etc – Meenakshi Sheshadri – Painter Babu – If you hv read my blog’s post on ‘Kab talak shama jali’ it captures quite a lot on the film’s music overall as well. I am not very fond of the songs except for ‘Kab talak’ which is on Aruna Irani in any case. Meenakshi’s next release was Hero, which had two extremely fine songs – ‘Nindiya se jaagi bahaar aisa mausam dekha pahli baar’ (very refreshing, very soothing early morning number) and ‘Pyaar karne waale kabhi darrte nahi’ (very rebellious, very popular number)

Lo chali main apne devar ki baaraat lekar – Renuka Shahane – Hum Aapke Hain Koun – Renuka made an adorable but respectable bhabhi, and the song suited her to the T!

Kahan tha jo tumne kyun maine maana / Tumse jo kahungi woh karoge kya / Kaash mai piano hoti – Anita Ayub and Mink Singh – Pyar Ka Tarana – Errr, like all Dev Anand movies in recent times, I haven’t seen this one too. But I have it’s audio cassette. Music was by Raamlaxman, and Latadi sang three songs. The title number (which had a tandem by Asha and SPB) was loosely based on ‘Saagar kinare dil yeh pukaare’ (which in turn was based on ‘Thandi hawaayen lahraake aayen’). My favorite is the silly worded but sweetly tuned ‘Tumse jo kahungi woh karoge kya…’ – you should listen to it, Lata’s ‘na baba na, abhi nahi abhi nahi abhi nahi’ is a heart stealer!

Mai jis din bhoola dun tera pyaar dil se -Shikha Swaroop – Police Public – Ok, this again is a bit of a confusion as both Police Public and Awaaz De Kahaan Hain came the same year. I recall Police Public more than the other – it was a good whodunnit – pretty taut and gripping. A lion’s share of the song went to Asha Bhonsle, and they had some very risque lines like ‘Chataaoongi mai chamche se chaat, chalo ji chalo chandni chowk mein’ and ‘Bichhua ne das liya, arre arre itne bade bichhua ne das liya…gore gore ang pe neel pade, bichhua ne das liya’ – but it was Lata-Amit’s Mai jis din bhoola dun tera pyaar dil se, that had a unique taste and aroma… much later I came to know the song is lyric-and-tune-wise a blatant lift of a Mehdi Hassan ghazal!

Sun sahiba sun / Tujhe bulaayen yeh meri baahen , etc – Mandakini – Ram Teri Ganga Maili – Mandakini never looked the same beyond this film. And surely Raj Kapoor knew how to package his heroines – even the so called ‘bold’ scenes were all placed suitably and situationally in the narrative. I love Raj Kapoor as a director – his style of telling a story on celluloid was very relaxed, just like a grandfather narrating a bed-time story to kids. Mandakini fast slipped into B-and-C-grade potboilers – I really doubt she had another song of Latadi‘s to lip sync.

Jaisa des waisa bhes phir kya darna / Aap kahen aur hum na aaye – Tina Munim – Des Pardes – That was the time when Dev Anand’s films had good music and quite a cohesive storylines. Lata sounds as nervous and scared as the young Tina when she sings ‘mai nahin karna yun nahin ban-na’ in the theme song. A lovely tune by Rajesh Roshan.

Jaisa tera pyaar waisa gussa hai sanam / Yaad aa rahi hai, etc – Vijayta – Love Story – A screechy Vijayta Pandit, a droopy eyed Kumar Gaurav and a romance-on-the-run set the boxoffice jingling. RDB’s terrific score added glamor. My fav song? Dekho mainedekha hai ek sapna – that ‘aai aai aai’ is irresistable!

Technorati : Hema Malini, Lata Mangeshkar, Mandakini, Poonam Dhillon, Priety Zinta, Rekha

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