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Feast Your Ears With Ten Tandem Numbers By Lata Mangeshkar
Writing something on Lata Mangeshkar would be like trying to fill up the ocean with a spoon. She was chosen as one of the four ‘Indians of the Twentieth Century’ along with Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekanand and Dhirubhai Ambani. The Times Of India quoted, “All of them are self-made individuals; they did not have the advantage of wealth, aristocracy or caste; they fought adversity and believed in action – karmayogis in a true sense. They made India proud and gave the world new ideas, dreams and hopes.” Don’t the lines describe her the best? She has been felicitated with every possible music award, be it regional or national level. Her contribution to the music field has been outstanding and pathbreaking. She has enthralled and entertained the audiences from 1940s to this century. What a stupendous career that is!!! Singing from the age of 13 as the only breadwinner in her family to becoming brand name to reign and become an identity of that particular field, it has been an astounding career graph. A colossus.
She has worked with almost all the major composers and rendered songs from classical to contemporary. Her repertoire with various films and composers has given Hindi film music a collection of shining gems. From Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit to Kajol, she has given her voice to almost all the known-unknown beauties of Hindi cinema. She processed and filtered herself such that she could lend her voice to anybody and everybody. She came, she sang and she conquered.
A singer who could sing perfectly in all the 4 octaves. No other artist has dominated the field in such a thorough manner. Yet there are some tandem songs sung by her which lag behind compared to the male versions. It is not that they are pale in comparison or are not sound technically. But they did not turn up as the favorite with the audience.
Highlighting few such tandem numbers where the male version is a forerunner and the Lata version a lingerer. Brushing up the musical memories to bring forth the Lata numbers. May be she has sung the highest number of tandem songs!!!
1. Ae Mere Dil Kahin Aur Chal (Daag – 1952) – Famous for the pathos driven voice of Talat Mahmood, the male version is known to all. Here’s Lata doing justice to the female version picturised on Nimmi.
2. Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Raahi (Munimji – 1955) – Picturised on the evergreen debonair Dev Anand and Nalini Jaywant, the Kishore Kumar version of this song happens to be the favourite with everyone. But the sad version by Lata Mangeshkar is no less of a gem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfFjQ09j6AE
3. Mujhko Iss Raat Ki Tanhai Mein (Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere – 1960) – The ultimate Mukesh number picturised on the debutant Dharmendra, also has a female version equally good, sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
4. Ae Dil Kahan Teri Manzil (Maya – 1961) – The male version very known, picturised on Dev Anand and rendered by Dwijen Mukherjee. The Lata version is worth lending your ear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS-XMg0cAzw
5. Chhoti Si Ye Duniya Pehchane Raaste (Rangoli – 1962) – A Shailendra beauty known for its Kishore Kumar version, the female version is equally melodious.
6. Taqdeer Ka Fasana Jakar Kise Sunayein (Sehra – 1963) – If Rafi version of this song is superlative, the Lata version is extraordinary. Hear the pathos in her voice!!!
7. Mere Mehboob Tujhe Mere Mohabbat Ki Qasam (Mere Mehboob – 1963) – Rafi version of this song has become the epitome of romance, picturised on Rajendra Kumar. Lata lends her voice for the very beautiful Sadhana, for an at par female version.
8. Humne Tujhko Pyar Kiya Hai Jitna (Dulha Dulhan – 1964) – This Lata version of a soothing number you will enjoy watching as much as you enjoy listening to the Mukesh counterpart.
9. Bas Ek Chup Si Lagi Hai (Sannata – 1966) – This is a lesser known song by Gulzar, composed by Hemant Kumar. The male version by Hemant Kumar. The female version by Lata will want you to hear more of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67tBKlxcih8
10. Chandan Sa Badan (Saraswatichandra – 1968) – The Mukesh version of this romantic song is so famous, we hardly realise that there is a female version of this song too which is equally romantic.
Pravesh
January 26, 2017 at 8:53 pm
The Lata versions are definitely inferior.Instead of analysing what is lacking, a poor attempt has been made to show that these are gems. No doubt that these are good songs, but the fact is that despite acclaimed virtuosity and sweetness of the singer,the songs are inferior to their tandem counterparts.
Deepa
January 27, 2017 at 11:42 am
Thank you for your comment and I agree with what you say. But the above article or rather any of the articles I write, I do not analyse the songs in the sense of inferiority or superiority. On the contrary it was a mere tribute to the queen on her birthday with an attempt to resurface some of the tandem numbers which people have either forgotten or are not aware of!!