RMIM Archive Article "386".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Lata's Best - Quiz
# Questions 9-11
# Posted by: Satish Subramanian
# Source: Illustrated Weekly of India
# Author: Raju Bharatan
#
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Question 9:
Lata's Best?
Raju Bharatan, for Illustrated Weekly of India
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C Ramchandra and Lata represented the "meloduo" supreme in
our film music! Their "dheere se aa jaa ri aakhiyan mein
nindiya" (Albela) became the yardstick by which to measure
lullabies in films.
Before Lata, C Ramchandra had given a whole array of hits
with other female singers, ranging from Shamshad Begum to
Amirbai Karnataki, Lalita Dewoolkar to Binapani Mukherjee.
But after Lata appeared on the scene, C Ramchandra could
think of no other female singer save her.
His evergreens for Lata are legion.
1. Balma bada nadaan re (Albela)
2. Kaahe naina laden (Jhamela)
3. Jo mujhe bhula ke chale gaye (Sangeeta)
4. Kat te hain dukh mein yeh din (Parchhain)
5. Dil unko dhoondhtaa hain (Yasmin)
6. Ae pyaar teri duniya se (Jhanjhar)
7. Tum kya jaano tumhari (Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo)
The last-named has now been picked by Lata to mark out
C Ramchandra on the album. It is a composition that syn-
thesizes the best of two terrific talents.
The late Shanker spoke no more than the truth when he hailed
C Ramchandra as the "greatest all-rounder in Hindustani film
music!" After all, Shanker had to take note of the fact that
C Ramchandra could, no doubt with the help of Lata, match
him even in his specialist field of dance compositions with
creations like,
1. Na maaro nazariya ke baan (Pehli Jhalak)
2. Sajna na jaa daras dikha jaa (Ladki)
The same aura was missing when Asha substituted for Lata,
in "Navrang", though C Ramchandra's music in the film
was a great hit. The Lata magic did return to his music as
the two came together for V. Shantaram's " Stree" (1961)
through airs like,
1. O nirdayi preetam (Stree)
2. Jhilmil jhilmil laharon ka (Stree)
3. Angana mein suraj muskaya (Stree)
But C Ramchandra's finest creation for Lata after they came
together again, was in a film which never saw the light of
the day: "Jitne Door Utne Paas" (on GE33578 record).
Remember from that film the Lata solo?
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Question 10:
Lata's Best?
Raju Bharatan, for Illustrated Weekly of India
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Dada Burman was handpicked by Lata to conduct the two
musical programmes she was to present on the occasion of her
silver jubilee.
Yet oddly, no composition of S D Burman's figured in her Ten
Best for the occasion! If Dada Burman felt this anamoly, he
maintained a discreet silence - after all, he had only just
patched up his differences with Lata, after a five year
spell of no recordings in her voice.
Now in 1987, Lata has sought to retrieve that 1967 missout
by naming two S D Burman solos by her in "My Favourites".
These are:
1. Phaili hui hain sapnon ki baahen (House No 44)
2. Jogi jab se tu aaya mere dwaare (Bandini)
These two numbers present her at a peak calculated to make
you wonder how Dada could have done without his Lata for so
long.
1. So jaa re so jaa meri aankhiyon ke taare (Jeevan Jyoti)
2. Aankhon se door door hai (Mashal)
3. Rote rote guzar gayi raat re (Buzdil)
4. Dil ka dard na jaane duniya (Naujawan)
5. Tum na jaane (Sazaa)
6. Pighla hai sona (Jaal)
7. Pyaar bhari dhadkanon ke haar leke aaongi (Angarey)
8. Nain khoye khoye (Munimji)
9. Aa palkon mein aa sapne sajaa (Madh Bhare Nain)
10. Chaand phir nikla (Paying Guest)
are some of Lata's noteworthy numbers for Dada before they
fell out.
Their quarrel was over Lata's evasiveness in giving a firm
dubbing date for her "Pag thumak chalat hal khaye haai"
number in "Sitaron Se Aagey" (1958). Following that, Lata
did not record for Dada Burman for full five years.
With which Lata solo in which 1963 film did Lata and Dada
come together again?
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Question 11:
Lata's Best?
Raju Bharatan, for Illustrated Weekly of India
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Five Shanker-Jaikishan compositions in this Lata album
represented evidently a windfall that shocked Shanker out of
his life!
1. Main piya teri (Basant Bahar)
2. Laakhon taare aasmaan mein (Hariyali Aur Raasta)
3. Mujhe tum mil gaye humdum (Love in Tokyo)
4. Dil ki girah khol do (Raat Aur Din)
5. Unse mili nazar ke mere hosh (Jhuk Gaya Aasman)
are Lata's five selections from Shanker-Jaikishan's
cornucopia.
But when you come to think of it, except for the first
selection, the other four 'sound' almost as a left handed
compliment from Lata to SJ! They do not warrant
consideration, leave alone selection, in an album such as
this.
Indeed, Jaikishan would have been at a loss to know how such
'chaalu' compositions of his came to gain Lata favour over
weighty compositions like,
1. O basanti pavan paagal (Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai)
2. Rasik balama hai re (Chori Chori)
Shanker, for his part, had lost hope of holding Lata's
attention even with creations like,
1. Jaao re jogi tum jaao re (Amrapali)
2. Jhanana jhan jhana ke apni paayal (Aashiq)
The latter two dance compositions may have been among
Shanker's best, but once, just once, in "New Delhi" (1956),
Jaikishan came up, in Lata's voice, with a dance composition
that was at least fit to compare with anything created by
Shanker.
Can you pick out that dance composition that ultimately
sadly got left out of "New Delhi"?
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian