Lata-Didi: Sirf Naam hi kaafi hain! She has honored many awards in her life!:) I think even Bharat-Ratna is blessed to have Lata in the list. She has recorded more than 25, 000 songs in her lifetime & has sung in each & every Indian language. Her association with every music director in the 40s to late 70s can be a topic of separate PhD per music director.
Lakshmi-Pyaare will top the list if max number of songs & hits with Lata. Madan Mohan’s music with Lata is also very well known & much celebrated. She had some differences with C. Ramchandra(Anna) & that stopped according to me the best association Lata had. With S.D also it is one of the best. She sung with every music director in Indian film history & also with every singer in the Indian history. Only exception is O.P. Nayyar, who, after initial issues with her or something that is not very well known, never featured Lata in his songs. He was the only mortal who could survive without Lata.
Most of the music directors have expressed what they felt about Lata. Bade Gulam Ali khan(?) ’Kambakht Besuri nahi hoti’ is prob’ly the best comment ever given to Lata!. Also Sajjad’s ’Lata gati hain baki sab Roti hain!’. She was the medium of expression for them. Without Lata they felt breathless & many of their composition could have just waited forever. To me she is the GREATEST singer of the ’world’ in the real sense.
One more quote was from Lata’s all time great friend Noorjahan. When Noorjahan visisted India she was asked by a press reporter ’When we will see 3 great singers on one stage Noorjahan from Pak, Lata from India & XXXX from Bangladesh?’ Noorjahan answered ’Main to kuchh bhi nahi hun, aapake pair ki jooti hun; Lekin Lata ka naam kisi aire-gairon ke sath mat lena!*’:-)
Selecting 20 songs from Lata is like selecting a bucket full of water from the Pacific Ocean! So it boils down to my selection & just not an objective list of Lata’s best songs. Personally, I never liked Lata’s songs in the higher notes, I mean they were all extraordinary songs but somehow they do not appeal to me that much. I like her old songs where she used to sing in much lower notes. Just compare Ayega Anewala with say any song from Arzoo & you will know what I mean. My selection will be a deliberate attempt to remove all such songs. I just get irritated at times by Lata’s higher pitch & higher note songs. There is an unconfirmed story that Naushad had warned her about this & how it would affect her voice in future.
However, Lata was accused of foul-play a few times when she allegedly tried to suppress Suman Kalynapur’s career & also a few times Asha has also expressed that her elder sister didn’t have the best effect on her career. It is up to everyone to decide if that was correct / in-correct in using the power she had. I think most them are plain wrong. Musci directors might have used Lata’s name to avoid new singers. Pl. Check comments from peaceful & my response for more details.
*(1) Palbhar main ye kya hogaya
woh main gyaee woh man gaya.
Chunari kahe sunari pavan.
sawan aayaa abake sajan
dinbhar muzhe yun sataaye.
*’un’-bin ab to rahaa nahi haaye!
’O My God’ Song! One just can’t imagine if someone can compose such a song & have a singer to sing it this good! Rajesh Roshan has given great music at times & deserves more credit than he usually gets. Checkout the stanzas of this song. Lata makes you actually feel like you are in a slow moving ’Naiyya’ in the first stanza.
*(2) Na jaane Q, Hota hain ye Jindagi ke saath,
achanak ye man kisike jaane ke baad,
kare phir usaki yaad,
*chhoti chhoti si baat, Na jaane Q
Again from 1 to infinity: ’Oh my God’! If you haven’t heard this song yet=> SHAME on you!
- Woh Anjaane pal, dhal gaye kal.aaj woh rang badal badal man ko machal machal rahain hain chhal na ja ne q.Woh Anjaane pal; Saje beena mere naino-main tutere haay re sapano ke mahel.N jane Q
*(3) Phaili hui hain sapano ki baahen aajaa chalade kahee door.
*Wahin meri manzhil wahi teri raahen.aaajaa chalade kahi dur
One of the very sweeeeeet old song. Hear it to believe it. From S.D. House # 44?
(4) Ayega Ayega.Ayega Aanewalaa.Ayegaa
Do you need any information about this song?
(5) Mohabbat Aisi dhadkan hain, Jo samazhai nahi jaati
C. Ramchandra’s masterpiece. Again, hear it once then will talk.
(6) Hum Pyaar main jalane walo ko chain kaha.haay araam kaha
From Madan Mohan. This one has a cult status among the song enthusiasts.
(7) Ye Jindagi usi ki hain, Jo kisi ka ho gaya.Pyaar hi main kho gaya
C Ramchandra’s one of the best. Lata is adorable in the song. The sad version is also a gem.
(8) Haay, kaise deen bite, Kaisi beeti Ratiyaa, Piya jaane na / Jane kaise sapano main kho gayee Ankhiyan / Haay re woh nind Q na aaye
Anuradha is a movie with extraordinary songs. I saw this movie on TV in 1993 I think. Balraj Sahani was great as usual & I forgot the name of the actress, she did exceedingly well. Lata was larger than life in this movie.
(9) Julami sang aankh ladi.Julami sang aankh ladi re -or- Main to kabase khadi is-paar ye ankhiya thak gayee panth nihaar aaajre paradesi.
All time great from Madhumati.
(10) Bahaaron.Mera jeevan bhi sawaaron.bhaaron.
Khayyam’s composition. Lata must have sung it in a very good mood.
(11) Bekas pe Karam Kijeeye Sarakar-e-Madina / Khuda Nigehenban ho tumhara
From Mugha-E-Azam. I mean after hearing such voice the Almighty must hear the request!
(12) Andaz Tera Mastana Magne Dil ka Najarana / Ajeeb Dasata hain ye kaha shuru kaha khatam
Based on a composition from Mozart/Beethoven? The song has a distinct composition & the presentation is good too.
*(13) Ahsaan tera hoga muzhpar,
Dil chahata hain woh kehenedo,
Muzhe, tumse muhabbat ho gayee hain,
*Muzhe, palao ki chhanv main rehenedo
A little too high for my tests but a gem from Junglee. Rafi's version was more popular.
(14) Suno Sajanaa
Lakshmi-Pyare, I often think of this song as Madan Mohan’s work. That shows the variety Lakshmi-Pyaare had.
*(15) Aapaki najaron ne samaza pyar ke kaabil muze
*From Anpadh, Madan Mohan. I read somewhere that Madan Mohan cried after recording of this song the way Lata put life in it.
(16) Dheere Dheere Machal ay Dil-E-Bekaraar
Hear it in the late night when everything is calm & quiet. The antara is too high though. Again Madan Mohan.
(17) Rahe na rahe hum; meheka karenge banake kali banke saba Bag-E-Wafa main
An all time great classic. From Roshan Sahab. The one who gave us Naa To Karawaa ki Talash hain
(18) Mayeeri main ka se kahun
Also sung by Madan Mohan.
(19) Thhade Rahiyon.Thade Rahiyon
Paikzaa, some of the best music in one movie. A must have album.
(20) Bachpan ki Mohabbat ko Dil se na juda karana, Jab yaad meri aaaye milane ki duwa karana / Mohe Bhool gaye sawariy
