Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 4 - Naushad and Lata Mangeshkar

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The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links

In the last part, we saw the partnership between music director Anil Biswas and Lata Mangeshkar. Anil Biswas was a hugely influential music director and I had mentioned how he had mentored Lata in her early days. The other major music director of those times was Naushad. He was one of the 'hit' music directors of those and was much sought after by everyone. By the time Lata entered the industry, he was already a leading music director who had given major hits with Noorjahan, Zorabai, and others. In this part, we will look at the songs of the Naushad Lata combination.

Naushad's orchestration was different from that of Anil Biswas. In Anilda's orchestration, the rhythm is subtle in most songs; it doesn't dominate the song. The singing also requires more modulation. In Naushad's early Lata songs, the domination of rhythm can be clearly heard. The singing is more open-throated. In fact, in the early songs for Naushad, Lata does not sound like Lata. 

Wikipedia tells me that the song, "Ae chair ki jaat badi bewafa" from the movie, 'Chandni Raat' (1949) is the first song that Lata sang for Naushad. This is a duet with G.M.Durrani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENkKnYIuqoI 

Observe the way she sings. It reflects the singing style of the earlier singers like Noorjahan. Her original voice peeps in once in a while, especially when she hits the upper registers,  but overall the singing style is very much the 1940s style. If you observe the mukda, there is not much effort to modulate the voice and it is a straight and simple delivery.

In the same year, 1949, Lata sang for the movie, 'Andaz'. This was mainly a Mukesh vehicle, whose songs became huge hits. It was when she sang in this movie, Naushad remarked to Lata that she should sing like Noorjahan. (Lata says this in an interview.) Here is 'uthaya ja unke sitham,' a song that was also a major hit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn52dhPotW4

Here again, we hear open-throated singing. The volume at the upper registers is high. The pronunciation of the words is also in keeping with those times. 

In the other 1949 movie, 'Dulari', Lata dominated the soundtrack, though the biggest hit was probably Rafi's, 'sunhani chand dal chuki'. She had 8 solos in this movie, a very large number for a newcomer. It shows that Naushad had by then great confidence in Lata's ability, that he was ready to let her voice dominate the soundtrack. This song by Lata, 'ai dil tujhe kasam hai' was a major hit, not only during those times. It was played regularly on radio in the later years as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqHcE_pjJhY

You can be pardoned for thinking this was by someone other than Lata. Initially, I did not associate this song, maybe because of the style. I used to think it was by one of the earlier singers. This is not the Lata we got to hear in the later days. 

The 1950 hit movie, Babul, though, was dominated by Shamshad Begum. Of the thirteen songs listed, Lata is credited with only two songs. She was given the sprightly, 'panchi ban mein' in this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkTsijg_b1M

You can hear the constant rhythm in a song that Naushad favored in many of his songs. In this you can start hearing Lata's original voice. The singing as per requirement is still open-throated but you cannot mistake Lata's voice in this song.

 'Deedar,' a 1951 film, was dominated equally by Lata and Rafi. Shamshad Begum and G M Durrani also make an appearance. Here is a hit song from that film, 'bachpan ke din bula na dena' which Lata sang with Shamshad Begum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTNzuUGMmUY

Lata's teenage voice fits the character perfectly. It is also a good song to check out the approach and voices of Lata and Shamshad Begum. The thin voice of Lata and the strong voice of Shamshad Begum provides a good contrast.

Another movie of 1951 saw Lata and Shamshad Begum share honors with equal songs each. Let us listen to 'lo pyar ki ho gayi' from this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yFwidFKE2o

You can once again be excused if you didn't think it was Lata after you heard the mukda. Lata's original voice makes an appearance in the antra. 

In a soundtrack that was tailor-made for Rafi, Lata did make her presence felt. I am talking about the humungous 1952 hit, 'Baiju Bawra'. Rafi's 'man tadpat', 'o duniya ke rakhwale' and 'tu ganga ki mauj' used to be played regularly even in the 1950s. My favorite from this movie, about which I had written n my blog earlier, is the raag Bhairav based, 'mohe bhool gaye sawariya'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7V7U54rMjw

By this time, Lata has probably established herself as the main female voice in the industry and she had developed her own singing style. You cannot mistake this song as anyone else's than Lata. The way she uses her voice, the modulation, and the volume control are the definitive Lata. A song delivered with great confidence and elan. The sweetness in her voice and her ability to evoke the sadness of the situation is greatly highlighted in this song.

According to Wiki, the movie, 'Aan' was released earlier in 1952 to 'Baiju Bawra'. This track was dominated by Rafi. Lata and Shamshad Begum had an equal number of songs. 'aaj mere mann mein', a lilting song sung by Lata for this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6jUIxOhkoE

Here too we can hear the Lata we know. Her voice sounds like a teenager in this song and suits the mood of the song quite well. It is quite a contrast from that 'Baiju Bawra' song. Lata's versatility was already quite evident.

Another 1952 movie, 'Deewana' was a Suraiya-dominated soundtrack. We then come to 1954. By this time Lata was already a dominant force. The 1954 movie, 'Amar' had a soundtrack that was dominated by Lata, though the lone Rafi song, 'insaf ka mandir hai' was probably the biggest hit from the movie. 'na shikva hai koi' from this movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cbtxuBP-gk

By now, Lata had found her voice and her style. Though the tune and orchestration are vintage Naushad, the singing by Lata had changed. There is more control over the volume, and better voice modulation and she sounds her own self.

By this time Lata had become the main female singer for Naushad and together they gave a lot of hits songs in some seminal movies like 'Uran Khatola', 'Mother India', 'Sohni Mahiwal', 'Mughal-e-Azam', 'Leader', 'Kohinoor', 'Dil Diya Dard Liya' and many more.

Let me close this episode by playing a huge hit song from 'Mughal-e-Azam'. 'pyar kiya to darna kya' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzVG01dDTCA

In the next episode, we will look at how Lata progressed in 1950s.

The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links

Comments

Sabitha said…
Awesome Suresh, enjoyed reading and listening.
June 13, 2023 at 10:06 PM
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