Music And Movies

  The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links In the last part, we saw the partnership between Lata and C.Ramachandra and the many hits they gave together. Another important music director (duo) who established Lata as the numero uno of Hindi film music singing was the Shankar-Jaikishen duo. Shankar-Jaikishen broke into the Hindi film music world through the movie 'Barsaat.' They then went on to rule the Hindi film music world for over two decades, churning out super hit numbers for many films. They formed successful partnerships with major heroes like Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, and Rajendra Kumar, to name a few. They were the court musicians of RK Films. They withstood competition from music directors like Naushad, C.Ramachandra, O.P.Nayyar, and S.D.Burman to remain in the top slot.  Their association with Lata started from their first film itself. 'Barsaat' was not a major milestone in their career, but the songs of that film became a major milest

  The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links Great music directors like Anil Biswas and Sajjad Hussain showed the world what Lata was made up of musically. They gave her complex compositions that required great vocal range, voice control, vocal dynamics, and the ability to emote perfectly. Lata, though she was in her teens, rose to the challenge and satisfied the demands of the music directors. An important aspect of becoming a great singing star is the ability to deliver blockbuster hit songs and the ability to sing songs that capture the imagination of the masses. The songs may structurally be simpler compared to certain other songs, but these are the songs that filmgoers sing repeatedly, and many visit the cinema hall multiple times to hear these songs. The songs demand a different kind of singing, and singing these songs expands the singer's repertoire. Lata, in her formative years, was lucky to be associated with two music directors who gave her many bloc

The link to all parts of this series is given here: Series Links When you read this series in its entirety, you will be surprised that I had dedicated a chapter to Lata Mangeshkar - Sajjad Hussain's partnership while not bothering about some other partnerships that produced a lot more songs. That is because of the quality of music delivered by Sajjad Hussain and the great regard Lata had for him. In an interview whose link I can't find, she had said that Sajjad Hussain was the best music director she worked with. She also mentioned that only when she had to sing a song for him she used to feel scared. Lata had mentioned that he was a perfectionist and would not tolerate anyone playing out of tune. (There is a lot more to say about Sajjad Hussain's music and his temperamental character, but I will say that in a different article dedicated to Sajjad Hussain.) Sajjad Hussain, too, had great regard for Lata. He knew what she was capable of. You can hear him talk about Lata in t