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 blockbuster hits: commercially successful songs. Those two music directors were C.Ramachandra and Shankar Jaikishen.
C.Ramachandra was one of the first trendsetters in Hindi film music. Though he was a disciple of Anil Biswas, he wanted to move away from his shadow, and to achieve it, he chose to compose songs that were more 'western' in their outlook than Indian. He brought a lot of popular western music into Hindi film songs, and many of these songs were blockbuster hits: 'mere piya gaye rangoon', 'ina mina dika' being a couple of samples.
The association of C Ramachandra produced many outstanding songs that covered a whole gamut of emotions: fun songs, sad songs, classical songs, melodic duets, lullabies, and whatnot. We will now look at some of the songs that arose out of this partnership.
Let us start with this lilting duet of Geeta Dutt and Lata, 'hum jaane re' from the movie, 'Sanwariya' (1949).
The first interlude has western-type sax arrangements. The contrasting voices of Geeta and Lata enhance the song. The song as such is not complex but the fact that Lata now has the experience of singing a westernized tune.
The 1951 movie 'Albela,' was a tremendous hit and all its songs were popular. Here is a major hit song sung by Ramachandra himself (Chitalkar) and Lata. 'bholi surat dil ke khote'.
Very different arrangements from Ramachandra. A fun song, and Geeta Bali makes it more charming with her smile and energy. Lata was expanding her repertoire by singing such 'ched chad' songs as they were called. Lata keeps her melodic quotient intact and yet infuses the necessary energy into this song. The song derives a lot of its energy from its robust beats, and the singing along with these beats provides a sense of fun.
Here is another western music inspired 'stylish' song, 'gore gore o banke chore' sung by Lata and Amirbai Karnataki. From the film, 'Samadhi' (1950)
The whole structure of the song is so different from the standard song structure of those times. As I said, this would probably have been considered 'stylish' back then. (It sounds stylish even now.) Lata sings it with the required sophistication, and she sounds 'cool.' Amirbai Karnataki still sounds a bit more Indian than Lata. The contrast enhances the song.
Another major hit film in C Ramachandra's musical life was 'Azaad' (1955). It was a major blockbuster and contained terrific songs. Here is a fun duet that Lata sings with her sister, Usha Mangeshkar. The huge hit, 'appalam chappalam'.
An extremely robust beat-based fun song. The song's insistent rhythm and the tune instantly connect with the listener. The mukda snakes its way around with Lata and Usha maintaining the energy continuously. The song requires a lot of control over speed when singing, and both of them are perfect in this song.
While Ramachandra did bring the western notion of 'cool' into his songs, he gave Lata a variety of songs across genres. Here he is giving her a middle eastern inspired 'yaar vai vai' from the movie 'Sargam' (1950). Lata would later sing a lot more such middle eastern melodies but songs like these in her early years laid the foundation for her future as a singer who can deliver across various genres. Here she is singing with Ramachandra himself (Chitalkar)
The song changes its speed along the way. Initially, it looks like a girl singing about her pangs of separation. Lata does this stretch wonderfully, keeping the middle east feel while expressing the pangs of separation. Then the song becomes a celebration.
C Ramachandra did not give Lata just these songs. He also gave her what we can call as traditional melodies. Here is a song from the movie 'Patanga' (1949), 'dil se bula do tum hume'
When I first heard this song, I thought it was an Anil Biswas song. The influence of Anilda on C.Ramachandra is clearly visible in this song. This is the kind of melody that Lata was singing for Anilda. Since it was 1949, there is a slight childish tone still visible, but she carries this heavy song on her frail shoulders effortlessly.
'Anarkali' is probably the biggest hit ever by this pair. In an earlier part, I had pointed out the impact of the 'Anarkali' song, 'yeh zindagi usiki hai.' It was heard all over the country and had a Telugu version as well. Since we have already heard this song earlier, let me point you to another wonderful song from this movie, 'aaja ab toh aaja,' another lovely solo in the voice of Lata.
The song is modern and, at the same time, keeps the spirit of the times intact. A wonderful combination. Lata is in her elements. This song is right up her alley, and she gives the required vocal modulation to convey the pain of the protagonist precisely.
Here is another lovely melody that C.Ramachandra composed for Lata. From V.Shantaram's movie, 'Stree' (1961) 'nirdaya pritam'
Illayaraja mentions this song in one of his interviews. Another song that is a mix of the modern and the ancient, each existing in the song elements, and yet the song sounds organic. According to Illayaraja, this song influenced later-day music directors. Lata, by now, has established herself as the numero uno of Hindi film singers, and her confidence shows in the rendition of the song. She is absolutely sure of herself and her delivery.
Along with such melodies, Ramachandra exploited Lata's voice in an area that begs for Lata's voice, the lullaby. 'dhere se aaja re' from 'Albela' (1950). Sung by C.Ramachandra (Chitalkar) and Lata.
When Illayaraja says that he was inspired by this composition to compose his wonderful 'karpoora bommai onru,' you can rest assured about the quality of the song. Lata's voice is soft as a feather in this song, and the tune is something to die for.
Let us finish our C.Ramachandra song journey with a stylish, fun song from the movie 'Shin Shinaki Babla Boo' (1952).
It would have been a crazy song for those times with the 'lei lei' refrain and the funky orchestration. The tune's movement and the orchestration are extremely westernized, and the whole song gives us a sense of joy.
Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, Ramachandra and Lata fell out, and in Ramachandra's later films, Lata did not sing any songs. Of course, listeners like us were the losers.
I hope you will now appreciate why I say that Ramachandra played a large part in Lata's rise to the top of the Hindi film music charts. His songs gave her great variety and did not constrain her only to standard melodies. He showed that she was adept at singing songs belonging to various genres. It was a great partnership. That it didn't end well is sad, but they had given us a lot of memorable songs.
In the next part, we will look at the other hit song makers, Shankar Jaikishen, and their association with Lata.
P.S: C.Ramachandra - Lata combination has a lot of amazing that I have not touched here due to lack of space. If you find some good songs omitted, please pardon me.
P.P.S: By the way, it was C.Ramachandra who composed the song that would forever be associated with Lata, 'ae mere watan ke logon'.
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