Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 8 - Long Road of Success - Shankar Jaikishan
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 milestone in Lata's career as well. Along with 'ayega aanewala' of 'Mahal, 'hawa mein udta jaye' and 'barsaat mein' from 'Barsaat' became huge hits, establishing the credentials of Lata Mangeshkar as a singer who can deliver big hits. She then went on to give some all-time great hits under their baton. Let us look at some of these songs from the 1950s.
Let us start with 'Barsaat.' We had already heard and analyzed 'hawa mein udta jaaein' in an earlier part, so I will start with another famous song from this movie, 'barsaat mein hum se mile tum.'
This is a folk-inspired song, and Lata's voice is still that of a teenager. You can make out that a teenager is singing this song. SJ had not tried to make her change her voice, and the raw voice has a certain charm. Not much vocal modulation is displayed here, unlike in Anilda and Sajjad Hussain's songs. You can realize how much Lata's voice changed in the following years when you hear this voice. Lata ensures she delivers the song with the required amount of energy. She does not overdo the energy part, and that inhibition gives a slightly subdued color to the song.
Next, from the same movie, 'mujhe kisise pyar ho gaya'
The soundtrack was totally dominated by Lata, and it is surprising that in their debut film, SJ believed so much in Lata to let her shoulder the successes of the soundtrack. I have read that Raj Kapoor was also impressed by Lata, which may be why they gave her so many songs in the movie. This song is a fast-beat song, and she brings in the required energy. This was also a big hit.
After the major hit, 'Barsaat,' in 1949, surprisingly, Shankar Jaikishan had no movies in 1950. In 1951, they gave another blockbuster album with Raj Kapoor, 'Awara.' This was an album that would go on and captivate the Russians as well. 'Awara' belonged to Lata and Mukesh. The songs were superhit and are played to this date, seventy years after they were released.
We will look at two numbers for 'Awara.' First, 'ghar aaya mera pardesi,' a Lata solo.
This is another typical SJ song. Lata's voice has changed, but there is still a touch of the teenager in the voice. The song is not a demanding one for someone like Lata, and the sweetness in her voice and the simple tune ensured this song was a hit. The song picturization shows why Raj Kapoor would be called the Showman.
Next, we will look at a duet. Lata and Mukesh in this another hit song, 'dum bar jo udhar muh phere'
This is a charming melody, and Lata's young voice increases the song's charm. As with the earlier song, I would not consider this song a complex one, and Lata would have delivered it with ease. The contrasting emotions between Mukesh's version and Lata's version keep the song interesting.
In the same year, 1951, a different kind of song for the film, 'Khali Ghata,' 'le beli.'
Not sure what genre the song falls in, but it is not your typical Hindi film song. The whole musical setup has a foreign touch, not just the starting words. Songs like these gave her an opportunity for Lata to satisfy various demands on her voice. This song also gives me an idea of Lata's priorities. She prioritizes the perfect pitch and control over 'voice-acting.' The song as such has great energy, and while you cannot fault Lata's energy, the lack of 'nakras' someone like Geeta Dutt or her own sister, Asha, may have induced into this song would have matched with the acting on screen. I personally feel the acting is a tad more vivacious than the voice. Overall, a very melodic delivery from Lata.
You cannot raise the same complaint in this song from 'Daag' (1952). 'jab se nain lage.'
In this song, the energy in Lata's voice and her singing suits the person singing this on the screen perfectly. Lata is in full control of the speed. This number demands you give your best with respect to the rhythm, and Lata does that with great confidence.
In 1953, can another Lata - SJ - Raj Kapoor combination film, 'Aah,' and as can be expected, it also had hit songs. Here we listen to 'yeh shaam ki tanhahiyan'
Shankar Jaikishan would once in a while provide music to prove that they were adept at delivering songs based on ragas with a classical music touch. One such song appears in the movie Seema (19545). 'manmohan bade joote.'
This was a song right down her lane. Wonderfully tuned in the raga 'Jaijavanti,' Lata sings it in such a way that we will all agree that no one other than her could have done justice to this song. SJ makes good use of her ability to hit the higher notes unerringly in this song. Lata was always in perfect pitch, and her swara sense is awesome. Masters like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan have expressed their admiration for her never going out of touch. The taan-like phrases towards the end are executed brilliantly and with a precision that is only possible for her.
Lata-SJ was not only restricted to Raj Kapoor movies. Here is a lovely duet of Lata with Hemant Kumar for the movie 'Patita,' a Dev Anand movie (1954). 'yaad kiya tum ne' was a big hit.
Hemant Kumar - Lata combination songs always are interesting because of their contrasting voices. Hemant Da's bass voice enhances the melody in Lata's voice, and we can hear it clearly in this song. The song structure is quite simple and easy on the ears.
Another blockbuster from the Raj Kapoor - SJ combination was 'Shree 420.' It had some iconic songs. This movie was packed with hit songs. In an earlier part, I have already spoken about the iconic song, 'pyar hua ikrar hua,' the song that would define the romance of Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The movie had other hits songs like 'ramayya vastavayya,' 'mera jhoota hai japani,' 'dil ka haal sune dilwala,' 'mud mud ke na dekh.' Many of these have since become iconic songs. We will now hear the fun song, 'ichak dana,' sung by Lata and Mukesh.
This is a fun song, and Lata imparts the necessary fun element into it while maintaining the melodic aspect intact. Just hear how she does the brief alaps throughout the song. Those places take the song to a different melodic level. (Mukesh sometimes has this bad habit of entering the song late and then owning the song. I mostly end up with his voice inside my ear when the song ends. Happens in this song and also in 'ramayya vastavayya.')
1956 saw SJ composed for two movies that were like highlights in their career. One was 'Basant Bahar,' which called upon them to deliver classical music-based songs. The other was the Raj Kapoor movie, 'Chori Chori.' SJ came up tops in both the movies.
'Basant Bahar' was more of a Manna Dey vehicle to display his classical music skills. The movie also had Bhimsen Joshi singing a song with Manna Dey. Lata, too had good songs in this movie, like this semi-classical, ''ja ja re ja balamva,' based on raga Jhinjoti.
A nice melody that needs to be sung at a slower speed. Generally, singing at lower speeds is a challenge to the singer, and this song is not an easy one to sing due to its speed. Lata, as usual, is perfect in her pacing as well as her pitching. The leisurely pace and Lata's melodic voice make this song a perfect choice for a late-night listen.
'Chori Chori,' again a Raj Kapoor - SJ combination movie, had some all-time great hits. I will present two of them here. We start with, 'panci banoon udti phiroon'
In the song we saw earlier, 'ja ja ja re,' Lata showed her mature side. Here she is again at her youthful best, with her voice sounding very young and robust. The rhythm, tune, and Lata's singing encapsulate the freedom the song talks about. For a long time, this song was the benchmark song to describe a carefree heroine in films.
This movie also had two super hit duets, 'yeh raat bheegi bheegi' and 'aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum,' both by Lata - Manna Dey duo. The song we will look at is 'rasik balma.'
There is nothing much that I can say of this song. The emotion is perfect, the orchestration is perfect, and the singing is perfect. No wonder people sing this song to this day but whether other singers do justice to this song is a different question that we shall not ask.
I wanted to write about some more hit songs like, 'tum sang preeti lagayi (New Delhi),' 'Mere sapne mein aana re (Rajhat),' 'dil ki nazar se (Anari),' and so on but I think this part is lengthy now. So I will stop here. I know there are many more Lata - SJ hits in the 50s. My idea was to show the variety they delivered together and the number of iconic songs they gave us. Hope you have an idea now.
P.S.: One of my sisters asked me whether any part of my series will have songs that she knows. I am sure she will not be disappointed with this part.
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