Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 13: Lata - Madamohan - Part 2

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

Due to various circumstances, the series was delayed. Finally, I got time to pen down this part of the series.

In the last part, I wrote about Lata and Madanmohan combination in the 1950s. They gave some superb songs during that time, as you would have noticed. While that output was good enough to establish the brilliance of this combination, they peaked in the 1960s, giving some of the most loved hit songs of their combination. 

In the 1960s, Madamohan's music became more sophisticated, his handling of various ragas reached new heights, and his melodies had a timeless quality about them. Lata, too, was at her peak, her voice obeying her every diktat. Madanmohan made Lata sing with great sensitivity, and her ability to modulate her voice to convey this sensitivity stood her in good stead. We can say without any hesitation that those melodies could only have been composed by Madanmohan. We could add that Madanmohan may not have composed those melodies if he didn't have a Lata who could deliver them flawlessly. 

Let us hear some of the songs of that decade, and I am sure you will be convinced that this was the golden period for this combination. We start with this everlasting melody from the movie, 'Sanjog (1961), 'woh bhooli dastan.' 

I had written earlier about Madanmohan's ability to create a haunting atmosphere. This is another song that exemplifies that aspect of Madanmohan's creative genius. Right from the prelude, there is a haunting quality to this song. Lata's voice modulation, which combines the haunting touch with a pinch of melancholy, is perfect to convey the emotion of the heroine. No wonder this song is an evergreen hit, leaving people stunned. Such is this melody.

Next, we take up another stunning melody that sounds as fresh today as when it was released. 'aap ki nazron nein samjha' from 'Anpadh. (1962)'

This song again showcases Madanmohan's genius for conjuring up melodies like these and Lata's brilliant voice modulation. In the antara, check out how she modulates her voice at 'kyun main toofanon se darun.' The silken soft touch with which she opens the antara alternates with a strong voice in the upper region before giving the melody a deft touch. This is an extremely sophisticated melody, and the singing is equally sophisticated. 

We now take up a pathos-laden 'main toh tum sang' from 'Manmauji (1962).

Compared to the earlier two songs, this sounds more straightforward, though the emotion is conveyed effectively. There are many Lata songs like this with different music directors, where the tabla keeps a constant rhythm, and the song moves linearly. Yet, you can hear her modulating her voice much more in this Madanmohan melody than in those melodies. 

The 1964 movie, 'Aap Ki Parichayiyan',' gave us this lovely ghazal-like melody. 'agar mujh se mohobbat hai'

Madanmohan, as everyone knows, was considered the king of ghazals. We have seen such ghazal-like melodies in 'Adalat' earlier. This slow and soft number is a sophisticated cousin of songs in 'Adalat.' Lata sings with the required gravitas. The song leaves a lasting impression due to the all-around excellence of the team: the orchestration, the lyrics, the tune, and Lata's singing. This song shows what a confident music director and a singer can achieve together. 

The 1964 movie, 'Ghazal,' had some nice songs, the most popular of which was Rafi's 'rang aur noor ki.' Lata had another version of the same song, 'nagma aur sher ki' but the Rafi version was the more popular one. So I skip that movie and go to another 1964 movie, 'Haqeeqat.' 'zara si aahat hoti hai' is the melody we are about to hear. 

Another haunting melody, based on raag Yaman. The song has sophistication written all over it. The yearning, the longing, and the unbearable waiting for the beloved are all amazingly conveyed right in the mukda. The tune changes direction brilliantly in the mukda, with Lata affecting the change with great grace and ease. The orchestration is extremely apt for the song. The way Lata sings, 'shakl phirte hai' in the second antara, is something to die for and her voice at 'choo gayi jism mera' drips honey. 

Now, I want to play two songs from the 1964 movie, 'Jahan Ara.' The first one is 'haal-e-dil' 

This song highlights both Madan Mohan's grip on classical ragas as well as his mastery of the ghazal form. Madanmohan uses the raag in a refreshing fashion for this ghazal. No wonder many held him to be the Badshah of ghazals. 

Another brilliant ghazal from the same movie is 'woh chup rahe toh.' 

Rajendra Kishan's inspired words are tuned with great care by Madanmohan. Each word is articulated clearly, and the end of each sher is brilliant throughout. It is a case study on how to tune ghazals, bringing the spirit of the words forward. Lata has to cover the whole range of notes, and she does this without drawing attention to herself. Nothing draws attention to itself in this song: not the raag, not the orchestration, nor the singing. Only the words are given prominence. Lata understands this and sings appropriately. 

The year 1964 was a great year for Madanmohan. This was the year when arguably his most famous movie, 'Woh Kaun Thi' was released. It is not enough to highlight just one song from this movie. We will listen to more than one melody from this movie. The songs highlighted various aspects of Madanmohan's music as well as Lata's versatility. 

We start with the haunting, 'naina barse' that has now become a standard for all songs that want to achieve a haunting effect. Any 'ghost' song is now compared with this song. 

Madanmohan gets the haunting effect right from the humming in the prelude. As I have stated multiple times earlier, Lata is a master of singing such songs. Observe how she modulates her voice. The rise and fall in the volume, that indescribable quality of her voice when she sings such songs, and the lingering notes all leave a lasting impact on our consciousness. 

When you can say that 'naina barse' was not the best song in the movie, it clearly shows the quality of the songs in that movie. According to me, 'lag ja gale' is probably the best song from the movie. 

This is a heart-melting melody. A love song that has a touch of melancholy and an inevitable tragedy that affects you so much that it resides in your heart and refuses to ever move out from its residence. This is another song where we can confidently say that if it were any singer other than Lata, the song would not have been as effective. The extraordinary sophistication of the tune and melody are something to die for. 

This movie had a lovely ghazal, 'aap kyun roye.' 

I have already commented about Madanmohan's ghazal tuning skills and Lata's ability to deliver such melodies. So I will let you just enjoy this melody. 

'Mera Saaya' was another milestone in Madanmohan's career. The title song from this movie is an all-time hit. 

One more of what can be described as a haunting melody. This song is based on raag Nand, also known as Anandi Kalyan. The song is amazing in the way it encapsulates the raag. If you hear this song once, you can easily recognize this raag whenever anyone sings it. Madanmohan distills the essence of the raag brilliantly and, at the same time, services the requirements of the film song. This song once again showcases Lata's ability to take such songs to great heights. 

Let me now jump to 1970. Madanmohan has another landmark album this year, 'Dastak.' This won him the National Film Award for Best Music. 'baiyya na daro' was the most famous of the songs.

Another sophisticated melody based on raag Charukesi. The song has many twists and turns, starts and stops. A joyous melody. Lata is brilliant in this song, conveying the raag and the emotions with great confidence. The song has some flat notes at times and Lata handles them comfortably. The movie also had two other lovely Lata solos, 'mai re main ka se kahun' and 'hum hai mata-e-koocha-o-bazar khi tara.'

Madanmohan and Lata's combination gave a lot of good songs in the 1970s, but most of them did not reach the inspired heights of the 60s songs. That is not to say the songs were not good; it is just that Madanmohan reached a pinnacle in the 1960s that even he found hard to emulate in the 1970s after 'Dastak.'

Let me give you two lovely songs from the 1970s before I end this part. I give them with no comments.

From the movie, 'Hanste Zakhm'(1973), 'aaj socha toh aanso bhar aayi'

The last song we will hear is 'ruke ruke si kadam' from 'Mausam' (1975)

The Lata Madanmohan combination will always remain one of the great singer-music director combinations of Indian film music. 

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