Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 17 - Lata & Pancham (RDB)

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No one changed the soundscape of Indian film music more dramatically than R.D. Burman, lovingly called Pancham by his admirers. There were other trendsetters earlier, like C.Ramachandra, O.P. Nayyar, and others, but the impact R.D.Burman had on not just Hindi film music but on Indian film music was an order of magnitude greater than his predecessors. The sound he pioneered was without equal, and suddenly the music of other music directors felt old. R.D. Burman, with his musical intelligence and with inspiration - and sometimes borrowing - from the West, came up with a signature style of his own, which is an influential style even to this day.

Though R.D. Burman got his first break in 1961, in the movie 'Chote Nawab,' his initial success came in the later part of the 60s with movies like 'Teesri Manzil' and 'Padosan.' When his partnership with Kishore Kumar was cemented with the rise of Rajesh Khanna to superstardom, the hits started flowing, and R.D. Burman dominated Hindi film music for the most part of the 1970s.

R.D. Burman's rise also helped to focus the spotlight on Asha Bhosle, for the R.D. Burman - Asha combination became famous for certain kinds of songs. After the O.P. Nayyar era, Asha was in the limelight now along with Kishore Kumar and R.D. Burman. This is not to say that Lata was pushed to the background; she was still the preferred singer, even for R.D. Burman, for a variety of songs. In fact, when R.D. Burman was composing his first film, 'Chote Nawab,'  R.D.'s father, Dada Burman, who was not on speaking terms with Lata, called her up and asked her to sing for Pancham, for it was his first film and Dada wanted Lata to sing in it. Lata obliged.

Let us start with the song from 'Chote Nawab'(1961), 'ghar aaja'

Lata was at her peak in 1961, and you can see why Dada Burman would have wanted her, and only her, to sing this lovely song. This is still in the classical style, and the actual R.D. Burman style is not yet fully visible in the song. I had written about this song in an earlier part, so I will skip writing more about this song. 

The next R.D. Burman - Lata solo we will take up is 'aaja piya tohe pyar doon' from 'Baharon Ke Sapne' (1967)

I would say that this song has more of  S.D.Burman style, in that it is easy to mistake this as a Dada Burman song. The song, as such, may not have been a great challenge to Lata. The song has a limited range when it comes to vocals depending on the sweetness of the tune and the melody inherent in Lata's voice to carry it through. A simple but charming song.

'Padosan' was released in 1968, and in this movie, the music had the unmistakable stamp of R.D.Burman. While the Kishore solos were the bigger hits, this Lata solo also got decent airtime. 'main chali main chali' from 'Padosan'

An energetic song that Lata does complete justice to. In this song, the R.D. Burman touches are clear, and the song, as such, does not put too much demand on Lata's voice. The pace, orchestration and melody in Lata's voice take this song forward. There are not too much vocal modulations needed as such, for the song calls for energy and not modulation.

The vocal dynamics and modulation of Lata are called into play in this song from 'Kati Patang' (1970), 'na koi unamg hai.'

By this time, R.D. Burman's style had crystallized, and all the songs of this movie displayed his style that had taken the country by storm. This song creates a specific mood, a mood of melancholy and sadness, and Lata was, anyway, a past master when it came to creating such a mood. She manipulates her voice brilliantly to achieve the required result, with R.D.'s orchestration complementing her voice. That is why the song touches your soul and leaves you a bit sad after you finish hearing the song.

Another such song, where the creation of mood was of paramount importance, was 'raina beeti jaye' from 'Amar Prem' (1971).

The mood creation starts right from the prelude, and the pace of the song helps maintain the mood. One of the stylish aspects of R.D. Burman's songs from the early 70s was the pace he set for the songs. It was never too hurried, but it was neither too slow as to drag down the energy. He chose a golden mean for his pace, and most songs of RDB can be identified just by this pace. For this song, the pace is perfect for the mood. Lata's brilliant control of her voice and the vocal modulations she brings into play are there for everyone to hear. RDB invariably went to Lata when it came to such songs with a classical touch and that which required great control over vocal dynamics. 

RDB did not mind experimenting with Lata's voice in songs that many would have expected to be sung by Asha. 'bahon mein chale aao' from 'Anamika' (1973) is one such song.

Generally, these sorts of 'ched chad' songs were Asha's forte, but in this case, RDB gives it to Lata. Lata does bring in that 'shararath' in the song, but still, she wants to be in full control and hence doesn't let go, as Asha would have done. That doesn't take away anything from Lata's delivery, which is top-notch, but I point this out to say that Lata and Asha approached such songs differently. (It would be interesting to compare a song like 'chadi jawani meri' (Lata,Rafi) with 'goriyan kahan tera desh' (Asha, Rafi), both from 'Caravan' )

The 1971 movie, 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' was a path-breaking movie, both in terms of the subject matter it handled and the heroine it introduced, Zeenat Aman. The humungous hit, 'dum maro dum' went to Asha and Usha Uthup. Lata got the female version of 'phoolon ka taron ka.' 

As you can see from the clip, Lata was chosen mainly because her voice sounded so young even then, and it suits the character on the screen perfectly. The tune is a lovely one, the Kishore version being the bigger hit, but does not put too much demands on Lata's voice. There is a freshness in the tune that gives it staying power, for you don't feel it is old listening to it even today.

'haan ji haan' from 'Seeta Aur Geeta' (1971) is another song that probably should have gone to Asha. 

Lata sings this wonderfully well, and that is probably why the song fails, for it demands a certain playfulness, a sozzled effect, and probably a bit of imperfection to create the effect of a drunkard singing. If you do not watch the visuals but listen to the song, you get a feeling that it is delivered by someone fully in control of herself. So, from a song perspective, it is a lovely song that you will enjoy listening to, but when you consider its placement in the movie, you may feel the singing is a bit serious for this song. 

There can, of course, be no such complaints when it came to songs that were Lata's forte, like, 'karwate badalte rahen' from 'Aap Ki Kasam' (1974)

In this delightful duet, which Lata starts, you can see how wonderfully Lata puts her voice to use to add mood to the melody. The vocal dynamics in this song are good, and the song has the pace of RDB, of which I had spoken of earlier. The antara has a lovely movement, with the leisurely pace maintained, then a small pause, and then the last phrase. Kishore and Lata's voices combine wonderfully to give us an unforgettable melody.

Another movie that was dominated by Lata - Kishore duets was 'Aandhi' (1975). 'is mod se jaate hai' from that film.

Lata opens the song, and I feel her voice in the opening is slightly sharp, sharper than what we heard in 'karvaten' song. This song, too, has that elusive RDB pace that  Lata would have gotten used to by now. (Kishore was born to sing at that pace.) Lata, as usual, delivers the song in her characteristic style, utilizing all the tools at her disposal. Kishore is a perfect foil, though his base voice makes Lata's voice sound a bit sharp. 

Another movie from 1975, 'Kushboo' had this lovely Lata solo, 'do nainon mein.'

I feel that during this phase, Lata's voice was changing slightly. There was a bit of sharpness discernable in her voice, and sometimes the volume was slightly higher. I personally observe these tiny changes in this song; the starting itself is slightly sharp. (I am not saying she is out of pitch. She is in perfect pitch, except that there is a sharpness in the voice now. Or, if I were to put it in a different way, the roundedness displayed earlier has reduced a bit, though it is still very much present.)

Here is another lovely song from 'Jurmana' (1975). 'sawan ke jhoole pade'

Lata sings the song wonderfully, and the tune is also excellent. At the same time, whatever I said about Lata's voice for the last song, holds here as well. Still, her voice is melodious, and she has the vocal dynamics intact. 

The 1980s did not see too many Lata - RDB evergreen songs happening. This lovely song happened in 1982. In the movie, 'Bemisal,' the song 'ae ri pawan'

Another lovely melody from RDB, delivered impeccably by Lata. As you can observe, Lata's voice in the higher reaches sounds slightly shriller, which is probably age-based. Yet, she maintains the melody quite well. 

Overall, Lata sang some lovely songs for RDB, both solos, and duets. All the songs had the RD Burman musical touch and sound fresh even to this day. The songs may not have been complex from a technical point of view, and Lata may not have found them hard to sing, but they had the capacity to engage with the listener, and the tunes stayed with the listener long after they finished listening to the song. 

There are a lot of duets that Lata sang under R.D. Burman's baton, but we will leave them for a later part, where we will discuss the Lata - Kishore duets. 

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