Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 19 - Lata and Mukesh

Here is the link to read all parts of this series.

In this part and the next couple of parts of this series, we will talk about Lata's partnership with famous male singers: Mukesh, Rafi and Kishore. We start with the partnership of Lata and Mukesh.

It is very difficult to find two contrasting voices than Lata and Mukesh. Mukesh is a mystery for many people. People accuse him of slipping from the 'sur' sometimes; he is accused of being nasal, and it is well known that his vocal range was limited. He also had the reputation of being suitable only for singing sad songs. Lata's voice was in contrast to that of Mukesh. Her range was incredible, her voice dripped honey, and she could sing any song that the music director threw at her. There is another important contrast between the two. For many music directors, Lata was the first choice. Whereas a lot of music directors were not keen on working with Mukesh, maybe they felt his range was too limited for them. So you don't hear too many Lata - Mukesh songs for S.D.Burman or Madanmohan or R.D. Burman. Also, Lata sang for all the heroines, whereas Mukesh was seen as the voice of Raj Kapoor and, later, Manoj Kumar. Most other heroes preferred Rafi, Talat Mehmood, or, later, Kishore Kumar. 

Despite all these constraints, Mukesh had this habit of casually making any song his own, so much so that you think of it as a Mukesh song and not that of the other singers. For example, his entry into songs like 'dil ne phir yaad kiya' and 'ramayya vasatvayya' towards the end leaves an imprint on our minds, and we always think of the Mukesh portions of these songs.

Lata and Mukesh benefitted a lot by singing under the baton of Anil Biswas in their initial years. It was Anil Biswas who asked Mukesh to move away from imitating Saigal. It was Anil Biswas who taught a lot about voice control to Lata, as Lata herself says in an interview. They sang some lovely duets under his music direction. Let us first hear, 'zamane ka dastur hai yeh purana,' from the movie, 'Lajawab' (1950).

You can hear Mukesh's voice had matured by then, and Lata's voice is still a teenage girl's voice. This song plays to Mukesh's strength, but Lata is able to match her senior colleague. The advantage Mukesh has is that his voice is soaked in pain, but Lata manages to hold her own with her control over her voice and her voice modulation. 

Shankar Jaikishen were the preferred music directors of Raj Kapoor, and Mukesh was his preferred voice. So Mukesh sang quite a few songs for Shankar Jaikishen, both solo and duets. Let us hear this song for 'Aah' (1953), 'aaja re ab mera dil pukara.'

This is another song that highlights the difference in the approaches of Lata and Mukesh. Lata brings into play all her talent into the song, especially her vocal dynamics, to convey the pain of the heroine. In contrast, Mukesh doesn't do much in terms of vocal dynamics and yet his voice carries so much pain that you cannot miss feeling the emotion when you hear him.

It is not that Mukesh only sang sad duets with Lata. Here is a lovely love duet of both of them, 'bade arman see rakka hai balam,' from 'Malhar' (1951). Music of Roshan.

Again, the approach to singing is different. Lata tries to impart the energy required for the song, but Mukesh interprets it differently. He is more subdued in his approach. So you get a duet that sounds like it is between a teenager and a man in his early twenties. The singing perfectly suits the action on the screen.

You will hear a similar contrast in this song from the 1959 movie 'Guest House.' 'tum se kuch kahna hai.' Music of Chitragupt.

Here too, Lata is bubbly, and Mukesh is subdued, as required by the picturization of the scene.

Mukesh is more energetic in this song from 'Madhumathi (1958).' 'dil tadap tadap ke'. Music of Salil Chowdary. 

Mukesh's opening mukda and later the first antara in his voice left such an impression on me that I used to initially think this was a Mukesh solo. This is despite Lata's voice being in fine form and her bringing into play her skills effectively. There was something in Mukesh's voice that left an impact on you.

Another lovely duet under Salil's baton was, 'do akhiyan jhuki jhuki si' from Prem Patra (1962)

This lovely love song is brought to life by Mukesh and Lata in their own inimitable way. Mukesh, though subdued, conveys the joy of being in love effectively with his brilliant diction, which highlights the wonderful lyrics of Rajinder Kishan. Keeping in spirit with the picturization, Lata too is subdued, and she too is able to convey the joy of love. 

In contrast to the earlier song, this song from 'Farz' demands Mukesh keep aside his subtlety and be more vocal in his approach. 'hum toh there aashiq hai.' Music of Laxmikanth Pyarelal.

This is one more song where Mukesh's voice leaves an impact on you. He is quite energetic in this song, though I would think he wouldn't have been the first choice singer, given the hero was Jeetendra. Yet, Mukesh is able to do full justice to the song. Lata is lovely as usual, but it is Mukesh's voice that dominates the song.

One more Anil Biswas song, 'zindagi ka ajab fasana' from Choti Choti Baatein (1965)

I love the way Mukesh enters the mukhda of this song. Once again, Lata's vocal dynamics and the inherent pain in Mukesh's voice are a lovely contrast. 

In the same year, 1965, an energetic duet, 'humsafar mere humsafar' from 'Purnima.' Music of Kalyanji Anandji.

Mukesh is energetic, and Lata is bubbly in this song. Again, Mukesh was not a first choice for Dharmendra, who had always preferred Rafi. Yet, Mukesh does full justice to the song. Lata's voice is in peak form, and she effortlessly sings the song. 

Shankar Jaikishen, Laxmikanth-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji gave Mukesh a lot of duets. Here is another lovely duet of Lata and Mukesh for Kalyanji Anandji for the movie, 'Saraswathi Chandra,' 'phool tumhe beja hai khat main.' 

Once again, you can clearly see the difference in the way they approach the song. Mukesh sings well within his limitations and yet is extremely effective. Lata is effective because of her enormous talent. 

Khayyam rarely used Mukesh in his earlier movies, but when he used him in Kabhi Kabhi (1976), the songs became great hits. 'kabhi kabhi,' from the same movie. 

This song always intrigues me, for if you listen to the version linked here, it is mostly Lata with Mukesh singing a line here and there. Yet, whenever most people think of this song, it is the Mukesh version that plays in their heads. It could be because Mukesh is the voice of the hero here, and the song is sung from a man's point of view. Still, there is something in Mukesh's voice that makes you feel that he really means what he says in the song. 

Another song that makes me feel the same is, 'ek pyar ka nagma hai' from 'Shor' (1972). Music of Laxmikanth Pyarelal.

While the majority of the song is in Lata's voice - and she does a wonderful job of singing it - somehow, in my mind, this has always been a Mukesh song. Mukesh comes in quite late in the song, but his voice has an immediate impact on us.

R.D. Burman did not use Mukesh much. Here is a Lata Mukesh duet for R.D. 'kahin karti hogi mera intezaar,' from 'Phir Kab Miloge' (1974)

This is a typical RD melody, and the orchestration and pace of the song would make us think this was designed for Kishore Kumar. Yet, when Mukesh sings, there is a certain joy in his singing. Lata, though knows RD's style quite well and sings as expected. 

Lata sang many more duets with Rafi and Kishore when compared to Mukesh. Yet, the Lata-Mukesh combination did give us quite a few lovely numbers, as seen above. The contrast in their voices and their approach to singing always fascinates me. Let me finish this part with this song by Laxmikanth Pyarelal, 'maina bhoolunga,' from 'Roti Kapda Aur Makhan' (1974). Mukesh has sung many songs for Manoj Kumar, and I wanted at least one such song to figure out here.

In the next part, we will take up the formidable Lata-Rafi combination. 

Here is the link to read all parts of this series.

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