Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen : Part 22: Her Legacy

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

In this last part, let us look at Lata's legacy.

Lata came into Hindi film music when modernity was creeping into it, and music directors like Ghulam Haider, Anil Biswas, Sajjad Hussain, Shankar Jaikishen and others were pushing the boundaries of Hindi film music. It must be said that she became an integral part of this push towards modernity. The range of her voice and her singing skills enabled music directors to compose music without fear, for they know Lata would give perfect expression to their musical ideas. She was sought after by every music director in the initial days, though later, O.P. Nayyar did not work with her. She was an integral part of the golden generation of Hindi film music that spanned more than two decades, from the late 40s to the late 60s. 

Lata has left behind an amazing body of work, that would be extremely difficult for any current-day singer to match. This is due to two reasons: one, music directors are constantly looking for 'new' or 'unique' voices. The quality of the singing doesn't matter, because there are enough and more devices that can be used to cover up the defects. This means that even if you have a brilliantly melodic voice and talent like Shreya Ghoshal, you are not guaranteed songs in every film. The second reason why the current singers will never match Lata is that we do not have music directors of the calibre of Salil Da, Sajjad Hussain, Madan Mohan, Burman Da or Roshan. That means you don't get songs that are extremely challenging. Even if there are a few that are challenging, singers of today can record each line separately, and if they are out of tune, pitch correction machines can be used. It will be a miracle if another Lata Mangeshkar were to emerge in the current scenario.

Lata's other major contribution to Hindi film music is voice modulation. Before she came in, there were a lot of 'strong' voices in Hindi film music. Her voice was thin, but she knew how to control it. Her breath control, volume control and modulations ensured the songs shined. That was one reason she was able to make so many songs her own. Her singing of songs like 'mera saya,' 'aaja re pardesi,' 'rahe an rahe hum,' 'ae dilruba,' 'piya those naina large re,' 'na koi umang hai,' and others are masterclasses for the younger generation. We find singers even today singing songs like, 'kuhu kuhu bole koyaliya,' in music competitions. She has many more such classical songs that have become standards like 'eri aayi piya bin.' 

Lata was able to cover a lot of genres, and she did justice to all of them. While singing based on ragas was her forte, she was equally good at singing haunting songs like 'kahin deep jale kahin dil.' Sad songs were another strong area of hers, and she could move people to tears with her renditions. She had sung a whole lot of peppy and happy numbers like 'sayonara,' 'kitna pyara wada hai,' and so on. Whenever she was called to deliver a song in which genre, she tried her best to do justice to the song. She was part of that generation whose work ethic ensured they did their best for each song. She was equally at ease singing duets, whether it be with Rafi, Mukesh, Talat, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar or Kishore Kumar, though there seemed to have been a great level of comfort when she sang with Kishore Kumar, someone whom she liked a lot. 

Lata was a pathbreaker, but she did not wear that label at all. She came from a poor, struggling family, with her voice being her only asset. She worked extremely hard on her voice and on her diction, learnt well from the masters and slowly established herself as an institution. It is unthinkable for a non-heroine to have such influence in the Hindi film industry. Lata had that influence. Being a woman in the film industry is not easy, but she did not bow to anyone and was ready to make enemies. She had a difference of opinion with various music directors as well as with the producer and director Raj Kapoor. 

She was a pioneer for singer's rights as well, for it was she that first demanded that the singers be paid a part of royalty. This led to her having problems with Mohd. Rafi as well, with many producers and music directors who did not agree with her request. In hindsight, this was such a great step for all singers, and if the singers of today get paid a royalty, they need to thank Lata Mangeshkar for that.

When it concerns legacy, we cannot escape discussing the accusations against Lata, the main one being that she sabotaged the careers of many female singers. I have no contacts with any insiders in the Hindi film music industry, so I am not privy to what actually transpired. I know this may sound like a cop-out by me, but so let me state my honest opinion. I believe if Lata had really done this, it is still par for the course as far as the film industry is concerned. I have read and heard enough about heroes, their egos and their effort to sabotage the career of their 'rivals.' Every aspirant in the film industry faces these challenges. As I said, if Lata had done it, it would not be something new. She was as much a part of this industry as any other hero, director or producer.

What is the relationship of the current generation with Lata? Well, I can say that those who started hearing music in the late 80s and early 90s or later feel that Lata is an overrated singer, who had a screechy voice. This is because, nowadays, retro means R.D. Burman at most. No one seems to listen to songs beyond those times. So many have not heard Lata at her peak, nor do they seem interested in hearing the songs from her golden period. I know that I am making a sweeping statement here, and there will be exceptions, but I am ready to wager that a large majority of the current population may rate Shreya Ghoshal as a better singer than Lata. Unfortunately, that is the reality of today, where the quest for newness overtakes the desire to dig deep into musical history. 

Yet, I am not overly worried. Those with a good musical sense will definitely discover the richness of the music of the 50s and the 60s. They will also discover the beauty in Lata's voice and the amazing number of great songs she sang. She has left behind so many gems that despite the ravages of time, many of them will be heard by discerning listeners, who will agree with the title of my series: Lata Mangeshkar - The Queen. She was undisputedly the singing queen of Hindi film music. 

Here is my list of the top 10 Lata songs (personal favourites) from the 50s and 60s that youngsters must listen to:

1. 'bhool ja ae dil' : Khel, MD: Sajjad Hussain (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb_5EShdmRQ)

2. 'beimaan tore nainwa' : Tarana, MD: Anil Biswas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpnT4Cth0pQ)

3. 'aayega aanewala' : Mahal, MD: Kemchand Prakash (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTCnFzKo5iY)

4. 'ae zindagi usi ki hai': Anarkali, MD: C.Ramachandra (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na2VxqcsvQo) 

5.  'hum pyar mein jalne walon ko' : Jailor, MD: Madanmohan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLHk-brjfLg)

6. 'haye jiya roye': Milan, MD: Hansraj Behl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tj6m2_w7ew)

7. 'tum na jane kis jahan': Sazaa MD: S.D. Burman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuRkvf24PUo)

8. 'haye re who din': Anuradha MD: Pt.Ravishankar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v57QxIkF3nI)

9. 'o sajna': Parakh, MD: Salil Chaudhary (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v57QxIkF3nI)

10. 'jurm-e-ulfat': Taj Mahal, MD: Roshan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SrWY5bXTeE)

For those who want to hear all the 10 songs in one go, here is a youtube playlist for the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI50w-uttTA&list=PL4k9UVt6IxS3-JmeVkEhYPUKhNd4C9WkZ

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

            ----------  The series concludes --------------------

Acknowledgements: I wish to acknowledge the usefulness of the MySwar website for my research (myswar.co) . MySwar is run by my good friend Parameshwaran (@taparam on Twitter.) The site has complete information about Hindi film songs.

I also wish to thank all those who uploaded videos on youtube, whose videos I used in my series.