Wishing Lata Mangeshkar a very happy 89th birthday (b. 28 September 1929)
Among all the music director-singer combinations Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar ranks among the very top. This article by Anirudh Bhattacharjee and Srijit Mukherji quotes OP Nayyar as having once said, “It is difficult to figure out whether Madan Mohan was made for Lata Mangeshkar or vice versa.” We have all heard of Naushad’s ultimate tribute to Madan Mohan that he was willing to offer his entire work for two ghazals of Anpadh (Aapki nazron ne samjha; Hai isi mein pyar ki aabroo). Even allowing for Naushad’s Lakhanavi nafasat, and the fact that he said it in his obituary, it is undisputed that he was held in very high esteem for the quality of his music by his peers and music maestros, besides the listeners. It is said that Begum Akhtar was so impressed by the tune of Kadar jaane na (Bhai Bhai) that she called him once, when she was feeling low, and asked him to sing it for fifteen minutes on telephone. We may recall that Madan Mohan was himself a very good singer and he was very close to Begum Akhtar from his AIR days.
Underpinning MM-Lata’s great music was their close personal bond from the late 40s when Lata Mangeshkar was yet a struggling singer, and Madan Mohan used to hang around his wealthy father, Rai Bahadur Chunnilal’s Bombay Talkies/Filmistan. Ghulam Haider was assigned to give music for Filmistan’s Shaheed (1948) and he also recorded a duet, Pinjre mein bole bulbul, in the voice of Madan Mohan and Lata Mangeshkar. But as we know the story told umpteen times, Lata Mangeshkar was rejected by S Mukherjee as her voice was considered ‘too thin’. Thus, the MM-Lata duet could not see the light of the day. But their association continued and evolved into rakhi-brother and sister relationship. And we know from folklore that often such bonds are stronger than between real siblings.
As Lata Mangeshkar struggled to find a foothold as a playback singer, Madan Mohan was made to go through his own struggles, as Rai Bahadur Chunnilal, for inexplicable reasons, was vehemently against his son having anything to do with films. After a circuitous route of Army, All India Radio and assisting SD Burman and Shyam Sundar, Madan Mohan landed his first independent assignment as music director in Aankhen (1950).
For all the shared background and their lofty personal bonding, it has ever remained a mystery for me why Madan Mohan did not use Lata Mangeshkar’s voice in his first film. But next year onwards their glorious association started with Madhosh, Ada (1951), and continued for over two decades with all-time great songs in films like Ashiana (1952); Bhai Bhai, Pocketmar (1956); Dekh Kabira Roya, Gateway of India (1957); Adalat, Jailor (1958); Baap Bete, Chacha Zindabad, Mohar (1959); Bahana (1960); Sanjog (1961); Anpadh, Manmauji (1962); Akeli Mat Jaiyo, Aap Ki Parchhainyan, Haqeeqat, Jahan Ara, Pooja Ke Phool, Wo Kaun Thi (1964); Rishte Naate (1965); Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Mera Saya (1966); Dastak, Heer Ranjha (1970); Haste Zakhm (1973) etc. Many years after Madan Mohan’s demise, his old and unused tunes, with the help of his son Sanjeev Kohli, were used in Yash Chopra’s Veer Zaara (2004), for which Lata Mangeshkar was recalled to give playback. The timbre in her voice was gone by then, but she must have connected with Late Madan Mohan spiritually, because in the nine songs out of eleven in which her voice was used (including two solos), you could clearly feel the strong emotional connect between the singer and the composer.
Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar’s Memorable Songs
He composed over 200 songs for her; my estimation is that her solos would be about 140. As I go through their songs I can pick over 60 which are of unparalleled beauty. (Arunkumar Deshmukh states in his Comment # 23 that Madan Mohan gave music for 91 films, out of which he used Lata Mangeshkar’s voice in 68 films, composing 210 songs for her of which 168 were solos.)
Ada (1951)
1. Aankhon aankhon mein unse pyar ho gaya
2. Saanwri surat man bhai re piya
3. Preetam meri duniya mein do din to rahe hote
Ashiana (1952)
4. Tum chaand ke saath chale aao ye raat suhani ho jaye
5. Mere piya se koi ja ke kah de jeevan ka sahara teri yaad re
6. Samaan hai bahaar ka le le maza pyar ka
7. Main na jaanun mere dil ko ye kya ho gaya
Baaghi (1953)
8. Hamare baad ab mehfil mein afsane bayan honge
Railway Platform (1955)
9. Chaand madham hai arman chup hai
Bhai Bhai (1956)
10. Mera chhota sa dekho ye sansaar hai
11. Kadar jaane na
Pocketmaar (1956)
12. Balma anaadi manga de ghodagaadi
Chhote Babu (1957)
13. Aanewale kal ki tum tasveer ho
Dekh Kabira Roya (1957)
14. Meri veena tum bin roye
15. Tu pyar kare ya thukra de
Gateway of India (1957)
16. Na hanso humpe zamaane ke hain thukraye huye
17. Sapne mein sajan se do baatein, ek yaad rahi ek bhool gaye
Adalat (1958)
18. Jana tha humse door bahaane bana liye
19. Yun hasraton ke daagh mohabbat mein dho liye
20. Unko ye shikayat hai ki hum kuchh nahi kahte
Jailor (1958)
21. Boondaniya barsan laagi re
23. Hum pyar mein jalnewaalon ko chain kahan aaram kahan
Baap Bete (1959)
24. Main to jaaun na Jamuna kinaare
25. Mori paayal geet sunaaye
Bank Manager (1959)
26. Kadam bahke bahke jiya dhadak dhadak jaaye
Chacha Zindabad (1959)
27. Bairan neend na aaye
Minister (1959)
28. Un aankhon mein neend kahan jin aankhon se preetam door base
Mohar (1959)
29. Tum ho saath raat bhi haseen hai
Bahana (1960)
30. Ja re badra bairi ja re ja re
Anpadh (1962)
31. Hai isi mein pyar ki aabroo wo jafa karen main wafa karun
32. Aapki nazaron ne samjha pyar ke kaabil mujhe
33. Jiya le gayoji mora saanwariya
Manmauji (1962)
34. Main to tum sang nain mila ke haar gayi sajana
Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963)
35. Wo jo milte the kabhi humse deewaanon ki tarah
Aap Ki Parchhainyan (1964)
36. Agar mujhse muhabbat hai to mujhe sab apne gham de do
Ghazal (1964)
37. Naghma-o-sher ki saugaat kise pesh karun
Haqeeqat (1964)
38. Zara si aahat hoti hai to dil sochata hai kahin ye wo to nahin
Jahan Ara (1964)
39. Haal-e-dil yun unhein sunaya gaya
40. Wo chup rahein to mere dil ke daagh jalte hain
Pooja Ke Phool (1964)
41. Meri aankhon se koi neend liye jata hai
Wo Kaun Thi (1964)
42. Lag ja gale ki phir ye haseen raat ho na ho
43. Jo humne dastan apni sunayi to aap kyun royein
44. Naina barse rimjhim
Rishte Naate (1965)
45. Sakhi ri tujhe man ke meet mile
46. Khanak gayo haye bairi kangana
47. Mujhe yaad karnewale tere saath saath hun main
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966)
48. Kai din se ji hai bekal
49. Sapnon mein agar tum aa jao
50. Maine rang li aaj chunariya sajna tore rang mein
Mera Saya (1966)
51. Naino mein badra chhaye
52. Tu jahan jahan chalega
Jab Yaad Kisi ki Aati hai (1967)
53. Tere bin saawan kaise beeta tu kya jaane saajana
54. Jab yaad kisi ki aati hai, aankhon mein neend ud jaati hai
Ek Kali Muskaayi (1968)
55. Kaun rokega ab pyar ka raasta main to pi ki nagarya jaane lagi
56. Na tum bewafa ho na hum bewafa hain, magar kya karein apni raahein juda hain
Dastak (1970)
57. Bainya na dharo balma
58. Maai ri main kaase kahun peer apne jiya ki
59. Hum hain mataay-e-kooch-o-baazar ki tarah
Baawarchi (1972)
60. More naina bahaayen neer
Hanste Zakhm (1973)
61. Aaj socha to aansoo bhar aaye
Veer Zaara (2004)
62. Jaane kyun
That makes about 44.3% of Lata Mangeshkar solos (62/140) for Madan Mohan memorable and everlasting even on a very conservative selection. The readers may recall from my several year-wise reviews that even during the Golden Era, the number of ‘Memorable Songs’, even by a very liberal selection, never exceeded 15-20% of the total songs in a year. What are the reasons for MM-Lata magic? Quoting Anirudh Bhattacharjee and Srijit Mukherji again:
“His compositional techniques and eventually the output were vastly different from most of his contemporaries, and even later composers. As Lata Mangeshkar reminisces, he used to croon various taans during the creation of a song. And his genius lay in etching out the final composition from the surfeit of these taans with the assured competency of a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat.
Though primarily popular as the Ultimate Ghazalsmith, he fashioned an incredible range for the vocals of Lata, where the output was more than simply a ghazal. Furthermore, Lata also sounded different under Madan Mohan. One reason was that his composition often broke away from the usual paradigm of Hindi songs of a low octave mukhda followed by an antara at a higher octave. His compositions often started at a high pitch, followed either by an antara in low octave (for example, Jee humen manzoor hain from Aap ki nazron ne samjha) or a even higher pitched antara.”
Despite the outstanding quality of his music, commercial success and Filmfare Award eluded him. He did get a grand award, the National Award for the music of Dastak (1970), but that did not mitigate his disappointment at what the film world had meted out to him. He took to alcohol and died a sad man on 14 July 1975. However, he should be a happy man in the heaven by the adulation of millions of music lovers.
For a blog that unabashedly divides female playback singers into two categories – ‘Lata Mangeshkar’ and ‘Others’ – it is surprising that it should have taken more than eight years to write a post on Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar combination. Among my admitted weaknesses are Roshan and Chitragupta’s songs for Lata Mangeshkar. Thereafter, I got into series on the titans, , Naushad, C Ramchandra, SD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, and OP Nayyar (written by Ravindra Kelkar). There is a time for everything. It is befitting that DP Rangan has set off a tandem series on Roshan-Madan Mohan. Continuing the series, I on behalf of all the readers extend heartiest greetings to Lata Mangeshkar on her 89th birth anniversary with a selection of some of my favourite songs composed by her ‘Madan Bhaiya’. This is not necessarily their best or in any order. From such a list of great songs, it is impossible to pick 10 or 20 ‘best’.
1. Main to tum sang nain mila ke haar gayi sajna from Manmauji (1962), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
At some stage during my active listening I felt deeply in love with this song, and it has forever remained one of my great favourites of Lata Mangeshkar. Just imagine the range of Madan Mohan who composed completely contrasting songs, Murge ne jhooth bola murge ki choon choon ho gayi (Kamal Barot) and Zaroorat hai zaroorat hai ek shrimati ki (Kishore Kumar), in the same film. Besides the soft, melancholic songs of Lata Mangeshkar, he also had a lighter side. My first post on him was on this ‘other’ Madan Mohan.
2. Sapne mein sajan se do baatein ek yaad rahi ek bhool gaye from Gateway of India (1957), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
Rejendra Krishna was one of the greatest lyricists of his time. His combination with C Ramchandra is well known. He comes up with another beauty, composed so melodiously by Madan Mohan and sung equally beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar. I read somewhere that this song was removed from the film. How ironical! The song nevertheless will remain immortal on its own.
3. Tum chaand ke saath chale aao from Aashiyana (1952), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
I started with 1962 in the first song, and I have gone back five years, and now, further back five years. It is often said that Lata Mangeshkar sounded the sweetest in the early 1950s. This song is a proof of that. It was the peak of C Ramchandra, Naushad, Anil Biswas and Shankar-Jaikishan, yet the newcomer Madan Mohan holds his own with this soulful song.
4. Samaan hai bahaar ka le le maza pyar ka from Aashiyana (1952), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
In such a tight selection it seems unfair to select another song from this film. But this is now set to faster beat and is apparently a dance song. You can compare this with Shankar-Jaikishan’s dance songs they composed for Lata Mangeshkar during that period. Ironically, this delightful song, too, was probably deleted from the film.
5. Kadar jaane na mora baalam bedardi ji mora baalam from Bhai Bhai (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
Now the song that so impressed Begum Akhtar that she wanted Madan Mohan sing it to her on phone. Bhai Bhai was the first commercial success of Madan Mohan. It was deprived of Silver Jubilee by a couple of weeks as it was pulled out of theatres due to a dispute between the producer and the exhibitor. The same film also had ‘other’ Madan Mohan in Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kis pe aa gaya hai (Geeta Dutt) and Mera naam Abdul Rahman..pistawala main hun pathan (Kishore Kumar-Lata Mangeshkar).
And here is Madan Mohan himself singing this song.
6. Tum ho saath raat bhi haseen hai from Mohar (1956), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
Now I come to a very special song that will transport the Radio-generation to their young days when this song was among the two most famous signature tunes of Radio Ceylon, this being for the weekly programme Apni Pasand in which the announcer used to present his favourite songs. The other and the most celebrated signature tune was Khushiyon ke din manaaye ja..Abhi to main jawan hun, that too being a Lata Mangeshkar song, composed by Husnlal-Bhagatram for Afsana (1951).
7. Yun hasraton ke daagh mohabbat mein dho liye from Adalat (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
This was one of the songs which cemented the reputation of Madan Mohan as the King of Ghazals. The music fits so well with the image of a reluctant courtesan, forced to entertain clients for the sake of bringing up her daughter. Yaqub on the sarangi is equally good. This film also had the ‘other’ Madan Mohan in Dupatta mera malmal ka.
8. Boondaniya barsan laagi re from Jailor (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
Hum pyar mein jalnewaalon ko chain kahan aaram kahan is perhaps more famous and is set in the typical poignant and melancholic mood of MM-Lata combination. But Boondaniya barsan laagi re from this film, which evokes a pleasant mood of the rainy season, shows all the expertise of Madan Mohan in classical-based compositions. The song is picturised on a minor actor, Shashimala (?), singing at a radio station. The principal characters – Sohrab Modi, Geeta Bali and Abhi Bhattacharya – get restless for their own reasons while listening to the song on the radio.
9. Main to jaaun na Jamuna kinaare from Baap Bete (1959), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
I am most delighted when I discover a ‘new’ song that makes me sit up and wonder where was it hidden. I must have heard this song very sparingly, if at all, but what a beauty!
10. Un aankhon mein neend kahan jin aankhon se preetam door base from Minister (1959), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
Now a genuinely ‘new’ song, I am very sure, I had never heard before. This came to me serendipitously in Bhhole Bisre Geet programme of Vividh Bharati recently when I was working on this post. I am also sure that the readers would be greatly pleased that I am presenting an unknown song, leaving aside several iconic songs of this combination.
11. Bairan neend na aaye from Chacha Zindabad (1959), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
DP Rangan in his tandem Roshan-Madan Mohan post, focused on their expertise with classical ragas, has included Lata Mangeshkar solo by Madan Mohan, Ja re badra bairi ja, in Yaman, and three other songs in different ragas. Bairan neend na aye is my great favourite, and now I realise the reason – it is set in Raga Kafi (as per chandrakantha.com). This film had the ‘other’ Madan Mohan in full flow with Kishore Kumar’s absolutely wild Des chhudaye bhes chhudaye.
12. Wo jo milte the kabhi humse deewaanon ki tarah from Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri
13. Agar muhse mohbaat hai from Aap Ki Parchhaiyan (1964), lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan
After a long association with Rajendra Krishna, Madan Mohan now reunites with Raja Menhdi Ali Khan, who was one of the lyricists in his debut film Aankhen (1950). Their association created some of the greatest songs for MM-Lata combination. Alas, the picturisation does not match up to the level of the song: Supriya Chaudhary seems to be going through the motions of lip-synching, and Dharmendra seems to be confused what expression he should bring on his face. But a great song nevertheless.
14. Naghma-o-sher ki saugat kise pesh karun from Ghazal (1964), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi
The King of Ghazal gets to compose for the eponymous film Ghazal in which Meena Kumari is the daughter of a nawab. She writes poetry which kindles love between her and the editor from a common background, Sunil Dutt. This was a perfect recipe for a Muslim social, Meena Kumari fitting to a T in the role of a pining lady, and no one could better write poetry of unrequited love than Sahir Ludhiyanavi. Chandrakantha.com identifies it as Bhimpalasi.
15. Meri aankhon se koi neend liye jata hai from Pooja Ke Phool (1964), lyrics Rajendra Krishna
This was the biggest year for Madan Mohan, with superb songs one after another in film after film. This one is my special favourite.
16. Jo humne daastan apni sunayi from Wo Kaun Thi (1964), lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan
Many readers would put Lag ja gale ki phir ye haseen raat ho ya na ho as the very best of Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar combination. But that song has been discussed in detail in Subodh Agrawal’s post on Raga Pahadi. Wo Kaun Thi was the biggest film of Madan Mohan’s career. It was sad that he lost Filmfare Award for the best music to other smart competitors. Had there been an Award for overall best music director for the year, Madan Mohan, with Akeli Mat Jaiyo, Aap Ki Parchhainya, Ghazal, Haqeeqat, Jahan Ara, Pooja Ke Phool and Wo Kaun Thi, should have won hands down. Lata’s two other songs in the film, Jo humne daastan apni sunayi and Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim, are equally melodious.
17. Khanak gayo haye bairi kangana from Rishte Naate (1965), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri
From sad, let us move to joyous. It is delightful to see Nutan ‘dance’.
18. Maine rang li aaj chunariya sajana tere rang mein from Dulhan Ek raat Ki (1966), lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan
Oh, Nutan again, what a pleasure! Madan Mohan imbued even joyous songs with a unique dignity.
19. Jaane kyun khwabon ka mausam from Veer Zaara (2004), lyrics Javed Akhtar
Veer Zaara was the kind of commercial success Madan Mohan yearned for his entire life. But as I said he should be delighted in heaven that the lovers of his music regard him very highly. Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘last’ song for him is quite poignant. She sang the songs of this film when we thought she had long retired, and she does not disappoint.
20. Nainon mein badra chhaye bijli si chamke haaye from Mera Saya (1966), lyrics Raja Menhdi Ali Khan
I end this post with another high point of Madan Mohan – Mera Saya. A sad Sunil Dutt, reclining listlessly on the terrace, remembers the happy days with his newly-wedded wife, Sadhana, singing this beautiful composition in Bhimpalasi in his imagination.
Note: I wondered why, despite their close association, Lata Mangeshkar did not sing for Madan Mohan’s debut film. In one of the YT links, she is quoted that she heard from someone that he was saying negative things about her which made her very angry. When her misunderstanding was cleared, she started singing for him from 1951 onwards. I am quite sceptical about celebrity statements cited in first person. I don’t mind believing that the reason was she had already achieved great success, and wanted to see how the young man fared.
Disclaimer: The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of music lovers. The copyright rests with the respective owners.
{ 114 comments… read them below or add one }
A very detailed and insightful post on Lata’s association with MM.
Of course the song list would differ with each person.
Still you have covered majority of the popular songs.
Congratulations
It’s a difficult thing to have a post on this subject.
🙂
Anup,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
‘Sone pe suhaga’ is all I can say about this combination. Thanks for the wonderful selection of songs and the insightful analysis. My own favourite is ‘Naina barse’.
I WISH AND PRAY LATA DIDI
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY .
ALL GODDESSES , GODS SHOWER THEIR BLESSINGS ON LATA DIDI
FOR A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS LONG LIFE.
Most awaited post on a great day….no need to say anything about this pair !! all songs are no.1s and immortals..happy birthday to Lataji.
MM deserved at least 3 ff awards…from Anpadh, Woh Kaun Thi, Jahaan Ara, Mera Saaya, Laila Majnu……..Chand Madham Hai alone was able to grab an ff award !!
But sadly the jury panel of ff is a bunch of non melodious jokers who see only commercial success of the film and not the quality of music….pity.
Authority can dismantle and kill any supreme talent with such unkind and mean spirited approach.
AKji
Boondaniya barsan laagi is a great selection among the known ones. It’s my favorite too. I am also hearing that Baap Bete song first time.. perhaps it is recently uploaded on YT.
AK ji,
Many Thanks for this post.
I too concur with #1, that it is difficult to have this post in the first place for the obvious reasons.
Lata not being part of MM’s debut film, reminds me of Mukesh not being part of Roshan’s first film.
MM’s compositions for Lata are beyond awards. They were heavenly created and will remain in our hearts.
“dil unko utha ke de diya” from Baap Bete 1959 is also among several of my personal favourites of the combo.
Subodh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I am happy you enjoyed the selection.
Jignesh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I am happy you enjoyed the selection and discovered a ‘new’ song.
Mahesh,
You are welcome Mahesh. Dil unko utha ke de diya is also an excellent song. Also less heard, worth posting here.
Dil unko utha ke de diya by Lata Mangeshkar from Baap Bete (1969), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan
AK, the perfect two-in-one to celebrate Lata’s birthday. There is something about her songs for Madan Mohan that I really really like. And you’ve posted some gorgeous songs – Kadar jaane na is a particular favourite. So is Sapne mein sajan se do baatein.
I would add Khelo na mere dil se; from Haqeeqat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9rcpCmbkI
Hai tere saath meri wafa from Hindustan ki Kasam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKp2ZWYR0aE
and Betaab dil ki tamanna from Hanste Zakhm;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh62VIyjocE
Re: their intial meeting: Madan Mohan had corroborated Lata’s version in an interview – if I can find it online again I’ll post the link.
AK ji, excellent article. I wish Lata ji good health on her 89th birthday.
Your selection of Madan Mohan / Lata mangeshkar combine is very good. I would like to add the following :
Mukh mod na lena sajana / Ashiyana
Badi barbadiyan lekar meri duniya mein pyar aaya / Dhun
Chal diya dil mera todke / Fifty Fifty
Yeh kahe chandni raat / Nirmohi
Aaja kahin se aaja / Samundar
Anu,
Thanks a lot. Betaab hai dil I heard for the first time. The other two are my favourites.
Re: Their initial meeting. In that case the story does not embarrass either.
Anil Kane,
Thanks a lot. You have digged out some great early songs. The first song was unknown to me, but so melodious.
AK,
Thanks for ” THE heartiest greetings” on our behalf.
Adding my two cents.
Kal jalega chand sari raat raat bhar hoti FILM NIRMOHI 1952
https://youtu.be/9QzmRF10b1M
Naionomein Pyar Dole Lata Mangeshkar in Sheroo
https://youtu.be/jyiyj9si7LE
Ehsan 1954 – Unki Nazaron Ka Vaar Kyun Ji Kaisa Lagaa – Lata Mangeshkar
https://youtu.be/vnEDBXKYkYQ
AKji:
A lilting post that deserves a playlist! Unlike some MDs who asked lyricists to write lyrics fitting their tunes, MM reportedly insisted on the lyrics before composing the tunes. Part of the MM magic probably comes from that.
Here is ‘Miaoon miaoon meri sakhi’ from ‘Pooja ke phool’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnacDocV_Mo
According to madanmohan.in (the website maintained by his sons), MM had originally composed ‘Mujhe apni ankhiyaan dede’ for the blind Nimmi singing to her pet bird. Later the pet was changed to cat and this song was dropped:
http://www.madanmohan.in/audio/98_Unrel_Songs_Unrel_Films/03_Mujhe%20Apni%20Ankhiyaan%20Dede.mp3
Mumbaikar8,
You are welcome. Among the three songs you have added I was familiar with Nainon mein pyar dole which I like a lot.
Canasya,
Thanks a lot. Miaoon miaoon meri sakhi is a lovely song, much better than the one that was dropped. The story about the song is quite interesting. Thanks a lot.
A five star song is just posted by Mumbaikar8ji from Nirmohi
I must highlight that top class melody again with its lyrics.
कल जलेगा चांद सारी रात
रात भर होती रहेगी आग की बरसात
कल जलेगा चांद सारी रात
बज रहे थे घुंघरू जो बादलों के पाँव में
कल वो ही रोयेंगे झर झर आसमाँ की छाँव में
कह ना पाएंगे सितारें अपने दिल की बात
कल जलेगा चांद सारी रात..
तुम उधर सो जाओगे सपनों के मीठे राग में
मैं इधर जलती रहुंगी चांदनी की आग में
ख़ुन बनकर दिल बहेगा आँसुओं के साथ
कल जलेगा चांद सारी रात..
I love very much another five star song from the same year 1953 and the movie is “Dhun”. It is a piano classic…no words for it…absolute stunner !!!
तारे गीन गीन बीती सारी रात पड़ी है बरसात
आँखों से सारी रात.. तारे गीन गीन बीती सारी रात..
मेरी देख देख तन्हाई
हँसी तारों ने मेरी उड़ाई
कहे हँस हँस तारों भरी रात
मले है क्युँ हाथ
कहो है क्या बात
तारे गीन गीन बीती सारी रात..
क्या हम से हुई है ख़ताएँ
किस जुर्म की है ये सज़ाएँ
बहे रुक रुक आँसु सारी रात
हुई है परभात
ना सुझे कोई बात
तारे गीन गीन बीती सारी रात..
क्या भुल गए वो ज़माना
कोई रुठे भी तो मनाना
रहे चुप चुप अब सारी रात
करे ना कोई बात
जिया है घबरात
तारे गीन गीन बीती सारी रात..
https://youtu.be/jBRKsodn2AY
I can include these both songs in my top 20 fvrt MM songs.
another classic from Nirmohi is दुखिया रे नैना ढुंढे पिया को निस दिन करे पुकार..
AKji, I am wondering no any Lata song in your main list from Madhosh, Dhun or Nirmohi !! They all have unforgettable Lata songs.
रूप के रस में बूंद नहाई
बाहों से लिपटी पाँवों पे आई
गोरी के चरणों में आन समाई
जल की बूंद के भाग अनूठे
खिले कंवल सी काया तेरी
खिले कंवल सी काया ..
Amazing Poetry Amazing Tune
from his unreleased ones. I could not find this 70s’ masterpiece of MM Lata on YT someone help. His composing skills were unabated until very end of his life, one can believe it by listening this outstanding tune.
another top class song comes in mind from film Chaalbaaz released after his demise approving his well maintained class until his death.
Jaaiye hum se khafa ho jaaiye
Dushmanon ka aasra ho jaaiye
https://youtu.be/NyzK2HoPQI8
Akji
I think you have made your main list in a haste !! how could you miss many milestone songs when you have included VeerZaara song which was not necessary from my POV.
Husn haazir hai
Chhai barkha bahaar
Betaab dil ki tamanna yahi hai
Rasm e ulfat ko nibhaaye
Aap ki baaten kare ya
Hai tere saath meri wafa
Nainon men pyar dole
and his last over sixer
Mushkil hai jeena bedardon ki duniya men
dard uthe to chup rehna
apne hi aansu peena
bedardon ki duniya men
mushkil hai jeena.
from Saahib Bahadur.
https://youtu.be/G5RRmTLy2Os
Jignesh like the energy you bring along.
Here’s Khile Kamal si kaaya
It’s there on yt
https://youtu.be/FvUuerHF0Z0
The album Tere Bagair was released in 2009 or so that included unreleased songs of MM
It has songs by Rafi Lata and Asha
🙂
And thanks for sharing wonderful songs mumbaikar 8.
Amazing!
AK ji,
As far as I know, MM gave music to 91 films (exc. Veerzara).
He used Lata’s voice in 68 films for a total of 210 songs. Her solos were 168 songs.
Surprisingly, CR used her only in 63 films.
Anupji
thanks for the link. Actually I was searching with the words “khile kanwal si kaya” and failed to get.
Saregama had released a 5 cassettes set of MM in 1999 under Legends series. I had heard this song first time then. That set included his few unreleased songs too like Khile kanwal si kaya, Mere ashkon ka gham na kar ae dil, Kaise kategi zindagi of Rafi and some pieces of MM’s own singing while composing the tunes on harmonium. It also includes a discarded tune of Dil dhoondta hai phir wahi..sung by him on harmonium which is later used in VeerZaara as “Tere liye hum hai jeeye hothon ko seeye.”
@jignesh ji,
Thank you for the information about the cassette, released in 1999, I had no idea about it at all.
The post has “Ras-Nishpati” as the singer and the composer have created an “Amrit-Sagar”.
I appreciate the words ‘Sone pe suhaga’ of Subodh Agrwal @ 3.
I wonder if he could take some of his favourite songs of MM-Lata M and present us the classicality behind these songs.
All in all praise goes to AK for presenting a fragrant “Guldastan” on the right occasion to the SoY readers.
Shalan La
Jignesh.
I too admire your energy and passion. I agree with the first part of your observation – that Veer Zara song could have been dispensed with. Its only importance was the story behind it.
The reason for not including songs from Madhosh, Nirmohi and Dhun was that I was less familiar with the songs of these films, or the 60 plus songs I have included left greater imprint on me. On careful listening, Taare gin gin beete saari raat is a superb song and should have found a place in the big list. Kal jalega chaand saari raat is outstanding poetry. I can see that your heart first goes to the lyrics, while the music registers with me more.
Thanks a lot for your additions and detailed comments.
Arunji,
Thanks a lot for the detailed information. I had underestimated the proportion of solos in the total songs of this combination. 80% solos of the total output is exceptionally high and much higher than the general average.
Shalan Lal,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
AK:
A wonderful post on one of the best composer-singer combinations.
Apart from the sheer beauty of the tune, I find that Madan Mohan tunes are soul stirring, that touch your emotions immediately and deeply. Another facet of MM-Lata songs is the difficulty in singing. MM used to stretch the notes quite a lot and it used to take quite a lot of skill on Lata’s part to transcend the notes easily. She used to say MM tunes are difficult to sing.
Check out tunes like Chaai barkha bahaar, Naina barse for the stretching of notes. Also, if you listen to Aap ki nazron ne samjhaa, you will find that the lines are so long that Lata almost runs out of breath at the end of the lines.
MM was a composer that richly deserved more recognition.
Ravi,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation and for your very perceptive observations. Long line and stretching of notes are spot on. Think of Lag ja gale ki phir ye haseen raat ho na ho, shayad is janam mein mulaqat ho na ho. He really enjoyed stretching himself with Lata Mangeshkar. That explains the very large percentage of solos (80%) in the total songs he composed for her. This is much higher than the average.
AK
When to the query of Vaishnavji you replied that you have done Lata-Roshan but not Lata-MM I could not believe it. Lata and MM are just indispensable to each other. When I saw your list of 60 odd songs I thought either you have become lazy or you did not have enough time. Or may be I am harsh and you may have simply left the remaining gems for the readers. You talked about 15 %, but that is for all singers all MDs and for all grades of films in a year. But if the case is of a super A grade composer and super A grade singer the result would be different. Look at the case of Rafi MM songs out of about 80 solos more than 70 were posted. I have identified about 50 more Lata-MM songs in addition to the 61(minus Veerjara). But I would not post a list and just post some of my favourites, because others have also a right to post their favourites.
Madan Mohan for me was the first composer whose name I came to know when I did not even understand what a composer is. In the Pakistani war of 65, I was just short of 12, the municipal authorities dug a Z shape trench just on the side of our main door. That was meant for use at the time of any air attack. There were accompanied rules of blackout etc. which made an impact on my mind. At that time songs like ‘kar chale hum fida’ were played constantly. The songs of Shaheed were also out. In our neighbourhood their was a dhobi who had a record player. While ironing clothes he would play film songs and in those times patriotic songs took a preference by themselves. At that time I did not know to which film they belonged. But, after a couple of years, the film Haqueekat came and I saw it with my cousin who was 12 years older than me and he told me that the songs of this film were made by Madan Mohan. I did not know what a composer is but I thought this must be some great person. Same was the impact of Rafi. Later when I grew up I followed the career and writings about MM. My view is that a lot has been said about what kind of songs he composed and all that. But, a special aspect of MM has not been frequently mentioned and that is that he was a literary and well read person. In the literary company of the likes of Rajendran Krishan they discussed more than just the songs. He took keen interest in construction of the lyrics of a song. This quality of his is one of the reasons for such high quality songs. I wanted to mention this in the qawwali article but the discussion there passed. I am sure that he composed the qawwali ‘kabhi ae haqueekate muntazar’ for the historical mention in the antara of the love of Mahmood Ghaznavi with his male lover Ayaz viz. “na wo Ghaznavi men tadap rahi na wo kham hai zulfe Ayaz men”. For those who want to read about the legend of Ghaznavi and Ayaz just google their names and you will get some good articles.
Now some songs not in the list
First some light songs but which are really nice
Is duniya men sab chor chor -Bhai Bhai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL6L9ki5dgg
Chhoti si hai zindagi apni khushi se ji – Pocketmaar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5EyBgtTprs
Bhor hote kaga pukare kahe raam – Chirag
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsodEd8l2fg
Milo naa tum to hum ghabrayen – Heer Ranjha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGQhWf1FWiw
Hamen ho gaya tumse pyar – Madhosh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCTwhVLdTEI
Also I was surprised to find that such a fan of Lata had not heard either ‘un ankhon men neend kahan’ or ‘betaab dil ki tamanna yahi hai’ which were frequently on radio.
AK
I think there is no surprise in MM scoring 80 per cent solos with Lata because
i) he composed just 25 per cent of his songs as duets and
ii) Lata’s percentage of solos is always high even with those who composed more duets.
Here is another list
Wo bhuli dastan lo phir yaad aa gayi – Sanjog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eck2SLGe2sc
Badli se nikla hai chand – Sanjog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqF8zFyKj2I
Chanda ja chanda ja re ja re – Manmauji
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aszK8lxG6o
Rasmen ulfat ko nibahen to nibahen kaise – Dil Ki Raahen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3829c-d7qE
Karke badnaam meri neenden haraam -Baghi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYiQlfgX98
But where is Bhatiaji. I am sure he has all the Lata-MM solos on his finger tips.
Hans,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comments. Jignesh made similar observations. But I can assure you I was not lazy. 🙂
I can see some songs are obvious miss. Memory of some songs must have become faint. Some I am coming to know thanks to the posting by the readers. When KS Bhatiaji comes he is going to overtake everyone by miles.
You always expand the discussion. Madan Mohan’s literary interest was well known. But I was not aware of Mahmood Ghazanavi-Ayaz love affair, and I wouldn’t have noticed the reference in Kabhi ae haqeeqat-e-muntazar. The recent SC judgment on Section 377 has led me to study some sources (which were referred in the judgment too). Madan Mohan must have been well versed with the lore, but using it in those days must have required some courage. Or he might have thought not many would catch it.
I think MM wd hv thoght that no one will really catch the reference to ghaznavi nd Ayaz
Even i was not aware of this reference in rhis ghazal of allama iqbal
I have read in an interview of Lata Mangeshkar that she was summoned by Ghulam Haider to sing a duet for SHAHEED,1948.
On reaching the studios,she learnt that the song was to be picturised on a brother and a sister. The male singer was the studio owner Rai Bahadur Chunnilal’s son Madan Mohan. The recording went well and Lata complimented Madan Mohan saying he sang well. He said,’ theek that!”, and went on to say, I am going into music direction. You should sing for my first film. Somehow,Lata wasn’t to be a part of AANKHEN.
Subsequently, next Raksha Bandhan, Madan Mohan took Lata home,made her tie a Rakhi on his wrist and the long lasting Bhaiyya Behan relationship began there.
But,I wonder whether that song,
Pinjrewali mein bulbul bole
Mera chota sa dil dole
was retained in the movie!
Hans ji, àk ji; i am out of town having vacation in jaipur with my grand children and just now opened the mm/lata jewel box and noted the observations and comments of each and every passionate listener of music of class. ….that tag will remain with all of us . Well everyone have given their choice and command respect from each one of us ., everyone liking listings and postings prefered songs. A good number of songs added by hans ji and shows his strength of picking some of the least heard and among the best too. For me sitting far from my desk ….i will list…..mera dekho yeh chhota sa sansaar hai…..a rare one ….and…lagan tum se lagi balma….from dekh kabira roya….as my all time fav.among the faster melodies . The special song is fully punctuated by beautiful interludes where each instrument is as excited and joining the fast beats adding to the charm of lata’s voice. And above all its picturisation! The camera work adding to the rhythm of song and its lyrics.
Harpreet,
Possible. Not only one has to be familiar with the Ghazanavi-Ayaz story, one has to be thoroughly familiar with Iqbal’s ghazal, and one has to attentively listen to Kabhi ae haqeeqat.
Dr Shetty,
Pinjre mein bulbul bole was not used in Ankhen. But I read somewhere that Madan Mohan used the tune in some other duet in the film, which could be Humse na dil ko lagana musafir, sung by him with Shamshad Begum.
https://youtu.be/v46-J2VRD-g
KS Bhatiaji,
Have a nice holiday. Both the songs you have added are outstanding. Waiting for full blast from you.
Wow AKji, thanks for this post….And so many songs that have been posted by you and our friends in their comments are big favourites.
Since I already made the effort of compiling a list of some more of my favourite songs which had been missed, I am adding them here…I find now, after going through the comments above that some of the songs selected by me have been mentioned above. But, I am going ahead and posting the list as it is too much of an effort to go through the comments again and delete the songs. I hope you like some of the songs you may not have heard before.
Lagan tose lagi balma – Dekh Kabira Roya – 1957 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pSp9ckm2Gs
Aaja kahin se aaja – Samundar 1957 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqHhQ1dLuDw
Chain nahi aaye – Samundar – 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXs_0SWtW6Y
Dil unko utha ke de diya – Baap Bete 1959 – lyrics Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n239E19tTSg
Sajana lagan teri sone na de – Duniya na Mane 1959 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJF16abhdSQ
Maane na haaye balam pardesiya – Jagir 1959 – lyrics Raja Mehd Ali Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkMNQAG2QHk
Woh bhooli Dastaan – Sanjog 1961 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwVqOiR193o
Badali se nikala hai chand – Sanjog 1961 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78pe3hlyRmE
Chala hai kahan – Sanjog 1961 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tds0serfBwE
Woh dekho jala ghar kisi ka – Anpadh 1962 – Lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0mjWnNWYMs
Chanda ja chanda ja re ja re – Manmauji 1962 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gaho_cW-8os
Aaya hai kahan se pee ke deewane – Manmauji 1962 – Rajinder Krishan
A song so wonderfully picturised on Pran and Sadhna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7drUS8lpB0
Akeli mat jaiyo title song – Akeli Mat Jaiyo 1963 – Majrooh Sultanpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0kfz5N2n-I
Khelo na mere dil se – Haqeeqat 1964 – Kaifi Azmi (deleted from film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9rcpCmbkI
Aayi ab ki saal diwali – Haqeeqat 1964 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuU9H6RJxj8
Two other beautiful ones from Pooja ke phool apart from my very beloved Ik baat poochti hoon
Pehle meri ankhon ke chiragon ko bujhaya – Pooja Ke Phool 1964 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgB3sapE38g
Dil todna kisi ka – Pooja ke Phool 1964 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30-ggBk4XyU
The film Suhagan had two Mohd. Rafi Beauties, but this one is equally beautiful
Ik baat poochti hoon – Suhagan – 1964 – Hasrat Jaipuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U_DkOdiNls
When some of the other songs from the movie become hits, some good ones get left behind
Naino wali ne haay mera dil loota – Mera Saaya 1966 – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mc_h1FwTz0
Though probably the Mohd. Rafi version became more popular, this one I am sharing here.
Teri ankhon ke siva – Chirag 1969 – Majrooh Sultanpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPmMY8rQydc
A classical beauty.
Chaayi barkha bahar – Chirag 1969 – Majrooh Sultanpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRDyiGZy_o4
Doli chadhte hi Heer ne bain kiye – Heer Ranjha 1970 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y18VDKo7c4
Do dil toote – Heer Ranjha 1970 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRZ3OFfSPTU
Mast pawan dole re – Bawarchi 1972 – Kaifi Azmi
(deleted from film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y2wKGgxd2Q
Rasm-e-ulfat – Dil Ki Rahein 1973 – Naqsh Lyayalpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTXd3PWYKOA
Sadly unheard by most as the film hardly saw the light of the day.
Aapki baatein karein – Dil ki Rahein 1973 – Naqsh Lyayalpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDYciSUcBs
A big favourite of mine.
Betaab dil ki tamanna – Hanste Zakhm 1973 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk9YN42WwZU
Hai tere saath meri wafa – Hindustan ki Kasam 1973 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKp2ZWYR0aE
Duniya banane wale – Hindustan ki Kasam – 1973 – Kaifi Azmi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-u56XjzloU
Saaqiya kareeb a – Prabhat 1973 – Naqsh Lyayalpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q18walTg9Ho
Ruke Ruke se kadam – Mausam 1975 – Gulzar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qffEu_c4zvI
Husn hazir hai – Laila Majnu – 1976 – Sahir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quB2psZEF3I
Again, you will enjoy this if not heard before, the climax is beautiful.
Mushkil hai jeena – Sahib Bahadur 196 – Rajinder Krishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5RRmTLy2Os
A must listen for the classical based mujra for the beautiful way it has been sung and the jagahs taken
Jaaiye humse khafa ho jaaiye – Jalan – 1980 – Yogesh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEuST8D2TRU
Sharing the link of Lataji narrating her first meeting and relationship thereafter with Madan Mohanji.
http://www.madanmohan.in/audio/97_MM%20Tributes/01%20Lataji%20I.mp3
Pradeepji Ref 34….posted the link above. for the beautiful way you have fully elaborated the conversation between Madanji and Lataji
I think no one yet mentioned the song Balma Anandi Manga De Ghoda Gadi from pocketmaar
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x_c8KtCJXBU
And
Sakhi ri Teri doliyan from railway platform
https://youtu.be/Ss-wWMyhjd8
The first song is energetic song describing a housewife’s complaints about her anandi Balma.
Sangeetaji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation and for adding an exhaustive list of songs. My special favourite from this are Dil unko utha ke de diya (also mentioned by some other readers), and Sajna lagan teri sone na de.
Special thanks for Lata Mangeshkar’s audio link which settles how they met the first time.
Anup,
Blama anadi manga de ghdagadi I have mentioned in the long list.
AK Ji
Once again a lovely post on expected lines, and it was a surprise that you didn’t give one
Late responding has become a normal routine with me, and apologies for it
I badly wanted to post in the Roshan Madanmohan Asha Bhonsle post, but couldn’t do so due to paucity of time, but will be posting a couple of songs, which I feel should be there.
Madanmohan and Lata Mangeshkar share a very unique status, a timeless bond, which has been appreciated by all generations, even the younger ones.
A few days ago, when a few school friends posted some Madanmohan Lata ghazals in our school friends whattsapp group (started by me of course ), I told them all that even before Madanmohan, ghazals have been composed by the great MD’s of yore, and I shall compile a list of those.
But when I started compiling the Lata ghazals by older MDs, apart from a very few, the ghazals mostly were composed more or less like songs, I mean the kind of ‘thehraav’, which ghazals have, was missing. Now this is my observations and I would be happy to be corrected on this, if you or anyone feels I’m wrong
Coming to the songs selected for the post.
First two of my posted songs are rather forgotten ones, but I definitely enjoy listening to them
The first one is a delightful party song from Bhai Bhai, starting with foot tapping music and a lovely melody
Raja jani pyare chor hamare
Luk Chhup Luk Chhup jana
https://youtu.be/3WkDvKWrRn0
Second one is from Senapati, a hindola/jhoola song, melodious and favourite, and I remember Sangita Ji mention two Asha Bhonsle gems from the same film in her MM Asha write up in the post
Hindolana jhoolan aayi balma
https://youtu.be/KxHHjPXwDZs
My third pick is the title song of Akeli Mat Jaiyo, again a beautiful semi classical fast paced melody
Akeli Mat Jaiyo
Naino me kajra daal ke
Zulfon me gajra daal ke
https://youtu.be/Gv1B2ZFyIUI
Will be back again
The Akeli Mat Jaiyo song was posted by Sangeeta Ji, and I apologise for reporting it
And here’s a beautiful ghazal by the duo which was the recorded for an unreleased film, the beginning of the track by MM and Lata follows
Mere ashkon ka gham na kar
https://youtu.be/LRW1M8BP6Xs
Sangeeta Gupta ji,
The interview of Lata Mangeshkar speaking about her first meeting with Madan Mohan had remained etched in my memory… had earlier read that Lata had thought,” Amir baap ka bhigde huye beta hoga,ye music ke baare mein kya jaanta hoga!” on first meeting MM.
Before typing my post,I wanted to search for the original article. But,if I don’t post something as soon as I get the idea,it keeps getting postponed, and sometimes, totally abandoned. And,I had to preside over a meeting at midday.
Hearing the Lata recording for the first time. I am glad I haven’t given any misinformation. My writing being almost the exact words of Lata is a huge relief,a big surprise!
Thanks for the appreciation.
To have the stalwart’s daughter in the Songs Of Yore family is great.
AK,
On you tube this beautiful song from Naya Aadmi di le betaab has conflicting credit to Madan Mohan and the other MD of Naya AAdmi M S Viswanathan, I personally would go “all in” on Madan Mohan, but my gambling skills as good as my other skills:-) Anyone with additional info?
https://youtu.be/8jiI8015WdY
Arvinder Sharmaji,
Though you have come late, you have posted one of my great favourites, Raja jaani pyare. I always miss this song because I remember it not by its mukhada, but the line ‘Badli ke peechhe jo chhup gaya tara’.
Thanks for posting the nice jhoola song from Senapati.
Knowing that you are a great Asha Bhosle fan, I look forward to your comments on ‘Roshan aur Madan Mohan ki Asha’.
Mumbaikar8,
HFGK credits this song to Vishwanath-Rammurty. Let us go by that.
Ms. Sangeeta Gupta , Hans ji, Jignesh , AK ji ;
Enjoying all the songs by various members . It is amazing how quickly all came forward to put forth their best liked songs …..mostly covering all the popular and classic songs we know of Lata ji , Madan Mohan’s magic touch . This shows the respect to the composer singer duos earned during their professional lives .
Many of my own fav. already listed and I have to dig for such songs which not only are my fav. but are under classic Radio Days collectors catagories . To start here are two of the Gems….
1. Mori Payal geet sunaiye……Bhap Bete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5raE7-gnE
2. Sajana lagan teri sone na de……Duniya na Mane
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoFTyd8R0xU
…..will try for more….
Thanks AK Ji for liking the songs, and even I tend to forget the Raja jani pyare song, but I’ve included it in my Paheli songs playlist, so it’s easier for me to search it.
I’ll try to post a couple of my favourite Madanmohan Asha Bhonsle today
And a big welcome to Dear Bhatia Ji
AK ji,
A wonderful tribute to a wonderful combination. OP always held Madan-Lata combo as greater than CR-Lata and Anil Biswas-Lata combo. I also hadn’t realized that previously you had not posted a blog on this combo before. However, better late than never.
One question still baffles me, how come Asha has sung 180 odd songs for MM as against 200 songs by Lata? Almost equal considering the brother-sister relationship? If we look for similar figures for other Lata oriented MDs, ratio of Asha songs would be very less. e.g. for Naushad and Anil Biswas, it could be at the most one Asha song for every 5 Lata songs. One can argue that duets went to Asha or Lata was costly, still that doesn’t provide a satisfactory answer. What stopped MM from using Lata in the duets more? Of course now there is no chance of finding the real answer to it. Unfortunately, there are hardly any interviews of Madan Mohan. We only have Lata version. Remember what Naushad had said about Lata. He had said that Lata talks about the MDs she has worked with only after their demise!!
Arvinder Sharmaji,
I went back to your comment about Lata Mangeshkar’s ghazals. Not only the singing style – ‘thehrao’, as you say – it has to also meet the structural requirement of beher, radeef and kafia. We make a common mistake of describing any song having Urdu words as a ghazal. An early pure Lata ghazal is Naushad’s Na milta gham to barbadi ke afsane kahan jate from Amar (1954). I have not dug dipper.
KS Bhatiaji,
The first song I had included in my main list. The second song is in Sangeetaji’s list. But welcome back. The total songs mentioned so far including my post must have crossed 100, which means her best songs are already here.
Mr Kelkar,
My guess is that Madan Mohan was quite comfortable with Asha Bhosle, unlike Naushad, CR or SJ. That would explain the similar numbers. But he did visualise exceptional songs in the voice of Lata Mangeshkar. Therefore, even if Asha Bhosle had sung more songs than Lata, MM-Lata combination would have been on a different pedestal.
MM- Lata combination has given a number of beautiful songs. You have given your list and others have added many more. I enjoyed all of them, though some from early 50’s are new to me. Thank you all.
How come no one has added the three gems from his award winning movie Dastak? (They do find a place in your overall list)
Bainya na dharo , among them, is my favourite.
Bridging this post with the previous one, I would like to mention Jab jab tumhe bhulaya from Jahan Ara sung by both the sisters. Both at their best, beautiful music and wonderful lyrics.
Many thanks AK Ji for the perfect insight defining the structure of a ghazal
Grateful for your guidance
Regards
Giriji,
Jab jab tumhein bhulaya is without doubt among the best duets of Lata Mangeshkar-Asha Bhosle. Good that you mentioned it.
Arvinder Sharmaji,
I dealt with the history and analysis of ghazal/qawwali in my post on Roshan-Madan Mohan qawwalis. It seems you missed that post. You may like to go through it.
AK ji, Arvinder Sharma ji;
Thanks . ….Luk chhup luk chhup jaana… is my childhood fav. too. I think more than 100 songs already posted I am wondering where the rest are ? Just want to know if following songs from ….Jab Yaad Kisi ki Aati hai…..are listed or not ……
Piya se milan ho gayiwa……
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxRIoyEA7CY&t=79s
Tere bin saawan kaise bieta…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P97HYHaWls
Jab yaad kisi ki aati hai…….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FbY77MDR54
….oops ….Two songs already listed .
Mumbaikarji (Ref 47)
You have rightly credited Dil E Betaab theher from Naya Aadmi to Madan Mohanji. This song along with another Lata Mangeshkar song Ajab hai yeh duniya…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsK6l9WR85M
and one by Mohd. Rafi – Gareebon ka paseena beh raha hai are composed by Madanji. The rest of the songs are by ..The rest were composed by M. S. Vishwanathan…
I too am at a loss as to how and why this happened.
Thank you friends for all the inputs to this wonderful combination Some friends did mention a couple of duets too. I sat out to make a list of most of Lataji duets with Madanji, and found that Asha Bhosle has sung a far larger number of duets for Madanji.
Am listing most of the duets I could think of….I may have missed a few insignificant ones, but most of them are here in the list below and hope you enjoy these songs as well.
1.Hum pyar Karenge – Lata Mangeshkar – Hemant Kumar
Dhoon 1953
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjwM1iiyLo
2. Mera Naam Abdul rehman – Lata Mangeshkar – Kishore Kumar
Bhai Bhai 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgMS5O-CBZQ
THIS IS SUCH A FUN SONG…
3. Ladi ankh se ankh mohobat ho gayi – Lata Mangeshkar – Mohd Rafi
Pocket Maar 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdbfpemyCNg
4.Yeh nayi nayi preet hai – LM and Talat Mahmood
Pocket Maar 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QETD8W_zJeM&t=25s
5Teri chamakti ankhon ke aage yeh sitare kuch bhi nahi – LM – Talat Mahmood
Chote Babu 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwcZA8RNbss
6.Hum Panchee mastane – LM and Geeta Dutt
Dekh Kabira Roya 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5paG_IVlRE
7.Do ghadi woh joh paas aa baithe – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Gateway of India – 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Q8B2jLvVM
8. Dekhta chal gaya main zindagi ki raah mein – LM with Mohd Rafi and Johnny Walker
Gateway of India – 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBiOqivCgz8
9. Kya saath mera doge – LM with Mukesh
Samundar 1957
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfvjO8mWWv8
10. Woh chand muskaya – LM with Manna dey
Akhri Dao 1958 ( deleted from film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMJgS9Ha1G4
11. Oonchi neechi rahein yeh pyar ke raste – LM with Geeta Dutt
Baap Beete 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYwfR93Mbis
12. Preetam daras dikhao – LM with Manna Dey
Chacha Zindabad – 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koCcAQKaKzU
13. Badi cheez hai pyar mohobat – LM with KK
Chacha Zindabad 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfMPxLyyujQ
14. Aye bach gaye hum dono – LM with KK
Chacha Zindabad 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Luk4AxBSuJU
15. Tum chal rahe o hum chal rahe hain – LM with Mukesh
Duniya na Maane – 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5zG33Jll14
16. Oh tere mukhde ka til kaala kaala – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Minister 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmzymyVkoMk
17. Aye humsafar bata de – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Mohar 1959
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq8I2DiFFu8
18. Ik manzil rahi do phir pyar – LM with Mukesh
Sanjog 1961
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYpg5BE2iV0
19. Dil daee daee – LM with Asha Bhosle
Senapati 1961
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYuAH3-4QYw
20. Ik tha Abdul Rehman – LM with Kishore Kumar
Manmauji 1962
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGWW55E8t1Q
21.Yeh toh kaho kaun ho tum – LM with Mohd Rafi
Akeli Mat Jaiyo 1963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf8vuDLBBic
22.Yeh hawa yeh mastana mausam – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Akeli Mat Jaiyo 1963
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2f6l_RvLNY
23. Unse nazrein mili – LM with Minoo Purshotam
Gazal 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF43dgLXu5Q
24. Aye sanam aaj yeh kasam khayein – LM With Talat Mahmood
Jahan Ara 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXuXftyzqCw
25. Jab jab tumhe bhulaya – LM with Asha Bhosle
Jahan Ara 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK1kHnzl7Ks
26. Tumhi toh meri pooja ho – LM with Talat Mahmood
Suhagan 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gooDdohHtKU
27. Bheegi chandani chaayi bekhudi – LM with Manna Dey
Suhagan 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PN5Wxr55Is
28. Chod kar tere pyar ka daman – LM with Mahendra Kapoor
Woh Kaun Thi 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlmgkK8a3uQ
29. Aapne apna banaya – LM with Mahendra Kapoor
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0Qwz63DTs
30. Hamaar kaha mano Rajaji – LM with Usha Mangeshkar
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki 1964
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1fYGeo8_ec
31. Dhoonde tujhko nain diwane – LM with Mahendra Kapoor
Jab Yaad kisi ki aati hai 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skhyg_XK_2k
32. Kyon mere dil ko karar – LM with Mahendra Kapoor
Jab yaad kisi ki aati hai 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tt7tE7NyAA
33. Jab yaad kisi ki aati hai – LM with Mahendra Kapoor
Jab yaad kisi ki aati hai 1967
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E75_uu8NvE
34. Meri duniya mein tum aayi – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Heer Ranjha 1970
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm1Pp676gXs
35. Dil dhoondta hai phir wohi – LM with Bhupinder Singh
Mausam 1975
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RL0XVbs3Us
36. Chadi re chadi – LM with Mohd Rafi
Mausam 1975
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5XwzkCPZns37. Is reshmi paazeb ki jhankar – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Laila Majnu 1976
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bup7zzbsqRo
38.Ab agar humse khudayi – LM with Mohd. Rafi
Laila Majnu 1976
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PndVU9QWpbQ
39. Tere liye hum hain jiye – LM with Roop Kumar Rathod
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYB0ZbtCi5U
40.Yeh hum aa gaye hain kahan – LM with Udit Narayan
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA0k1ks5BIo
41. Do pal ruka – LM with Sonu Nigam
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__iWEwRYbL0
42. Aisa des hai mera – LM with Gurdaas Maan, Udit Narain and Pritha Mazumdar
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kGIIRUIRbQ
43. Kyon Hawa – LM with Sonu Nigam
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIx3YkMmX9Y
44. Lo aa gayi Lodi ve – LM with Gurdaas Maan and and Udit Narain
Veer Zaara 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQE3BPCeuQU
45. Tum paas aa rahe ho – LM with Jagjit Singh
Veer Zaara 2004 – not filmed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6gbvL0lZp4
Though Tum jo mil gaye ho from Hanste Zakhm 1970 is a Mohd. Rafi solo, technically it is counted as a duet as Lataji has sung towards the end of the song.
Hansji, (ref 30)
So very well said….Madanji was very fond of poetry and always wanted the lyrics to written to the situation first and then composed the songs..mostly…He was fluent in English, Hindi, Urdu and Farsi…
wrote most lyrics in hand in Urdu …..
He passed his Senior Cambridge from St. Mary’s School Mumbai and then joined Col. Brown’s Army school in Dehradun
Sangeetaji,
Thanks for this comprehensive list of Lata Mangehskar duets. This is now the single most convenient place to enjoy the best songs of Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar.
AK ji,
Just noticed that the 1959 Pradeep Kumar,Mala Sinha starrer DUNIYA NA MAANE is missing from your list.
Sangeeta Gupta ji has posted one song from the movie….. Sajna lagan tere sone na de… picturised on Mala Sinha.
The other Lata solo is a dance number, Arabic flavour, going on Helen.
Chala dildaar Vai Vai
Leke mera pyar Vai Vai
Koi rokhe,use thoke
Allah main mar jaaoongi….
The third Lata song is the most popular song from the album,Tum chal rahe ho, Hum chal rahe hain, the duet with Mukhesh.
The Lata_ Asha share here is equal. Asha also has two solos ( one on the heroine and the other on a dancer) and a duet ( with Shamshad Begum).
Instances like these make all our theories of why a particular singer? Small ( B/ C grade), availability, budget etc fly out of the windows!
# 58
AK ji,
Forgive my ignorance, but who is Guruji ?
-AD
Dr Shetty,
I had included the Mukesh-Lata duet Tum chal rahe ho, hum chal rahe hain (both versions) from Duniya Na Maane in my post on Roshan-Madan Mohan songs for Mukesh. Other songs I was no very familiar with or I missed. But thanks to Sangeetaji and other readers, no worthwhile song of this combination is now missing. Sajna lagan teri sone na de is an absolutely delightful song.
Arunji,
Thanks for pointing out this anarchy caused by auto-correct. I meant Giriji.
Sangeetaji, @ 62
Thank you so much for the confirmation.
I really think Dil E Betab Therer has all the magic of this duo’s other great songs.
It is great to have you on SOY.
Thanks once again
Ms. Mumbaikar , Ms. Sangeeta ji ;
Its a great feeling for me to note that more than 70 % of the Madan Mohan compositions are by Rajendra Krishan and Raja Mehndi Ali Khan. These two lyricists just fit in perfectly in MM’s melodies . This further assures the tuning they had with MM ….. of the likes of Shailendra and Hasrat for Shankar Jaikishan .
We [ myself included] are in the habit of comparing a song ,or a dance number , or orchestrisation of MM ji or any other MD ……. to those of SJ, OPN, Naushad or SDB ….as they had established themselves as number one at many moment of time . So to say that they all belong to catag. A films . For me Madan Mohan ji were never less than these top Mds . In fact in an instance when Director Amiya Chakravarty was having a series of success in films he directed like ….Badal[1951] , Daag [1952] , Patita [1953], Seema[1955] , Kathputli [1957]….with big stars and 100% hit music by Shankar Jaikishan….Amiya chakravaty gave a surprise making a comedy film ….Dekh Kabira Roya…. with little less known actors and instead of SJ handing over reins to Madan Mohan ji .
All the songs of Dekh Kabira Roya [1957] were super hit . The songs were very balanced and were compatible with story line . If one move the Cursor pointer of the radio set of the late 50s to the [1 ] left of the Station plate we get three happy songs….Lagan tose lagi balma , hum panchhi mastane, hum bulate hi rahe …..[2] right of the station we get three sad songs….meri bina tujh bin roye , ashquon se teri humne , tu pyar kare ya thukraye……[3] and in the middle part the cursor we get the romantic songs….Kaun aya mere man ke dware , Hum se aaya na gaya . A very balance progression of lyrics and compositions as the story line moves.
And in between it had all the ingredients that perfectly fit the Indian Coffee House atmosphere ….with comedian Sunder as Waiter uttering ” sahib thanda laun ke garm” …..when actors in trouble.
Film Dekh Kabira Roya is worth a visit for its excellent Music and a light hearted ….comedy of error ….film of the likes of Hrishikesh Mukerjee .
Sangeeta Gupta ji has listed one song from PRABHAT,1973.
Lyrics…Naqsh Llyalpuri.
The remaining two…
1. Maine saari umar tere gun gaaye
Is Baar tu mere sun le O Bhagawan.
2. Bharosa kar liya jis par
Usne humko loota hai.
Interestingly,Lata has said that Naqsh written Rasm e ulfat ko nibhayen was one of the toughest songs to sing.
Hans ji, Arvinder Sharma ji;
Listening and enjoying Lata’s sad songs on magical tunes of Madan Mohan’s creations. MM really had a majestic touch …..for touching songs . I think both Lata and Asha ji have done their very best . For Asha, Rafi ‘s duet I would rate ….Humsafar saath apna chhod chhale ….as one of their very best . Of course Sad songs of Dekh Kabira Roya are well known , but for me the best of the sad song is…..Preetam meri duniya mein ….from Ada [1951] . The song is there in AK’s listing but link is not there ….so to place my point here is the link.
The beautiful lyrics are by Raja Mehndi Ali Khan….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3tD7FRc6QA
AK – I never cease to be enthralled at the flood of posts emanating from your pen on any subject related to music, filmy and others. Your present affaires de coeur with the duo Madan and Roshan has led to many aspect of their creation being unraveled. My first post on them was a mere compilation and the concept was truly yours. I did want to write another post but find that the wind has been taken out of my sail and am still trying to explore into their music and bring out something new, but now despair of success. My kudos to you on your recent posts. May I call you consequitur quodcunque petit.
I have gone through all the comments. I never realised that Madan Mohan music has penetrated into my soul to such an extent. I have listened to all the songs mentioned by various commentators barring about ten songs. All this I attribute to the three cds of more than 300 Madan Mohan songs I purchased from Masjid India market in Kuala Lampur in 2008. I never cease to regret my languor in not transferring them to the computer before they became corrupted. I thank you all for giving me back the lost opportunity to build a fresh collection afresh from the you tube links provided.
Mumbaikar8 @47 and 70, Sangeetha Gupta @62
I listened to the song ‘dil e betab’. This has all the trademark of Vishwanathan and Ramamurthy written over it. I have listened to numerous film music of this duo in Tamil. I can aver it is not in Madan Mohan style. It has a close resemblance to a tune in Tamil composed by them. I am trying to locate it. Venkataramanji would probably link them easily.
…..in continuation
Another sad song of Lata ji that I liked is …..Chal diya dil mera tod ke….from Fifty Fifty [1956] . This song is mentioned by Anil Kane ji @11 . Now posting the link as it was not there .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RON0R8s3MU
Many will note how close this tune is to ……behrahem aasman teri manzil kaun….by Talat. Also many years later Kalyanji Anandji came with similar or rather very close tune in …..koi aa jaye , bichraa hua pyar basa jaye .
D P Rangan ji;
Welcome friend after a great gap of days,weeks and months . Was missing your valuable inputs and comments . The same goes to Venkatraman ji ….truly missing him too .
Ksbhatiaji @ 73
You have posted the song from Dekh Kabira Roya.
One song from list that I think would find place in Lata’s top ten romantic songs is Chand madham hai aasman chup hai.
I believe it was dropped from the movie, the uploader has done a good job of superimposing on Chand phir nikla.
Nutan’s presence makes it more adorable.
https://youtu.be/L1f8QIL1AB8
D P Rangan,
Welcome back.
Online Dil e betab theher is credited to both MM and Vishwanathan.
I have not heard Vishwanathan but am familiar with MM songs I believed it was his creation, but AK thought otherwise and said that as HFGK credits it the Vishwanathan we should go by that, I accepted it.
Sangeetaji, being Madanji daughter can speak with more authority than us, said that it is MM’s song.
I welcomed it as that is what I feel.
DP Rangan,
Welcome back. I am human , yet I am embarrassed by your extravagant praise. Nevertheless thanks a lot. Looking forward now to your active participation. I did think of Roshan-Madan Mohan in a tandem series. But I don’t know how it would have shaped without your offer of writing the lead post. I am happy that the series is able to cover all aspects of their music. I must thank you for sowing the seed.
When you come in full flow, it is faster than what I can host. I am sure you must be working on something.
Neither MM nor Vmurthy, Dil e betaab thahar belongs to CRamchandra !
Anyway
wonderful song heard first time. 🙂
🙂 🙂
my smileys under my previous comment didnt appear.
Jignesh,
Don’t worry. We are capable of recognising a joke without smileys. This must be some compatibility problem with updates and HTML codes.
It would be a befitting tribute if Lata-Madan Mohan, duets be included, without that, it looks, somewhat an incomplete article. Sorry.
Naghma,
Welcome to SoY. Point noted. Sangeetaji has already posted a list of her duets with links in one of her comments. I would keep in mind if an independent post on duets can be fitted.
D.P.Rangan ji,
Welcome back after a long hiatus. As AK has said, you started the MM-Roshan topic and it is moving forward covering almost all their songs!
I agree with your observation @76 that”Dil-e- betab theher” has the stamp of the duo V-R.
The film Naya aadmi was produced simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu (Santosham). V-R gave music for Santosham. So it is possible that the producers decided to retain some tunes from the Telugu film in the Hindi version. I am unable to locate the songs of Santosham
(These films are again remakes of Tamil film Velaikkari written by C.N.Annadurai who went on to become the CM of Tamilnadu later.)
#87
Giri ji,
You can get songs and the film Santhosham-1955 here..
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Santhosham-1955
AK ji;
Two songs which perhaps have not been listed are here…..
Bharosa kar liya jis per……Prabhat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asrULwU0Scw
Rang bhirangi raakhi leke aayi……Anpadh
Note how the tunes of these two songs were lately appeared as shades in Naushad, LP and Ravi’s compositions.
….oh missed the link of second song
Rang bhirangi raakhi leke aayi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-WGmAA72ls
….to be contd.
KS Bhatiaji,
I think these have not been added earlier. It is surprising that we missed Rang birangi rakhi le ke ayi.
AK@32
Madan Mohan very well knew this story being from Panjab. He would not have been deterred from composing this except by Censor Board. It is clear he composed this qawwali for just this purpose because he used just two antaras and one of them mentions Ghazanavi. In my opinion in those days Censor Board was more sensitive than people. Also Ghazanavi was not an Islamic hero like Mohammad Bin Qasim, who had the backing of the Khalifa for whatever he did in the Indian sub-continent. Among muslims this story has been presented as platonic love and Iqbal’s sher conforms to that. Muslim scholars were perhaps rather happy with MM thinking he was giving importance to Iqbal. Their ire, if any, was lesser compared to that. There may be another reason for their silence and that is Indo-Pak war which happened just in the preceding year. So they were in a dormant state at that time.
Kelkarji@52
OPN was perhaps influenced by the fact that CR and Biswas both took a stance against him in Mehbooba/Roshan affair. Or it may simply be because he liked the panjabi touch in MM more. It would rather be inappropiate to compare Biswas with MM because in MM’s era Biswas was past his best and was more interested in bollywood politics than music. But, if you agree to the OPN opinion that CR-Lata combo was anything less (it may be different in the results but not less) than MM-Lata, then I would ask you to visit CR-Lata songs again. For CR it was only Lata after she came in his life. Arunji has mentioned that CR used Lata in 63 films as against MM’s 68 films. But, in those 63 films he gave 279 songs to Lata (some sites give this figure as 298).
In the matter of Asha songs also, Madan Mohan’s figures only show his character. He was not influenced by Lata when the issue was of giving songs to others. Naushad or Biswas could not stand erect against Lata. There is the case of Chitragupta – who is my favourite – for whom Lata did not sing for 9 straight years and Asha was his mainstay. When Lata entered his recording studio in 1955, Asha had already sung more than 70 songs for him. But once Bhabhi became hit, she started pushing the poor Chitragupta and Asha was banished from his recordings for 4 straight years, and even when he came Lata was selecting her songs.
Lata was reluctant to sing duets with Rafi from the start, so she was no different with MM. She sang just 10 male-female duets with Rafi for him as against 38 by Asha. Out of these 10, 4 were post-66 when she was more willing to sing with Rafi. So, MM did not force her with Rafi, but gave Asha due importance because he was ready to sing duets for him. People think Lata stopped singing with Rafi for just about 2-3 years, but the facts state otherwise. In the 7 years from 1952-58 she sang just 61 songs with Rafi which was just 11 per cent of Rafi’s duets. While with others like Talat, Mukesh and Manna Dey she was singing between 40-50 per cent of their duets.
Arun Kumar Deshmukh ji@88,
Thanks for the link to Santhosham songs.
Only a couple of songs are there.
Sangeetaji
Thanks for the kind words. And also for those lists and other things which I can only give the following name
‘पितृ स्नेह की चाशनी में डूबी हुई मधुर भेंट’
I am sure all readers on SOY are enjoying your comments and would also like to have some info on your father which is not known to us and is shareable in public.
For me Madan Mohan was not important only because he was the first composer introduced to me or that he composed great music. I have been following his career and his balanced approach to life and to other people put him on a very high pedestal for me. The two major incidents which made a huge impact were the one related to Sajjad Hussain and the other his reaction on Mehbooba/Roshan affair. I remember in one interview he said that he had taken the permission from Sajjad Hussain for using his tune (in those days it was customary for composers to ask for permission when they did that and also singers used to ask the other singer if they were singing the other’s song), but Sajjad publicly insulted him and yet he just said ‘I have no shame in copying a master’. In the other matter also he kept a safe distance though he was so close to Lata. Though he is generally respected yet I have met a couple of persons who criticised him for actions for which he should have been praised. His life moved on some principles and I like such persons immensely.
You have almost done a whole list of Lata duets. Only 4 out of 41 duets are left. I dont count Veer Jara as his music because there is no Madan Mohan expertise there. You have included ‘hamar kaha mano rajaji’ from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki in Lata’s list, but in that song Asha is singing with Usha.
AK ji ;
I suppose there is one more of Lata’s song which has not been listed….a qawaali !! . I think this composition was repeated by some othe MD too….Allah yeh ada aye haseeno mein ?
Kabhi Ae Haqeeqat-E-munatzir…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgWvBEbszBE
Now Lata/ Madan Mohan’s song by Mehdi Hassan in a live recording……shows popularity there too.
Hum pyar mein jalne waloan ko…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjFvCWVkEXo
Bhatiaji@73
You have correctly described Lata-MM majestic touch in sad songs. And ‘preetam meri duniya men’ set the tone for this combos majestic ghazals too. In fact I wonder how AK picks the most appropriate titles for his write ups. Here he has used the word tuning and if in their first film you get a song like this, you can only say that there was some special tuning between them. Sadness in sad songs varies as much as happiness in happy songs. Some songs need just a tinge of sadness while others have deep sadness and MM had mastered this art. AK has already posted some sad songs and one of my top favourites ‘main to tum sang’ is right at the top.
Since you have almost given up on Lata-MM songs I am posting a few here
1. Mera qarar leja from Ashiana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQfkbf8a6XU
2. Mere bichhade sathi sunta ja – Chirag (another sad song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFcj64F2X4o
3. And then this beautiful sad song from Bahana –
Guzre hain is tarah se duniya men din hamare
Bheege rahe hamesha ankhon ke do kinare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz1nftsWeuw
4. And this song which was recorded separately by Lata and Asha in two moods and two separate records were also issued as solos but the song was used in the film as a duet. ‘ja ja ja re saajna’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHzenkLiRU0
5. Sitaaron se poochho nazaron se poochho – Dhun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovqrsj3VUWA
And now this rare bhajan from Bahana which was quite popular on radio till the mid seventies.
1. Bol mere nandlala ab kaun mera rakhwala
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d8edtpA5xQ
2. Main khadi khadi soch rahi – Chhote Babu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSMaK1pGbYk
3. Mere dil ki nagariya men aana – Madhosh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-M-MSw8tyo
4. Meri ankhon ki neend le gaya – Madhosh (was ankhon ki neend gayab hona a favourite subject of MM) – and this is picturised on Usha Kiran
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3BTJJhjLrw
5. Teri gali kaise aaun sajna – Pcketmaar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTiQO4rAAjo
Hans ji @97,98;
I feel so happy when I listen to sad songs . There are plenty and have more shelf life than happy songs . Sad songs touches your soul thru your heart …..feeling the emotions …..and some time soothing too. But what bothers me some time is when I am sad . What to listen then ? Happy songs in no way comes across your mind for ….sad / happy conversion .
In such situation I look to the walls….. gazing endlessly to the various art works I have collected over the years ; remembering each moment where and when I picked up those and under what feelings . Thus begins my change in mood and slowly I turn up to go for my MP3 and MP4 collections of best of instrumental music…mostly classic western and Indian ……. I intentionally go far that avoiding lyrics . For me Art and Background music is a self made documentary . While I listen Tea and snacks further acts like catalyst……and thus I become happy ever again .
Coming back to sad song , here is one which is very interesting . Listen first to this song……
Tare gin gin bite saari raat……Lata…..Dhun [1953]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE_5_7YaJlo
Now , for sharp listeners , see how this composition was followed by S. Mohinder in Paapi [1953]
Kaun kahe jaake unhe aye hazoor….Asha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXjsRYbDMfo&t=67s
Again , see how this tune got into Aah [1953]song…..
Raja ki ayegi barat ……Lata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXjsRYbDMfo&t=67s
All movies are made in 1953 and common factor is Raj Kapoor, Nargis.
I thank you for so many sad songs you have dug and posted the links as well. Yes, I am enjoying the sad songs.
Hans ji;
Continuing the sad song topic with some more songs……
Neendiya na aaye……Dhun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdtO6pjmgqw
Bari barbadiyan lekar….Dhun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrdTgcsQ_W8
One more song which exists in AK’s list…..producing same with link
Hamare baad mehfil mein……Baghi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d38Gxvg1Zc&t=68s
waiting more from your side…..
Bhatiaji
Talking of sad songs, I am amazed why this song ‘jana tha huse door’ was not included in the film. I have seen very few songs of this quality being kept out. Though I have never sat in a Rolls Royce but if I believe the saying this song moves like a Rolls Royce. I have rarely seen the singer and the instruments going going in such perfect harmony as in this song. Great composition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2FPeIABWYQ
A wonderful discussion on an equally fascinating post.
Even as I was digging deep into my recesses of memory to present some gem that may be missed here, I find that all such songs have been covered already… and still counting.
This is going to be a collector’s post.
Ashokji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Hans’ji @101 ;
Strange are the ways of certain producers and directors . Jaana tha humse door…..as you described , is really a top of the chart of sad songs . What an emotional experience . Truly a soul and heart composition where Lata and Madan Mohan ji just excelled . Not being there in the movie is a great lost to dedicated cinema goer .
Strange are the ways of censors too. The Rafi’s original song had a mukhda….Do ghoot meine pi , aur sair duniya ki kei….which on censors objection changed to…..Do ghoot chhaiye pi, …. . I am still at a lost why even RK’s Barsaat got A certificate.
Still digging for sad songs , here is a hidden one from Bhai Bhai….
Bhagwan jo tu hai mera insaaf karega , khud aake meri mang mein sindoor bharega…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc-36w2Dlng
….will look out for more….
AK ji ,
What a treat Ur post is !!!
The list of 62 songs nd 20 video songs ! Fantastic job.
Equally gr8 r the comments nd suggestions.
Yes. ” उन आँखोंमें निंद कहाँ ” was an unheard one .So nice of U that U hv posted it , somewhere I found its tune resembles ” मैं तो तुम संग नैन मिला के ”
Priya Rajvansh was the luckiest heroine whose songs had MM – Lata combination nd most of them were superhits which in turn benefited her filmy career.
I especially like ” Do dil toote ” of Heer Ranjha , ” Aaj socha to aansoo bhar aaye ” of Hanste Zakhm nd ” Hai tere saath meri wafa ” of Hindustan ki kasam.
AK ji , thnx for a very nice melodious post.
HansJi#93,
In the Mehbooba/Roshan episode Naushad, Anil Biswas and Lata Mangeshkar played lead role. CR was not involved directly as per my information.
Your observation that MM held firm in using Asha as and when he pleased seems to be a correct conclusion. In addition to this, Lata has always been a very shrewd person and must have realized that by taking offence against MM for using Asha so much, she will be the loser. MM was truly a genius.
Ak’ji , Hans’ji;
How could we me miss this beautiful song from Mera Saaya…..
Naino wali ne haye mera dil loota….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mc_h1FwTz0
Film Nirmohi had a number of Lata’ji s songs …some sad songs too. Anil Kane , Jignesh and Mumbaikar ji mentioned some songs but links were not there . Including their inputs here are those ones in addition to some more songs…..
Dukhiyare Naina….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrZuzxIuY4c
Kaha bhi na jaye piya…..[ in the middle of the song one get diverted to some of the Roshan’s songs too]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93UsQxrX0Q8
AB GHAM KO BANA LENGE JEENE KA…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3piylD9cTqA
Raha hai meri ulfat ka……[ Lata’ji at different high pitch]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3piylD9cTqA
…..will try for more …
Pramodji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I agree उन आंखों में नींद कहां has some similarity to मैं तो तुम संग नैन मिला के.
KS Bhatiaji,
Surprising that we missed Nainowali ne haye mera dil loota. It is my favourite too.
It is interesting that you though of Roshan while listening to Kaha bhi na jaye. I had the same feeling – my mind wandered to Saari saari raaton teri yaad sataye and Duniya mein aisa kahan sabka naseeb hai.
The link of Raha hai meri ulfat ka is wrong, it is a repetition of the earlier song. A YT link of this song has the mukhada Jalne laga pyar ka ashiyana.
AK ji
Wonderful post.
Could there be a post pertaining to MM+Manna Dey/Kishore.
Thanks.
Tyagiji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. The series on Roshan-Madan Mohan cannot conclude before their various singers are generally covered. Therefore, yes, there would be one in some form.
A great post that gave rise to so much inputs from the very enthusiastic participants in the family of golden era hindi film music lovers. Many aspects of music have been discussed . Also, so many songs( many of which I do not remember having heard), I do not know when I would be able to listen to.
In fact I do not know if there is an App which enables me to simply list and sort all these songs alongwith the detailed information on each of these. It would make things easy for me.
But it is sad to hear that such a self made gentleman musician had to take his own life by excessive alcohol consumption, for not being recognised by prompt and adequate number of filmfare awards.
He was a simple man who perhaps could not appreciate that when there is no transparency on the elements/aspects of the music composition which would be assessed and where there are no clear methods laid down for scoring for giving the award, the award is bound to be biased. In fact I learn that the awards have not been free from controversies.
S Joseph,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Links of all the songs have also been given by the readers. They are all from the YouTube. We are in a lucky age that all the songs we know of are available at our command.
Top 100 songs of Madan Mohan and Rafi combo!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXHPtnB1PXc&t=494s