80 for Lataji
ayega Aanewala, Mahal (49)
Composer: Khemchand Prakash
Lyricist: Naqshab
Under a master composer, a 20-year-old Lata envisioned and executed a pioneering haunting song, a genre she was to rule with authentic ominous tones.
Lara Lappa, Ek Thi Ladki (49)
Composer: Vinod
Lyricist: Aziz Kashmiri
Note the effervescence of a diva on the rise that makes this song survive when its creators and the film have been almost forgotten!
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Hawa Mein Uddta Jaaye, Barsaat (49)
Composer: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri
Shankar-Jaikishen modernised film music for good with this score, and the thin-voiced Lata took over as Singer Supreme.
Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi, Awara (51)
Composer: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyricist: Shailendra
India’s first dream sequence with a dream voice. Note her languor especially when she moves back to the mukhdas from the antaras.
Dheere Se Aaja Re, Albela (51)
Composer: C Ramachandra
Lyricist: Rajendra Krishan
Acknowledged as the mother of Hindi film lullabies. She suffuses this sensitive composition with pure maternal warmth.
Shola Jo Bhadke, Albela (51)
Composer: C Ramachandra
Lyricist: Rajendra Krishan
The mercurial heroine is brought into vocal life by the rather dismissive tenor of Lata’s lines.
Vande Mataram, Anand Math (52)
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Lyricist: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
This popularity of this powerful version of India’s original National Anthem has surpassed that of every other.
Who Toh Chale Gaye Din, Sangdil (52)
Composer: Sajjad Hussain
Lyricist: Rajindra Krishen
A breathless song, layered with intricate tricky notes. She makes it seem effortless as she glides through the composition.
Yeh Zindagi Ussiki Hai, Anarkali (53)
Composer: C Ramachandra
Lyricist: Rajendra Krishan
A surrender to love that may not come to fruition. Her intonation conveyed this perfectly.
Man Dole Mera, Nagin (54)
Composer: Hemant Kumar
Lyricist: Rajendra Krishna
There was no genre Lata could not handle. And whoever the actress —Vyjayantimala, Reena Roy, Sridevi — their sinuous nagin roles always needed Lata’s vocals.
Aplam Chaplam, Azaad (55)
Composer: C Ramachandra
Lyricist: Rajendra Krishan
Low-key froth, as per the times, was a Lata strength. Here, she and younger sister Usha seem to be having a whale of a time under C Ramachandra, one of the many maestros who reserved their best for her.
Rasik Balma, Chori Chori (56)
Composer: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyricist: Hasrat Jaipuri
How many songs showcase the pain of betrayal as well as this one? And how many voices can convey it so well?
Ae Maalik, Do Aankhen Barah Haath (57)
Composer: Vasant Desai
Lyricist: Bharat Vyas
From bhajans to cabarets and more, Lata’s all-encompassing range ensured excellence. Humble piety suffuses this evergreen masterpiece.
Bichhua, Madhumati (58)
Composer: Salil Chowdhury
Lyricist: Shailendra
Heady rural beats merged with lyrical erotica enhance a love fable, No one understood compositions as well as Lata did, and few composers understood her as well as Salil Chowdhury.
Ajeeb Dastaan, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (60)
Composer: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyricist: Shailendra
A magnificent melody, its understated, lingering sorrow enhanced as much by the conception of the sequence as by her skill.
Mohabbat Ki Jhoothi, Mughal-E-Azam (60)
Composer: Naushad
Lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni
Feel the sheer force of lovers turned asunder in this unparalleled lament on lost love. The gentle percussion accentuated her emotion-laden vocals.
Jab Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, Mughal-E-Azam (60)
Composer: Naushad
Lyricist: Shakeel Badayuni
This resolute defiance in love peaks as Lata intones Shakeel Badayuni’s masterstroke: Parda nahin jab koi Khuda se, bandon se parda karna kya? (When we do nor fear God, why fear his creations?)
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