Lata Mangeshkar- Sang for Every Generation of Heroines

 

Lata Mangeshkar represented every generation of Hindi cinema from Nargis and Waheeda Rehman to Madhuri Dixit and Kajol. Her first song as a playback singer in Hindi films was in 1947 - Aapki Sewa Mein (paa laagu kar jori...)but this song did not give lata recognition as a singer, Her first major break was in 1948-Majboor (Dil Mera Toda) given by Music Composer Ghulam Haider. After she recorded the hit “Uthaye ja unke sitam” in Andaz (1949), her destiny was sealed, the year 1949 was the turning point of a great career. The year saw the rise of Lata Mangeshkar The song Aayega Aane Wala from Mahal and the songs of Barsat came the same year. After that, she never looked back. She became the voice of all the Major Heroines. In an interview when asked who according to you enacted your songs really well onscreen?. She said that Actresses like Sadhana, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Madhubala, and Kajol, took the effort to understand the song and act accordingly. Jaya Bachchan observed me well and got my mannerisms right - starting with how I stand, how I sing, and how I drape my sari. In Abhimaan (1973), she even chose to wear white saris like me. It was commendable.

From the 1940s to the 1970s, Mangeshkar sang duets with Asha Bhosle, Suraiya, Usha Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, and Mahendra Kapoor. In 1964, she sang "Chanda Re Hoga" with P.B. Sreenivas from Main Bhi Ladki Hoon. she continued to sing with Shabbir Kumar, Shailendra Singh, Nitin Mukesh (Mukesh's son), Manhar Udhas, Amit Kumar (Kishore Kumar's son), Mohammed Aziz, Vinod Rathod, and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam. Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, and Sonu Nigam
In the 2000s, Mangeshkar's duets were mainly with Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam. 2005-06 were the years of her last well-known songs: "Kaise Piya Se" from Bewafa and "Shayad Yehi To Pyaar Hai" from Lucky: No Time For Love, with Adnan Sami and " Lukka Chhupi" in Rang De Basanti (2006 film) with A.R.Rahman. She sang "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" from Pukar. Other notable songs of this decade were from Veer-Zaara, sung with Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh, Roop Kumar Rathod, and Gurdas Mann. One of her latest songs was "Jeena Hai Kya" from Dunno Y2 (2014).
Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award), Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1989)
SONGS VIDEOS  FOR SADHANA

Song from Parakh 1960

Song from Asli Naqli 1962

Song from Mere Mehboob 1963

Song from Woh Kaun Thi 1964

Song from Rajkumar  1964

Song from Mera Saaya 1966

Song from Inteqam 1969

Song from Ishq Par Zor Nahin 1970

Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan - An Immortal Song

The writer of this immortal song was Prem Dhawan. It was composed by Anil Biswas and sung by Talat Mehmood and Lata Mangeshkar. Anil Biswas composed the tune of this song in just 15 minutes while riding in a car.
There was a rumor that the lyrics had been bought from Sahir Ludhianvi for Rs 5/-, as Sahir was in need of money, and Prem Dhawan had helped him. It is very sad that Prem Dhawan was always underrated. He was multitalented, he was a composer beside lyricist and as well as a Choreographer.and also acted in a few films.
He wrote songs like Mera Rag De Basanti Chola, Ae Watan Ai Watan from Shaheed, and many more songs. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in 1971 for the film, Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar

This song was picturized on Dilip Kumar and Madhubala for the film Tarana released in 1951. This was the first film of Dilip Kumar and Madhubala together. Regarding this song, Shikha Biswas Vohra, daughter of music director Anil Biswas said in an interview that how her father composed this song. Prem Dhawan and her father were good friends, they were booked for two films Tarana and Arman in 1950. One day Prem Dhawan gave him few lines of this song and asked him to make the tune while going to meet the famous Punjabi singer Surinder Kaur On reaching.the destination Anil Biswas asked Prem Dhawan to go to meet the singer and he sat on the parapet and started humming the tune. By the time Prem Dhawan returned, the tune was ready.
Interestingly the song was a sad song but Anil Biswas used the major scale and another point to highlight that he used three different tunes for the three Antaras. A very rare occurrence and only a genius like Anil Biswas could do that. Madan Mohan also did the same in many songs later.in the 60s.If we look technically the use of Teevra 'Ma'gives it the feeling of Raga Yaman Kalyan.
This is probably one of the greatest duets of Bollywood. Everything is perfect, lyrics, music, singing, and picturization on two of the greatest actors Dilip Kumar and Madhubala.

Song of Tarana 1951

'Jiya Jale Jaan Jale' - The Creation of Three Geniuses

This song from 1998 film 'Dil Se' is written by Gulzar, composed by A R Rehman and sung by Lata Mangeshkar. This is the first song Lata Mangeshkar sang for A R Rehman'This song was recorded in Chennai in the recording studio of Rehman. It was the first time Lara Di was recording outside Mumbai.
Gulzar in his book has mentioned this song. He said that Lata Ji had not met Rehman before and also not familiar with his style, she asked Gulzar saheb to be present there at the time of recording. He was not only present there but also accompanied her to Chennai. Rehman received her at the airport and took her and Gulzar saheb to the studio. Reman has many studios in Chennai, this was his first studio. Rehman explained the tune to Lata Ji and asked her to sing. Nowadays composers ask singers to sing one line and record it but Lata Ji told him that she will sing the full song in one take but before that she wants a rehearsal. Rehman agreed and took her to the singer's cabin The cabin had a glass on the front side and no glass on the side walls. Unfortunately, Lata Ji could not see the mixing desk from there, nor could she see the musicians. That was a big problem for her, as she was used to having eye contact with the composer. 
After one rehearsal, Lataji called Gulzar saheb to her side and said  ‘Gulzarji, it feels as though I am blind.’ You kindly sit in front of me. so he sat on a stool outside the cabin’s glass door from where he could see both Lataji and Rahman. 
Despite the fact she recorded the whole song in one session, the song itself was not finalized. Rahman then worked on it for about ten days. He usually works out the instrumentation etc., and so the song evolves slowly into its final form.
The next day returned back to Mumbai. After a week Rehman made a call to Gulzar saheb and said ‘Gulzar Saab, I have recorded a male and female chorus and inserted it in between the antaras. The words are in Malayalam, will you translate them into Hindi?
He played the song to him over the phone. It sounded very beautiful, so I suggested we keep the chorus in Malayalam. It’s the impact of the overall sound that matters. Malayalam has its own sound and folk songs have their own kind of music. Lataji and the chorus sounded wonderful.
Another interesting thing about the song was its lyrics. The song is about the description of a wedding night, Lata Ji usually not sing a song that has anything to do with sex or includes vulgar words or expressions. So it was decided that it will not be picturized as a typical wedding night. 
This song was picturized on Pritty Zinta and Shahrukh Khan on an outdoor location.

Song of Dil Se 1997