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28 September 2013

Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar Duets

When I wrote my twin posts on Manna Dey, I mentioned how I loved so many of his duets with Lata Mangeshkar that I had a tough time choosing just one. Of course, as a long-time reader pointed out, I managed to sneak in a couple of my favourites into the post. I promised myself that I would soon after do a whole post on his duets with Lata Mangeshkar. Months have passed since then, and many things conspired to keep me away from my blog. But today is Lata Mangeshkar's birthday and it seems an auspicious time indeed to break my long silence. 

If I thought I would have an easier time fitting in all the Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar duets I like in a post of its own, I was wrong. He had sung the maximum number of duets in his career with her, and I like most of them. So, after a lot of head-scratching, hang-wringing, and lots of listening while lying all worn out on the bed (that last was not so bad), and I finally winnowed it down to a manageable list. To make my choices easier (not that it helped much), I still kept out songs that were not pure duets; meaning, no triads, quartets or quintets. In no particular order then, here are my choices... 

1. Jaaoon mein kahan (Miss India/1957) SD Burman/Rajinder Krishen
 
A non-descript film starring Nargis with one of her favourite co-stars, Pradeep Kumar,this is an interesting duet because of the completely different 'tones' of the male and the female voices. Lata's voice drips pathos, while Manna Dey, singing for Pradeep Kumar is at his swinging best. It is almost as if you are listening to two different songs being sung simultaneously, with different beats, rhythms, emotions...    

2. Masti bhara hai sama (Parvarish/1958) Datta Ram/Hasrat Jaipuri 
One of my all-time favourite duets, Lata Mangeshkar's voices ring pure and true as they capture that elusive whiff of romance, the joy, the shyness, the innocence, the passion... Also watch this for the chemistry between Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha, even if you do not like either or both of them. Simply because their chemistry is amazing and there is a hint of sensuality to that romance. 

3. Bheegi chandni (Suhagan/1964) Madan Mohan/Hasrat Jaipuri  
Surely one of Madan Mohan's best? It is certainly one of my favourites. And the talented music director switched his favourite lyricists (Rajinder Krishen and Raja Mehdi Hassan Khan) to work with Hasrat Jaipuri. The latter rose to the occasion with lyrics which were both romantic and sensual, and in context, poignant. As Guru Dutt and Mala Sinha watch separately, their neighbours (on whom the song is picturised) enjoy a romantic interlude - a stricken Mala Sinha pretends not to look, while Guru Dutt closes his eyes firmly, almost as if by doing so, he will not be tempted. Lovely song, and in the context of the film, beautiful picturisation.  

4. Jhoomta mausam (Ujala/1959) Shankar-Jaikishen/Hasrat Jaipuri 
Mohammed Rafi may have been Shammi Kapoor's voice, but Manna Dey proved he could match Shammi's exuberance. Ujala saw all of Shammi's songs sung by Manna Dey, and in Jhoomta mausam mast mahina, he also proved he could match Lata sur for sur even in the higher notes. Why Shankar-Jaikishen made the switch from their favourite male singer, and why Shammi agreed (Tumsa Nahin Dekha had already established the Rafi-Shammi Kapoor connection) will never be known, but fact remains that while the film may have (deservedly) been a flop, the score, headlined by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar, was a super-hit at the time, and has retained its place among the classics even today.

5. Ja tose nahin bolun kanhaiya (Parivar/1956) Salil Chaudhary/Shailendra 
 
I said it was difficult to choose which songs to add, but I began this post with this one. And if pushed to choose, I would probably confess to liking this the most. I surprise myself actually, with that choice, because it is only in the recent past that I was actually introduced to this song. That it quickly became one of my favourites, is of course to be laid at the feet of the master himself. The playfulness in Lata's voice, her complete mastery over the sur matched by Manna Dey as he joins in, the sweetness of the rendition... what's not to like?

6. Ye raat bheegi bheegi (Chori Chori/1956) Shankar-Jaikishen/Hasrat Jaipuri
Every song in Chori Chori  is a gem. This, I think, was the period when Shankar-Jaikishen could do no wrong. Mukesh had taken leave of singing to try his hand at acting, and Manna Dey stepped in to become Raj Kapoor's voice. Each duet, and there were four, was a gem, and it was hard put to choose, but Ye raat bheegi bheegi scores for its sheer romanticism. To me, this is the quintessential romantic number. Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum was a touch too poignant, both in context of reel and real. 

7.  Ud jaa bhanwar (Rani Roopmati/1959) SN Tripathi/Bharat Vyas 
This is not really a duet in the traditional sense of the term, since the female voice follows the male. A vocal duel, not a duet. It is almost like post and riposte, a challenge meeting its answer.  A beautiful song, nevertheless, and while I couldn't but smile at the bee, the vocal calisthenics of both singers are enough to keep you spellbound. Can't blame the bee for listening to them, either.

8. Tere bina aag yeh chandni (Awara/1951) Shankar-Jaikishen/Shailendra 
A double-sided song, both dream and nightmare, it was the director's vision that made it what it ultimately became on screen. Shankar-Jaikishen toiled over this composition day and night, and Raj Kapoor was not quite satisfied with the sound. Finally, the song was rehearsed and recorded in the wee hours of the morning, and the sequence itself took more than three months to shoot. With fantastic sets, and choreography by Madame Simkie (Uday Shankar's dancing partner), the Earth/Hell/Heaven scenario was beautifully shot. Dattaram, a musician, and one of Raj Kapoor's band of merry men, talks about the recording of this song here.  

9. Ritu aaye ritu jaaye sakhi ri (Hamdard/1953) Anil Biswas/Prem Dhawan
A raag-maalika with each of the four verses signifying the mood of the four seasons, and based on four different raagas (Gaud Sarang, Gaud Malhar, Jogiya and Bahaar), music director Anil Biswas had his brother-in-law, Pandit Pannalal Ghosh, playing the flute interludes for the film. (Someone mentioned that the audio clip, however, had Pandit Ram Narain playing the Sarangi. Perhaps some of my readers can confirm that?) Unfortunately, none of the clippings on YouTube are complete - the fourth verse is missing.   

Manna Dey mentioned in an interview that he had first met Lata Mangeshkar at composer Anil Biswas' house. Soon after, he was summoned to record this song, and Manna Dey, who took his classical riyaaz  very seriously, took a week to rehearse so he would be ready. After all, he was singing for the hero, who, in the film, was teaching the heroine to sing. He was rather taken aback when Lata learnt the song in one day. When the recording was over, he confessed that it seemed to him that the heroine was teaching the hero to sing. That was how perfect Lata's command over sur was. 

10. Aa bhi jaa rasiya (Phoolon ki Sej/1964) Adi Narayana Rao/Hasrat Jaipuri
 
Another semi-classical number that has Manna Dey matching sur with Lata Mangeshkar, even as Vyjayanthimala matches Gopi Krishna step for step on screen as they enacted the divine love of Radha and Krishna. A beautiful composition, both rendition and picturisation were exquisitely matched. Music director Adi Narayana Rao had a few years previously entered the Hindi film music scene with the dubbed version of his Suvarna Sundari. 

11. Oh gori aaja gaddi vich beh ja (Sapan Suhane/1961) Salil Choudhary/ Shailendra
Apart from the fact that this is one of the most delightful songs I have heard in a long time, the picturisation is a hoot. Whoever would have thought of Balraj Sahni singing romantic songs? Wooing a heroine and playfully asking her to sit beside him in his truck? Even looking rather mischievous as he does so? A far cry from his usual sombre, self-sacrificing character roles. A song resonant of the mountains, this Salilda melody makes me smile every time I hear it.

12. Balma more aanchra (Sangat/1975) Salil Choudhary/Jaan Nisaar Akhtar
 This song actually has two strikes against it - it is from a period (usually) beyond the range of this blog when it comes to songs; and the movie, directed by Basu Bhattacharya  (apparently) never released. I say 'apparently' because I'm not really sure since it does seem to have been shot, and the release date has been mentioned in more than one place as 1975. Be that as it may, the song, composed by Salil Choudhary, is fantastic and deserves to be heard. I was introduced to it by my husband, who also introduced me to Kaanha bole na from the same film. While I will concede that the Bengali original of Balma more aanchra is superior, I must confess to preferring the Malayalam version of the latter song. 

13. Aah chunri sambhal gori (Baharon ke Sapne/) RD Burman/Majrooh Sultanpuri  
It is said that RD reserved his best for Asha Bhosle. Perhaps. But it is also true that when he did go to Lata Mangeshkar, he ensured that the result was rather unique.  And so, we have a very unlike-Lata Lata song. Slightly naughty, slightly coquettish, lots of fun (listen to the way her voice curves around a-haa!). Manna Dey, as usual, had to be happy with singing for the character actor (Anwar Hussain, in this case) while Rajesh Khanna looks on.

Interestingly, Lata Mangeshkar, who had known Pancham from the time he ran around in shorts, sang RD's first (Ghar aaja ghir aaye badiraa/Chhote Nawab) and last (Kuch na kaho/1942 A Love Story) songs. 

14. Taar taar baj raha (School Master/1959) Vasant Desai/Kavi Pradeep
If you thought Kavi Pradeep only wrote patriotic songs, think again. And Vasant Desai is not an unknown name among Hindi film music aficionados.  Remade from the original Telugu, director Panthalu decided to act too - as the second lead, with Kamini Kadam. (Karan Dewan and Shakila played the leads.) A lesser known song, yes, and a simple one, both composition and lyrics, so why is it included when there are so many better known ones out there? Because it does grow on you.  

15. Mausam beeta jaaye (Do Bigha Zameen/1953) Salil Choudhary/Shailendra
Do Bigha Zameen was a moderate commercial success; Salilda's first film in Hindi, he gave Bimal Roy the script (named Rickshawallah) on condition that he would be given the chance to compose its music. It won the Best Feature Film and Best Director awards at the Filmfare Awards that began that year (then called The Clares). It also won a certificate of merit at the newly-constituted National Film Awards (Marathi film Shyamchi Aai walked away with the President's Gold Medal), and the Prix International at the 7th Cannes Film Festival.

Why is this song here even though it is not strictly a duet (it has a very strong chorus apart from the two lead singers)? Because, apart from the fact that this is one of Manna Dey's and Lata Mangeshkar's best songs, and that I love it, long-time reader Pacifist will boycott my blog if I do not (at last!) include it in this post. So, Pacifist, this one's for you!  

And so, on Lata Mangeshkar's 84th birthday, many, many happy returns of the day to a singer who has enriched my life from the time I was introduced to Hindi film music.

What are your favourite Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar duets?

53 comments:

  1. Welcome back!
    Manna Dey Lata Mangeshkar duets is surely a good idea! Happy Birthday, Lata!

    I think, I'd heard about the film Miss India, but never heard of any songs from it.
    So Nargis is the only actress to be Miss as well as Mrs. India. ;)

    The song masti bhara hai sama is very lilting. Like it. Both Raj and Mala seem to be full of masti there!

    The song from Suhagan has a very interesting picturisation, but the song doesn't please my ears much.

    Manna Dey's voice suits Shammi good as well. But Shammi could carry any of the male singer's voice from that era. Something which he shared with Dev.

    ja tose nahin bolu is one of my favs and am glad to meet it here, though it is more of a Lata song for me.

    I was wondering which song you would include from Chori Chori. I always find it very difficlut to choose a a duet and mix them up as well.

    I'm so happy to see ud jaa bhanwar and tere bina aag ye chandani. Love both of them, though ud jaa bhanwar can be classified as two different songs as well.

    ritu aaye ritu jaaye is just wonderful. heard it today for the first time. Lovely!
    A very interesting anecdote there. :)

    While watching aa bhi jaa rasiya, I was thinking that this could have been possibly Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje. V.Shantaram's advisors had suggested him to take Vyju instead of Sandhya. But Shantaram remained true to his muse. I would have preferred Vyju in that role!

    o gori aaja gaddi was new for me. Balraj Sahni complained that Geeta Bali was not so happy to work with him.

    balma more aanchra is a beautiful song. I discovered the score of this film a few years back. I think Prakashchandra recommended kanha bole na to me, which I prefer over balma mora anchra.
    http://youtu.be/6lRBkjw0xRc

    Poor RDB had a tough time dividing his scores between the two sisters. He gave more songs to Asha after they got married. He had a soft corner for Lata all the same, he surely must have missed Lata later. BTW, re.: kuch na kaho; Kavita Krishnamurthy complained later that Lata snatched away the song from her, just like Aarti mukherji had complained about ten years earlier in the case tujhse naraaz for Masoom.

    taar taar baj raha was new for too and watching the song was very amusing. I know where to go if I want a good laugh next time.

    some of my favs
    soch ke gagan jhume
    http://youtu.be/p3A4ODkMGpo

    aaja sanam madhu chandni
    http://youtu.be/NTfQeV80haE

    tum gagan ke chandrama
    http://youtu.be/mBbd53FtxWA

    dil ki girah khol do
    http://youtu.be/AtASLWZvea4

    mere dil me hai ek baat
    http://youtu.be/HBzGnjo0u7w

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  2. I just lost my long response to you. :(

    Once again (Keeping fingers crossed):

    Laughing at Nargis being both Miss India and Mrs India; technically, she is Miss India and Mother India. :) I agree with your assertion about both the Kapoor men. Yes, Shammi had the ability to make whoever was singing his playback for him, his own voice.

    I too wish that Shantaram had taken anyone other than Sandhya. :( She spoilt many lovely songs (for me, that is).

    Sapan Suhane had another lovely song - a Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Dwijen Mukherjee triad called Naam era Nimmo... I first came across the songs from this film when I was researching songs for the post on Helen songs. You should listen to the way Lata sings a-ha re!...


    From your selections, Dil ki girah khol do, Aaja Sanam madhur chandni mein hum and Mere dil mein hai ik baat were on my short list. I dislike Tum gagan ke chandrama ho with a vim and a verve that I usually reserve for songs from the eighties. :( Not that the song is not lovely, I hate the lyrics. :( :(



    Thanks for the links, though. So many songs to listen to...

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  3. Thank you, Subodh. I'm glad (and pleasantly surprised) to introduce you to 'new' old songs. Especially when you also like them. :) Mere dil mein hai ik baat and Nain mile chain kahan were both on my list. I am listening to Kaanha jaa re after a very long time. Thank you for the links.

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  4. Continuing the trail on Manna Dey with his duets with Lata Mangeshkar on her 84th Birthday is not only logical, but also certainly is a great way to pay the tribute a very special category of songs form both the artistes.
    I am quite sure many equally great songs will come up during the discussions, but, let me present Woh Chand Muskay from Aakhari Dao - http://youtu.be/7IWDXH00WIw. This one was a matter of great discussion for Madan Mohan have adapted SJ ( or to be exact Dattaram) style of orchestration.
    Whilst on t Madan Mohan, here is one more great duet from his stable - PrretaM Daras Dikhao - Chacha Zindabad - http://youtu.be/M9Z_cs_UuZI

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  5. Beautiful list!
    #4,#9,#13 and #15 are my favorite ones. #11 is unique because before "Ae
    Meri Zohrazabeen", I have never seen Balraj Sahni in a naughty and
    mischievous mood.I recall "Preetam Daras Dikaho" from Chacha
    Zindaabaad.Music is by Madan Mohan

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI2HLRFCNO4

    and "Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua" from Shri 420

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXLzfldeDcM

    and "Jahan Main
    Jaati Hoon" from Chori Chori

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI2HLRFCNO4

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  6. Anuji, this is a lovely post on the duets of two living
    legends. What an innovative way to mark
    Lata Mangeshkar’s birthday! I join you
    in wishing her many happy returns. The
    Miss India song (Jaaoon mein kahan) was a discovery for me and I thank you for
    this excellent number. I have been lucky
    enough to attend several of Manna Dey’s concerts and one thing that struck me
    was that his voice had amazing range – probably greater than Rafi’s or any
    other contemporary Bollywood male singer’s.
    I once heard him asking his accompanist to tune the instrument to “C”
    while singing “Kaun aaya mere” (Dekh Kabira Roya). At another time he asked for “F” while
    singing “Ai meri zohra jabeen” (Waqt). That
    is a four octave difference! (Please do
    not quiz me further on this. I am an
    ignoramus as far knowledge of music is concerned.) Every Manna Dey-Lata duet is special. Here is “Din albele pyar ka mausam”, a gem
    from “Begunah” (1957; MD: SJ), a movie that was banned for plagiarism after 1
    week as a court ruled in favour of the producers of “Knock on Wood”:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxnzGCZe1v8

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  7. F is five semi-tones away from C (C, D flat, D, E flat, E, F), not four octaves. In Indian musical form that would mean if C were the "Sa" then F would be "Ma" the third whole note. It could also mean he started at a pitch that was a fourth lower than the C. You usually cannot judge a voice's range from a tonic tuning.

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  8. Thank you, Ashokji. I must confess to doing it at the last minute because I've been neglecting the blog so much.

    I did think about Preetam daras dikhao - a great song, indeed - but it didn't make it to my list. (Not one of my favourites, I'm afraid. I can appreciate the beauty of the melody and the rendition, and still not like it quite as much. *grin*)

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  9. Thank, coolone. :) Yes, it was very rare to see Balraj Sahni smiling or flirting, no? I loved this one as much for his antics on screen as I did for the lilting melody of the song itself. Pyar hua iqraar hua is not one of my favourites, but Jahan mein jaati hoon is, and in fact, I was dithering between using that instead of Yeh raat bheegi bheegi; thank you for linking it here.

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  10. Welcome to my blog, Canasyaji. I appreciate your taking the time to comment as well. It must have been fascinating to hear Manna Dey Live. You are very lucky. :)

    I had heard about Begunaah/i> being banned because it was plagiarised; I wish, though that the prints hadn't been destroyed. The song is beautiful.

    No, I won't quiz you about the music - I'm a bigger ignoramus when it comes to detecting tone and chord. :) In any case, I see that SSW has shed some light on the issue.

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  11. I have one more special song from Amar Shaheed - composed by Jamal Sen - Jhoome Meri Beliya Preet Re .....http://youtu.be/RWUPmsqhk_4
    On a side note theis folm was a dubbed version of tamil film veerapandya kattabomman.

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  12. Thank you, Ashokji. I must confess to doing it at the last minute because I've been neglecting the blog so much.

    I did think about Preetam daras dikhao - a great song, indeed - but it didn't make it to my list. (Not one of my favourites, I'm afraid. I can appreciate the beauty of the melody and the rendition, and still not like it quite as much. *grin*)

    I was listening to Woh chaand muskaay and as soon as he heard the first notes, that is exactly what my husband said - it has to be SJ, or at least Dattaram. :) He was very surprised to know that it was Madan Mohan.

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  13. Thanks all for such Enlightening posts. Just when I was thinking that some beautiful numbers are missing in the original post, others did come in with them. My most favourite number is "Soch Ki Gagan Jhume" because the singers displayed their mastery in slightly different styles, yet matching very beautifully with each other. Lataji as usual was very beautiful, but Manna Dey was also very wonderful in some places, where he applied some twists in his own style. However, the audio is very poor in all the You Tube posts of the song. The song sounds wonderful in the audio CDs published by the Music Company.

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  14. You have done a complete job as usual, your list is sort of complete, can I add anything more Anu? Maybe just one song and that is from Madhumati which is

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  15. Something went wrong I was trying to post the link with the HTML code but it did not work , I am trying again I know what mistake I made.

    chadh gayo papi bichua

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  16. I did everything right this time but I guess this comment form does not recognize the code but I guess you got the song chadh gayo paapi bichua

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  17. He, he I feel foolish I did not realize that I did not have to bother with the code and all that actually I had once again made a mistake with the code but I see just pasting the link was enough and you have got the song, Manna Dey comes in a bit late in the song but it is one of my favourite songs both from point of view of picturisation and the superb rendition of Lata and Manna Dey not to mention Salil Chowdhury wonderful composition.

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  18. I have received your comments on my post....... ..........Sorry for the inconvenience!

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  19. Hey, no inconvenience at all! Just wondered why my comments were disappearing into ether. Readers over here have complained loud and long about not being able to comment on *my* blog, so it was a change to be on the other side, for once. :)

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  20. Pacifist, thank you for not boycotting my blog. :)

    Tum gagan ke chandrama ho is one song that I love to hate! Lovely melody, wonderful rendition as always, but the lyrics make me want to tear out the remaining hair on my head. I had a discussion/disagreement about this song with Karthik - he told me it was samarpan; I contented myself with a rude noise. :) I'm glad you linked it though; I'm sure there are plenty of people who like the song.

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  21. Pacifist, thank you for not boycotting my blog. :)

    Tum gagan ke chandrama ho
    is one song that I love to hate! Lovely melody, wonderful rendition as
    always, but the lyrics make me want to tear out the remaining hair on my
    head. I had a discussion/disagreement about this song with Karthik - he
    told me it was samarpan; I contented myself with a rude noise. :) I'm glad you linked it though; I'm sure there are plenty of people who like the song.

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  22. Oh, OK.
    Hope you like this one.
    I'm waiting eagerly for your list of doormat songs though. :-)


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPie4HIq39I

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  23. oops!! What happened?

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  24. Strange things are happening, so I'll try a new comment instead of 'Reply'
    Being a classical duet, I love it, and can safely say you like it too.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfBFtT9LNlU

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  25. Nothing happened, pacifist. :) Your link and song and comment - they are all there.

    I have not heard this song before. Lovely, lovely song. Thanks for the link.


    Doormat songs *grin* I began writing that post and then I got into an argument with my husband about some of them being doormat-ish (he claimed they were not), so right now, the post is sitting on the back-burner waiting for me to finish stewing. (Talk about misplaced metaphors!!)

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  26. I think Blogger and Disqus together just took some time to get your comment loaded. :) It is there below, not to worry.

    Your link? Did you really</i? read my post?? *tapping foot in exasperation* (Check out Song # 14.) :) :)

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  27. Lovely post, Anu! I don't know how you managed to whittle your list down to 15, considering that each and every one of their duets is so good. Here's one of my favorites:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPVf0j8zK0c



    I haven't checked to see if it has been posted already and am hoping it hasn't been posted by anyone.

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  28. I didn't mean to post twice, can you delete one of them?

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  29. Thank you, Lalitha. I spent a lot of my time flat on my back listening to songs, and arranging and rearranging my original list. :) Knowing fully well that you folks would put in the songs I missed. :) :) Now see, this is one I completely missed, and I had it in my list of Manna Dey for Mehmood songs. Thank you for linking it here.

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  30. There is only one post, Lalitha, it is Disqus trying to make a fool of you again. Did the same to pacifist earlier.

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  31. NO!! NO!! I swear this wan't the song I wanted to post. I copied the url to download it. And the song I wanted to post - perhaps I forgot to copy the url (what with so much of copying) .
    If you notice my comment it says *classical** and this Schoolmaster song isn't :-)
    I'm in a hurry now, but will come backwith the song I wanted to post. The name of the film is rather vague kind of, but the song is great.

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  32. Not to mention the double posting again and again. It had me all spooked =8-O
    so forgot to copy the url in my haste to check whether it got corrected or not.

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  33. Here it is, Anu. I thought it was best to post now.The name of the film is Tel Maalish Boot POlish. I knew the name because I had selected two songs for the 'Business Song' over at Harvey's. :-)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77bHrtc37MA

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  34. I'll take your word for it. :)

    If you notice my comment it says *classical** and this Schoolmaster song isn't :-)
    I noticed, but then decided that since you were posting a song that was already in the post... *grin*

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  35. That double posting spooked me out too the first time it happened. Luckily, Disqus seems to be behaving itself (at least for me) now. And you are not its only victim - Lalitha had the same experience. Don't worry about the 'double' post. It actually doesn't do anything of the sort; it only pretends to. :)

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  36. Yes, this is a lovely song, pacifist. Worth the wait. :) I had this on my list; I do not remember why I removed it, or for what, but I'm so glad you posted it here. It is a great song.

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  37. I know Anu actually what happened was that I have got the code ready on my laptop,when I ever I need to post a link in a comment I just copy paste it and just fill in the url and the title, but in case of disqus it does not sometimes work on my laptop, it just doesn't download, could be some problem with the net connection, so I have to borrow my brother's desktop computer. I was constantly making mistakes with the code because I was trying to copy it from my laptop, I did not have the luxury of copy pasting and besides that I was also rushing because I was also working on my blog post, I have taken too long a break, therefore all the mess.

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  38. Anuji,

    Thanks for this much awaited and expected post. I liked the post and the songs, especially songs #2, #4, #5, #9 and #10.

    I believe, Lata Mangeshkar had,told Manna Dey that they have apparently sung nearly 107 duets together. Altogether 31 songs (15 in the main post and another 16 in the comment section) have been posted here till now. With Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar, you have lots of classical based songs.

    Tere bina aag yeh chandni most probably is the first Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar duet. Fabulous duet.

    Jaon mein kahan was most probably the first duet of Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, under S D Burman’s baton. They sang one more duet for S D Burman in the film Jyoti (1969), which is mentioned in the comment section. Incidentally, there are Greek and Turkish versions of Jhoomta mausam .

    Let me add some more duets.
    Manna Dey sings for Kishore Kumar.
    Aap huye mere, Krorepati (1961), music Shankar Jaikishan,lyrics Shailendra
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUJL4m6XZxs


    Aaya aaya Abdullah, Juari (1968), music Kalyanji Anandji, lyrics Anand Bakshi
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIFjdDuWVec

    Mere man me base nandlala, Sakshigopal (1957), music Chitrgupta, lyrics Bharat vyas
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ7Q1zarprA

    O aashad ke pehle baadal, Kavi Kalidas (1959), music S N Tripathi, lyrics Bharat Vyas
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NbhDnN6ey0

    Another beautiful duet based on Raag Bhatiyaar followed by Raag Abhogi
    Ik ritu ayeIk ritu jaye, Sau saal baad (1966), music Lakshmikant Pyarelal, lyrics Anand Bakshi
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiprGvFdeXY

    Shaam dale jamuna kinare, Pushpanjali (1970), music Laxmikant Pyarelal, lyrics Anand Bakshi
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM9CHdpk-9Q

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  39. Not to worry, Shilpi. Happens to the best of us. Now I have your post to look forward to. :) That is so much more important.

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  40. Thank you Mr Venkatraman, for reading, and for posting the links to so many more of their duets.

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  41. Yup. :) I have posted that video ad nauseum in every post that mentioned Ghar aaya mera pardesi ever since I read Behind the Curtain *grin*.

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  42. Just catching up with everything, Anu. Superb post, as usual. Your last few posts have all been about songs, and it's been rather difficult to comment (though I did read them) because I keep thinking how much my father would have loved those.

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  43. Thank you, Sridhar. It is good to see you on my blog again.

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  44. A doormat feels the sole of a boot
    A boot does not feel the soul of the doormat.

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  45. Aaaargh! You and your horrible puns! Begone from my blog! :)

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  46. Getting this list out must've been a bit 'o work - great job Anu.


    Manna, to me is best when it is an airy, lonely, 'look back at life with a hint of tragedy but no regret' number. His duets, really haven't done it for me (notable exceptions being the likes of yeh raat bheegi bheegi & chunri sambhal gori). Enjoyed listening to the songs and liked that Basu Chatterjee number; agree with you that the Mal one is better. Somehow Salil Chaudhury tunes seem to fit Mal songs more (the bongs would string me for that).

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  47. Thanks, Boby. Yes, I'm sure the Bongs will not appreciate your appropriating one of their cultural icons. :)

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  48. Ah, lovely. Anu, so lovely. There were actually quite a few songs here that I hadn't heard before - Ritu aayre, the Balraj Sahni-Geeta Bali one (and how cute, too!), the one from Suhaagan among them. All songs that I'm going to listen to all over again as soon as I've finished typing in this comment. :-)

    "Disqus seems to be taking longer than usual."

    And since I don't have the time to reload, I don't have the time to scroll through all the comments and check whether these songs have been posted by anyone else...

    Sochke yeh gagan jhoome is one of my all-time favourite Lata-Manna Dey songs. I simply love the sweetly lyrical romance of this one (and Sanjeev Kumar and Nivedita do look wonderful together, I think!).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFuFI3FFN3M

    And, in a very different style, Beliya beliya beliya:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlnJTExgiVo

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  49. And how happy I am to have 'introduced' you to some new (old) songs! :) Harvey shared your love for Sochke ye gagan jhoome :) I thought of Beliya beliya but I wanted so much to add Masti bhara hai sama that I left this one out. I'm so glad you posted it here.

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  50. No intentions of reviving your old posts, but I enjoyed these songs so much. While I was surprised to find #7 because not many that I know of have heard that song, I was also introduced to an absolutely delightful "oh gori aaja gaddi vich beh ja" . I have listened to it over and over several times. I wish the second line was, "jaaogi koi kee kavega". It would have fit the meter. The only song I knew from this movie was the peppy "ghoonghat hata na dena goriye, chanda sharam se doobega". Doesn't Geeta Bali look so much like Achla Sachdev in the song "oh gori" ? I have always wondered if they were related but have never found anything written about it. "Balma more aanchara" was new to me and it is a very interesting song. I saw Bhhegi Chandani picturised for the first time, though very sensuous, they don't fail to get the heroine to spend some time on hero's feet..... Apni aadat se majboor hain. All in all a wonderful selection of songs. Enjoyed them all so much.

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  51. I'm very glad to see that people are still reading my old posts, Neeru, and still commenting on them. I'm glad to see you liked the psot and the songs.

    You made a very interesting observation there (about the heroine spending time at the husband's feet). Aadat se majboor hain, indeed!

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