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. The second lead was Jawahar Kaul 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?