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28 January 2014

The Legends: Mukesh - Part 2

22.07.1923 - 27.08.1926
It is very clear from my earlier post, and from many comments on the same, that Mukesh, rightly or wrongly, came to be identified with tragic songs, some of which whined and moaned their way into eternity. (Or at least, it felt like it!) As that post (and this one) shows, that certainly wasn't true. In his personal life, he definitely wasn't a tragic figure. From all accounts, he was quite a hasmukh, a jovial man who enjoyed nothing more than the company of his friends, a couple of drinks for quick measure and an evening filled with songs. One of the oft-repeated stories about Mukesh is that he is alleged to have said: Sharab... din mein kabhi chhuo mat, raat ko kabhi chhodo mat! (Never touch a drink during the day; never miss a drink after dusk.)  A harmonium would be pulled out, and a musical soiree would follow the drinks, Mukesh regaling his friends with songs without any recording paraphernalia around. 
But while he enjoyed his drink, he was definitely not addicted to it. In fact, the secret of his success can be traced to the fact that however late he went to bed, he was up at 5 a.m. doing his riyaaz for the next couple of hours. That discipline, and his open, easy-going nature attracted composers who have, at one time or the other, found songs that needed Mukesh and only Mukesh to do justice to the emotions contained in them.

Unlike today's cut-throat world, Mukesh inhabited one where his goodness of heart was not an anomaly. On the contrary, he shared a great camaraderie with his contemporaries, and it did his stature no harm to tell Mohammed Rafi that he couldn't sing like him. Or to call up Manna Dey or Manhar Udhas to congratulate them on songs well sung. After his death, Kishore Kumar, who often took son Nitin Mukesh with him, would introduce him as his 'bade bhai's (elder brother's) son. 
 
Since I have already established that, despite my oft-stated opinion of Mukesh, there are many, many songs of his that I not only just 'like', but are among my perennial favourites, it is easy enough to get into the second part of my post on the legend - his duets. Once again, the choices were many, and it was a difficult, even if delightful, chore to sift through them to list the songs that I like just at present. (My taste in songs is pretty fluid - there are some that I can always listen to, that have always been my favourites, and will probably always be; there are some that I like at one moment, and not necessarily the next; there are some that I like depending on present circumstances, so on and so forth.) So, here, again in no particular order, are some of my favourite Mukesh duets.

1.  Phir na keeje meri gustakh nigaahi ka gila (with Asha Bhosle) Phir Subah Hogi (1958), Khayyam/Sahir Ludhianvi
Love, love, love this song. It is among my afore-mentioned all-time favourites. I love everything about it, from the story-telling that precedes the song, to the way Raj Kapoor's voice segues effortlessly into that of Mukesh's, to the picturisation - the lovers stealing glances even while he is telling the children a story, the quietness of the song itself, almost pleading not to be punished for the crime of looking, for she has been glancing at him too, and how could he not return her loving glance? It's one of the finest romantic songs I have ever heard or seen, picturisation (Ramesh Saigal) and music (Khayyam) complementing Sahir's lyrics.
Phir na keeje meri gustaakh nigaahi ka gila
Dekhiye aap ne phir pyaar se dekha mujhko
Main kahaan tak na nigaahon ko palatne deti
Aap ke dil ne kayi baar pukaara mujhko

2. Dekho mausam kya bahaar hai  (with Lata Mangeshkar) Opera House (1961), Chitragupta/Majrooh Sultanpuri
Mukesh sang the most number of duets with Lata Mangeshkar. Obviously, one is spoilt for choice. What to choose is not as difficult as what to leave out. I could have gone with one of my favourite romantic songs of all time - Dum bhar jo udhar munh phere from Awaraor the lesser-known but beautiful Mehtab tera chehra from Aashiq. But on my short list were songs that were so un-Mukesh like that I felt they were better choices. Again, there were three songs hat I shortlisted (with great difficulty) in that mood. Dekho mausam won over  Dil se dil ki dor baandhe (Chhaya) and Duniyawalon se door (Ujala) for the sheer effervescence of its melody. It really is one of those 'get-up-and-dance' songs. Besides, who could resist Ajit dancing with Saroja Devi? Majrooh's peppy lyrics brought out the fun element, as he questions how one can remain unaffected under the circumstances:
Gaati si har saans mein bajti hai shehnaaiyaan
Saaya dil pe daalti taaron ki parchhaiiyaan
Jhaanke chanda aasmaan se, chhede humko jaan-jaan ke
Aise mein kyun hum yahin par kho jaaye na
Dekho mausam kya bahaar hai, saara aalam beqaraar hai
Aise mein kyun hum deewane ho jaaye na
Truly. How?

3. Mast chandni jhoom rahi hain (with Geeta Dutt) Pyar ki Baatein (1951), Bulo C Rani/ML Khanna
My initial choice for their combination was Khayalon mein kisi ke from Bawre Nain. But it is, almost always, the obvious choice for a Geeta Dutt-Mukesh duet. And quite one of my favourites, so it pops up in my lists now and then. Secondly, I already had the delightful Mujhe sach sach bata de from the same film, and I did not want two songs from one film if I could help it. Thirdly, I came across this song and it caught my fancy in a way that some songs have a habit of doing. I'm not arguing artistic merit here. There is something about this song that tugs at your emotions. 

No, it is not a heart wrenching song, as one would expect from a Geeta Dutt-Mukesh combination (both of them stereotyped for their pathos-laden songs). This is a song full of longing for love, when a moonlit night arouses hitherto-unknown desires. The plot (such that there is) is convoluted enough, and it was compounded by the fact that the film had two music directors (Khayyam, composing as Sharmaji, was the other), 4 or 5 lyricists, and quite a few scriptwriters (that is evident in the plot). Picturised on Trilok Kapoor (first cousin to Prithviraj Kapoor) and Nargis, Mukesh and Geeta Dutt infused the song with all the joy of loving someone, and the sadness of being separated from them; it is filled with hopes and dreams and is completely satisfying. 
Dil ki basti veeraan hai
Tu man ke meet kahan hai
Meri duniya aaj jawaan hai
Bechain papeehe ke honth par
Mere dil ki baat hai
Bheegi bheegi raat hai
Mast chandni jhoom rahi hai, naach rahi hai...  

4. Chuo na chuo na albele mere saiyya (with Sabita Bannerjee) Honeymoon (1960), Salil Choudhary/Shailendra
A relatively obscure film starring Manoj Kumar and Saeeda Khan, Honeymoon had some lovely melodies. Once again, highlighting the fact that Mukesh could sound playful and romantic with the best of them, he is ably complemented by Sabita Choudhary née Bannerjee. Salilda's composition is as light and frothy (but definitely not simple) as only he could make it.
Har nazar madbhari
Har ada teri jaadubhari
Rehne do apni ye jaadugari
Aji jaao na, lalchaao na
Meethi baaton se bharmaao na
Tu kareeb aa, na humein sataa
Tere ho chuke hain, tujhe dil diya
 
Can't really see Manoj Kumar being playful, but then, I couldn't see Mukesh be anything other than sombre and plaintive either. I suppose there is a lesson here against stereotyping. 

5. Main bhanwra tu hai phool (with Shamshad Begum) Mela (1948), Naushad/Shakeel Badayuni 
It seems strange to have two happy songs in a film that is soaked in tears from beginning to end. Mela  was a three-handkerchief tear-jerker. But as with Gaaye ja geet milan ke, this song provides an oasis, both for the characters and the audience. Mela, followed by Barsaat and Andaz would catapult Mukesh to becoming one of the top singers of the golden era, and secure for him a place among the ruling quartet. This also fits my trope of the hero and heroine separating immediately after they sing of their deep and everlasting love. 
Tu suraj main ujiyaara
Hain ab jeevan bhar ka mel
Well, audiences knew that once they had sung that line, they had to be separated. 

 6. Ye kisne geet chheda (with Suman Kalyanpur) Meri Soorat Teri Aankhein (1963), SD Burman/Shailendra
Suman Kalyanpur's greatest advantage was that she sounded like Lata Mangeshkar. Her greatest disadvantage? That she sounded like Lata Mangeshkar. She was a talented singer in her own right, and it is interesting that, after Lata-Mukesh, it was her duets with Mukesh that I had the greatest difficulty choosing just one. I had initially chosen Ye mausam rangeen sama  from Modern Girl, and Chura lena na tumko ye mausam suhana (Dil Hi Toh Hai) was also on my shortlist, but then, as I listened to Ye kisne geet chheda again, I found there is a sweetness to this duet that charmed me. What also turned the scales in favour of this song is that this was a SD Burman-Mukesh combination.  

7. Jis pyar mein ye haal hai (with Mohammed Rafi) Phir Subah Hogi (1958), Khayyam/Sahir Ludhianvi
I must confess that  Do jasoos kare mehsoos was my first choice for a Rafi-Mukesh duet. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I came across this song when I was making my list, and couldn't resist. Even if I was breaking my self-imposed rule of one song per film, this song deserves to be known better than it is. In a film that is filled with good songs, and much better-known ones at that,  this composition hasn't got the recognition it deserves.  A very light-hearted number in a reasonably serious film, the song, beautiful as it is both musically and lyrically, also deserves a look-see for its picturisation. If you can visualise the poet who gave us the cynicism of Cheeno arab hamara writing lyrics such as: 
Humne bhi socha tha kabhi pyar karenge
Chhup chhup ke kisi shokh haseena pe marenge
Dekha jo azeezon ko mohabbat me tadapte
Dil kehne lage hum toh mohabbat se darenge
In nargisi aankhon ke chhupe waar se tauba
Jis pyar mein ye haal hai us pyar se tauba

...to which the beleaguered lover retorts:
Jo bore karein yaar ko, us yaar se tauba!  
Raj Kapoor's frustration, Rehman's teasing and Mala Sinha's expressions as she watches her lover and his friend squabble (there is no other word for this) over one of them being in love, make this song priceless.
  
8. Badarwa ki chaaon tale (with Suraiya) Lekh (1949), Krishan Dayal/Qamar Jalalabadi
This is a song that I came across when I was researching songs for my Suraiya post. While at that time, I preferred to use the lighter Laayi khushi ki duniya from Vidya, the more I listen to it, the more I'm beginning to like Badarwa ki chaaon tale... I must confess to not having heard the music director's name before, though from what I can glean, he was pretty well-known at one time. 

9.  Mujhe sach sach bata do (with Rajkumari) Bawre Nain (1950), Roshan/Kidar Sharma
 
It was not just Raj Kapoor who considered Kidar Sharma his mentor. Music director Roshan was also given his break by the veteran. Unfortunately for Roshan, his first film Neki aur Badi failed at the box-office. Devastated by its fate, Roshan was ready to quit, when Kidar Sharma stepped in and gave him Bawre Nain.  Perhaps Roshan had a point to prove - to himself, to his mentor, and to the world at large. Whatever be the reason, he came up with a clutch of songs that established him as a composer to reckon with. 

There is such joy in the song as a lover asks his beloved to tell him truthfully when she became a part of him. And she, quite frankly, explains that it happened the first time he smiled at her. There is teasing, there is an awareness of what it means to them to be in love, and how it affects each one. 
Tumhe kisne saja di, kya, ki raaton ko gino taare Woh zaalim jiske meethe bol, lagte hain bade pyare Tumhe kisne kaha hai, kya, mere sapno me aane ko Tere sapno me aate hain teri kismet jagaane ko    

10. Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao (with Sudha Malhotra) Didi (1959) Sudha Malhotra/Sahir Ludhianvi
 
While N Dutta scored the other songs in this film, Sudha Malhotra composed this heart-breaking melody. Sahir's lyrics have an added poignancy when you realise that their real-life relationship had broken down just before this film. There is a resignation in the lyrics where, while she bemoans her unrequited love for him, she also understands that it is not hers to question why. Whereas his response is considerably more cruel for being less understanding. 

I mean,
Zindagi sirf muhabbat nahin kuch aur bhi hai
Zulf-o-rukhsar ki jannat nahin kuch aur bhi hai...
... is not exactly helpful when you are in love with the man! 

I quite like this part of her response (here is a cynicism to match his)...
Tumhe duniya ke gham-o-dard se fursat na sahi
Sabse ulfat sahi, mujhse hi muhabbat na sahi

...but it comes back to her unending love for him and an understanding that she cannot make him love her...
Main tumhari hoon yahi mere liye kya yeh kam hai
Tum mere ho ke raho ye mere kismet na sahi
Aur bhi dil ko jalaao ye haq hai tumko
Meri baat aur hai maine toh muhobbat kii hai 

For some reason, this song has been a perennial favourite ever since I discovered it some years ago. (As you can see from this long treatise on the song's lyrics!) 

11. Manwa mein pyar dole (with Zohrebai Ambalewali) Sartaj (1950), Husnlal-Bhagatram/Majrooh Sultanpuri
Not having seen the film, this is another song that I have never had the good fortune to actually see on screen. The video is not available on YouTube either, so I have no idea who it is picturised on. It is a lovely song, though very, very reminiscent of Madan Mohan's 1957 composition for Sheroo, down to the lyrics. Sartaj starred Motilal and Munawar Sultana, so one assumes it was picturised on them. If any of my readers can shed any light on this song and/or film, it would be much appreciated. 

12. Ab yaad na kar ae dil (with Meena Kapoor) Anokha Pyar (1948), Anil Biswas/Shams Azimabadi
This is a funny song. As in 'strange'. There is this Mukesh-Meena Kapoor version as well as a Mukesh-Lata audio version. Obviously, it is the Meena Kapoor duet that has been used in the film. I wonder why the duet with Lata was recorded, and why it wasn't used after all. 

That said, I love the song for a different reason. I love how the song starts off with an exhortation to his heart not to remember the past, to forget all those avowals of eternal love. He is both heartbroken and cynical. 
Kyun yaad tujhe aati hai beeti hui baatein
Tu bhool ja woh pyar ke din pyar ki raatein
Ab toot chuka hai woh tera khwaab suhana
Woh pyar ki ghadiyaan, woh muhobbat ka zamana

Until... she comes in, hearing his plaint, and still not visible to him, begs the breezes and the beautiful view to tell of her plight - how she still loves him and yearns for him - and almost immediately, his mood changes to that of exultation.
Yaad aane laga mujhe woh bhoola fasana
Woh pyar ki ghadiyaan woh muhobbat ka zamana 

This must be the quickest recovery from amnesia, ever!  

13. Le chal mere jeevan saathi (with Hemlata) Vishwas (1969), Kalyanji-Anandji/Gulshan Bawra
This is the fag end of the 60s, my usual cut-off point when it comes to songs, unless I'm deliberately looking for them. Incidentally, this is probably one of Hemalata's earliest songs. She must have been but a teenager then; her voice sounds very young. According to Wikipedia, this was the second song she recorded; her first was Tu khamosh main purjosh under Usha Khanna's baton. My introduction to this song came through my husband who, out of deep love for me (or so he claims), was helping me research Mukesh's duets. I must confess that I heard this song for the first time a few days ago, but I liked it well enough to include it in this list. I can't pinpoint anything in particular - lyrics, melody, or singing - that caught my attention, but there is something engaging about the song for all that. 

14. Haal chaal theek thaak hai (with Kishore Kumar) Mere Apne (1971), Salil Choudhary/Gulzar
I wasn't going to include this number because I had used it in my earlier post on Kishore Kumar's duets, but on second thoughts, aren't the lyrics just as relevant today as they were more than four decades earlier? It is a lowering thought actually - unemployment, corruption, inflation, and bhaashan pe ration ab bhi nahin hai. Gulzar's lyrics are wonderfully sarcastic, the lightness of the words only serving to underscore the seriousness of the situations of which they speak, Salilda's score was youthful in keeping with the characters, the two singers riffed off each other in service of the song, and everything melded together to give us a beautiful song that serves to remind us just how much further we have to travel as a nation. 
Gol mol roti ka paiyya chale
Peechhe peechhe chaandi ka rupaiyya chale
Roti ko bechari ko chheel le gayi
Chaandi leke munh kaala kauvva chala
Aur kya kahoon, maut ka tamasha
 Chala hai be-tahaasha
Jeene ki fursat nahin hai yahaan
Aap ki dua se baaki theek thaak hai  

15. Apne watan mein aaj  (with Noor Jehan) Do Boond Pani (1971) Jaidev/Shakeel Badayuni
This is not a 'duet' in the real sense of the word, since it is a background song, and the female voice only comes in for three lines. However, this is a beautiful song by a much under-rated composer, and while Pital ki meri gagri  is definitely the more famous song, this one deserves to be better known.  While the previous song in this list talked of prevailing conditions in the country in a satirical and light-hearted fashion, this song has a deep vein of sadness running through it. 
Apne watan mein aaj 
Do boond paani nahin
Toh yahan zindagani nahin
Not being able to survive in their own land, the villagers are migrating, but perhaps they can return once the rains come and life (and livelihood) returns to their village. But oh, how do they leave? 
Pyaari dharti chhodein kaise
Kasme apni todein kaise
Marna hoga mar jaayenge
Jeete-ji munh modein kaise? 

Once again, it is disheartening that four-plus decades after the original was written, there are regions in our country where drought is still a spectre, and villages are denuded of people for want of water.  (p.s. The Noor Jehan singing this song is not the Mallika-e-tarannum who regaled us with songs before the partition.)
I realise it is a sad song to leave you with, so a bonus Mukesh-Lata duet from Madhumati (1958) that is a tripping romantic melody by one of my favourite music directors - Salil Choudhary. The lyricist was Shailendra.
 
Yes, I squeezed in one more song. :) What are your favourite Mukesh duets? 

p.s. This marathon Mukesh fiesta will be wrapped up in my next post - Mukesh-RK solos. I half intended to take a break from Mukesh so I could post something else, but I don't like leaving things half-done. :)

For anyone interested, here is the playlist of all the songs in this post.

37 comments:

  1. A lovely collection, although this list includes some songs I have not heard before. My favorite Mukesh duets would be Khayalon mein kisi ki (Bawre Nain), Phool tumhe bheja (Saraswati Chandra), Dil lootne wale jadugar (Madari), Chod gaye balam (Barsaat) and Kisi raah par (Mere Humsafar). But, a very special place for Bade armanon se (Malhar). The Malhar song is a great Roshan composition that uses a limited range of notes, yet is a very sweet, enchanting and peppy. I am sure anyone who hears this duet would fall in love with the song.

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  2. Thank you, RS. I mentioned Khayalon mein kisi ki in the post; I had knocked it off in favour of Mujhe sach sach bata de from the same film, though not without regrets. Chhod gaye balam holds a special place in my heart; the only reason I did not include that or even Bade armanon se rakha hai balam is because I wanted to include some of his lesser known, yet nonetheless beautiful duets like the one from Do Boond Pani and Chandramukhi, for instance. So I'm very glad you posted them here.

    Thank you for reading and commenting. I will add the links to your songs to make it easier for readers to just click and listen. :)

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  3. Simply a wonderful collection. Choosing from a sea of melodious duets must have been a tough exercise! But it has been able to do full justice.... Congratulations

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  4. I shall be, for once, a dissident and admit that not all of these songs appealed to me. (Oddly, though - and a Madhu from 10 years back would have been very taken aback to read this! - in even the songs that I didn't much like, I liked Mukesh. How do you account for that?)

    Among my favourites are the two songs from Phir Subah Hogi, Dekho mausam kya bahaar hai (one of my absolute and utter favourites when it comes to Mukesh), Tum mujhe bhool bhi jaao, and Chhuo na chhuo na - that one was a new one for me, and I fell in love with it immediately. What a delightful song!

    Among my favourite duets - other than those I've liked from your post - are Mere khwaabon mein khayaalon mein (also from Honeymoon), Ek pyaar ka naghma hai (from Shor - yes, from the 70s, but still); and Hum donon milke kaagaz from Tumhaari kasam - again from the 70s). The first two with Lata, the third with Asha.

    By the way, Sudha Malhotra insists that any 'relationship' between her and Sahir was one-sided; he seems to have been utterly infatuated with her, but she felt nothing for him.

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  5. Very good selection Anu. Another reason I love 'Phir na keeje meri gustakh nigahi ka gila' - apart from all those you have mentioned - is the way the sitar complements the voices. Something very similar happens in 'Pyas kuchh aur bhi bhadka di jhalak dikhla ke' from 'Lala Rookh' - which was the centerpiece of the Songs of Yore post on Talat-Asha duets.

    One favourite of mine that didn't make it to your list is 'Dam bhar jo udhar munh phere' from Awara. I love the romantic mood in which Lata/Nargis want the moon to look away as they are feeling shy, while Mukesh/Raj Kapoor want him to be a witness.

    You already have two songs from 'Phir subah hogi', but 'Wo subah kabhi to aayegi' deserves a mention. The lyrics are propagandist, but Mukesh's voice quality is amazingly good. One wonders how a voice like this could sometimes invite the accusation of being 'besura'.

    Two more songs I'd mention are 'Badariya baras gayi us paar' with Khursheed and 'Nain dwar se man mein wo aa ke' with Lata. The latter song makes an impact with the contrast in the mood of the two voices.

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  6. A very nice list, Anu! Full of good songs!
    All very hummable!

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  7. Anu,ly
    Working on Mukesh 24/7 :)
    Very good collection, I am glad, unfortunately you came across Jis pyar me yehaal ho.
    Mujhe sach sach is my favorite.
    I think the female voice that compliments Mukesh is Kamal Barot ( I do not want Mukesh fans to pounce on me because Kamal Barot is not a legendary singer like Mukesh, its just my opinion) I feel the same about Talat and Suraiyya
    Enjoy this Mukesh singing and Usha.Khanna humming duet from Bindiya
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yOtxvi_1tww

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  8. Quite a coincidence I must say. You see while working on my next post I realized that I had all but forgotten Satyakam, so I decided to watch it all over again and I came across this song which I used to really like. Here Mukesh sings a peppy number along with Kishore Kumar and Mahendra Kaoor.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skaepcQg1vs
    Then there is this one from Mere Apne.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NykVp7qG_Ss

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  9. *grin* Since we aren't clones of each other, I am all for you dissenting. :) We have already established we share enough of the same likes and dislikes. It is good to have a few differences as well. :)

    How do you account for that?
    I think, because he sang them so well. And I know exactly what you mean. For instance, the duet you like - Mere khwabon mein khayalon mein is one of S' favourite duets; I do not like it much, but I still like Mukesh in it.

    Wasn't there something about Sahir wanting to marry her, but her father refusing because he was a Muslim? She could be whitewashing the truth because she is married elsewhere, or it could be the complete truth, or it could be something in between. Who knows? (And at some level, who really cares? *grin*) We got some good songs out of it though. :)

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  10. Thank you, Ashokji. Yes, it was rather tough to choose just a few duets. But it was a worthwhile few hours.

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  11. Thank you, Subodh. Dum bhar jo udhar munh phere is there in my post. If you look carefully, I managed to squeeze it in. It is one of my all-time favourite songs. :) Seriously though, the reason I did not use it was because a) I had used it before, a couple of times and, b) I wanted to by-pass the really famous numbers in favour of some lesser-known ones.

    One wonders how a voice like this could sometimes invite the accusation of being 'besura'.
    That is a tiny potshot at me, is it not? *grin* Because he did go besur. It's a fact. But I have always maintained, from the time I really began to like Mukesh in my late teen years, that his besurapan did not diminish the quality of the song. He sang from his heart, and somehow, one forgot to look at things like sur and range and just got lost in the emotions he unleashed.



    Thank you for the songs you mentioned - Badariya baras gayi us paar is new to me.

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  12. Yes, Ashraf. :) One more post to go, and I will have buried my Mukesh itch. I have not heard this song before. Thanks for the link.

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  13. Shilpi, Shilpi, Shilpi, I have Haal chaal theek thaak hai in my post. :)

    Yes, I had the Satyakam song in my shortlist as well, but I sacrificed it for Haal chaal theek thaak hai. Thank you for posting it here.

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  14. Ah my liking of Mere khwaabon mein khayalon mein is not due to Mukesh it is because of Salilda. I actually prefer the Hemant Kumar version in Bengali because while the Hindi version has some lovely accordion riffs it has Lata being cute. The Bengali version sung equally well by Hemanta-da has no Lata. Lata has been replaced by a flute, isn't that cute? I shall now taint this Mukesh fest with Hemanta-da..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAUW5pgT958

    Mukesh's voice had a certain timbre that resonated with everbody. And to redeem myself.. I like this song , it is not a duet but it was picturised on Jaikishan and it seems while he composed the original tune Shankar modified it to make Jaikishen look more spiffy on screen . It has a nice syncopation....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQULCc-TJM

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  15. I also join in in with one (more ) of my all time favourites:

    Mehtab Tera Chahera Kis Khwab Men Dekha Hai - http://youtu.be/rF7H67kGQ9I

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  16. Should I even reply to this? :) I never said you liked this duet for Mukesh ( I said I did). I said you liked this duet. And you put in Hemant Kumar? In a post on Mukesh? Grrr!

    I like the Mukesh song from Begunaah. Isn't that the film which they pulled out from the theatres because the producers of the original English film filed a suit? If I remember right, the print was destroyed.

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  17. Yes, that is a lovely duet. I had that in my long list, but there are too many Lata-Mukesh numbers as it is. Thank you for linking it here, Ashokji. Perhaps one day, somewhere in the future, I can do a Lata-Mukesh Duets post. (Like the Manna Dey-Lata one that I did earlier.)

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  18. Oooh, Sadu. You have made my day (if only you could see me right now! - my smile stretches right across my face, and I'm all gooseflesh. I love Hemant, and the combination of Hemant and that tune is unbeatable). Thank you so much. :-)

    Forgive him, Anu, forgive him. After all, my posts have been hijacked before too. And Sadu has even added a Mukesh song to compensate. A nice song, that, too.

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  19. Well, I've just been reading an interview with her... so. An interview which is very recent, and she sounds as if she isn't whitewashing things. But, who knows? (And, frankly, I don't really care, either way. People's private lives are their own).

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  20. Duets of Mukesh - with Lata by different music directors or Mukesh duets under a specific music director can provide lots of interesting combinations.
    We await the chain of reactions that you set in......

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  21. I am tempted to say ignore the lady who runs this blog but then again for peace of mind (or she'll have a piece of my head ) I shan't but I shall post a couple of songs. based on duet that Mukesh sang for Salilda. This is the Mukesh song.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAb1CK0pEsQ.

    This how Salilda made Hemanta-da sing... You might recall it was played in the film Barfi at an inopportune moment for Mr. R Kapoor.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8A1W8aWcUA.

    Listen to the lovely guitar chords at the begining and the accordion and piccolo/flute to follow. I

    Now the Malayalam version which if you will get the lady herself to translate for you has really lovely lyrics and is quite delightfully erotic. It has electric istruments, piano, guitar and bass are all electric only tabla dhol and flute and non amplified. But the counterpoint melodies played by the instruments are different from the earlier two. Its like seeing the same painting in different colours and yes the lyrics by Sreekumaran Thampi are very discreet and very suggestive.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvWYN4sWsm4

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  22. Another great set of songs, Anu. I even love all your "aside" songs, except for...wait for it...dum bhar jo udhar...I know, I'm a lost cause. :-) As usual, some of my favorites

    My favorite co-signer for Mukesh is Suman Kalyanpur, so I'll start with her.
    Baharon se poocho nazaron se poocho
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbCripItpzM

    w/Lata Mangeshkar Sochta hoon yeh kya
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bePK6Ht-RN0

    w/Asha Bhosle Main abhi gair hoon
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrtbNFBo9L0

    w/Usha Mangeshkar Khuli khuli zulfon ko band bhi lo
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B64QcTVP4Y

    w/Suriyya Jhilmil taare kare ishaare
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zthBD6hwQqw

    w/Vani Jairan Le chalo le chalo ab kahin

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U6Jd6nxDl4

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  23. Forgive him, Anu, forgive him.

    I don't have much of a choice, do I? *grin* (For he will do what he will do and there's no doing anything about him!)

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  24. Oh, yes, that's what I said. *grin* Besides, I do agree with you - their personal lives are their own. Apart from a 'Oh is that how it really happened?" when it comes to these stories, because so much has been written about it, I'm not really interested. What's that they say about the truth having three sides?

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  25. Ah. You give me fresh ideas. :) But later, much, much later. I have overdosed on Mukesh this past couple of weeks.

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  26. What d'you mean 'ignore the lady'? And on my own blog, no less? I'll forgive you this time because you posted Arattu Kadavil. Must confess that the Hemant Kumar version of this song is the one I like the least. But in case you didn't notice, I did mention that Dil se dil was on my shortlist, though I regretfully dropped it. Hmph. You need to read my post first.

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  27. :) Happens to the best of us. I know I have done it myself on Madhu's blog, only to have her gently tell me that the song I posted is there in her post. Ouch! *grin*

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  28. Chalo, you only dislike one song out of the whole lot! :)

    Of your picks, I can't believe I forgot Baharon se poocho! I didn't quite like Sochta hoon main but then that's a personal affliction. :) Loved Main abhi gair hoon - I don't remember having heard it before. As such, it is 'new' to me. Happy Mukesh again - who is the girl in Khuli khuli zulfon? The Mashooqa song is more like what I had always imagined a 'Mukesh song' to sound like. Again, I'm hearing it for the first time. I'm glad I'm hearing it now, when I'm better able to appreciate the emotions. Lovely song. So also Le chalo - new to me.

    Thanks for the additions.

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  29. This is wonderful - I've listened to al three songs in succession, and I must confess I can't figure out which one I like best. Hemant, I think, since I anyway have a soft spot for him. Not to say that the Hindi and Malayalam versions aren't lovely too. All three very, very good. :-)

    And now, lady, what is the translation of that song? ;-)

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  30. Madhu, give me some time. :) That song is crazy, with very complicated lyrics. I don't know how it will sound translated. I mean, I can do it literally, but that would be awful! Trust S to dump it on my head like this!

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  31. Manmadhan Ullattil1 February 2014 at 09:35

    great..do you know that he stopped singing for a while to concentrate on his non existent acting career and in the process lost out to Rafi & Kishore...when on tour lata used to try & ensure that he was not served booze...

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  32. Yes, I did (I mentioned it in the first part of the Mukesh saga), but I didn't know that Lata tried to stop him from drinking. :)

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  33. Anuji, thanks for this lovely list. I had not heard some of these songs before. Duets are uniquely filmi (they are rare in other genres of music). And Mukesh’s duets had a hit rate better than his solos (which enjoyed a hit rate better than solos of many other singers). His baritone voice accompanied by a female (mezzo or soprano) voice created magic irrespective of the partner. Below are links to some of his oldies with singers other than Lata/Asha/Suman – his usual partners:

    Lagat nazar tori chhalaiya (with Sushilarani patel, Film: Gwalan 1946; MD: Hansraj Behl)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgcrVFUZLXE

    Ek teer chalanewaale ne (with Sitara Devi, Film: Pugree 1948; MD: Ghulam Mohammad)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPaOZpd3tgY

    Qismat mein bichhadna tha (with Geeta, Film: Shabnam 1949; MD: SDB)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIvYpt6D9uk

    Hamse nain milana BA pass kar ke (with Shamshad, Film: Aankhen 1955; MD: Madanmohan)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac2At2mfsDQ

    Hum bhi kho gaye hain (with Kamal Barot, Film: Madam Zorro 1962; MD: Bulo C Rani)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZnfZ-g0HRg

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  34. Canasyaji, you are welcome. I'm glad to have 'introduced' you to some 'new' old songs. You have returned the favour. :) Some of the songs that you have linked are new to me. Thank you so much for the links.

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