By Kimberly Ramkhalawan
February 8, 2022
“Mere khwabon mein joh aaye, Aake mujhe chhed jaaye, Usse kaho kabhi samne toh aaye”…..(translated means, The one who comes in my dreams, and teases me, tell him to come in real life). If you sang along to that you more than likely have the image of Bollywood actress, Kajol dancing in her towel while flirting with herself in a mirror with the thought of a dream lover conjured up in her head. But the voice to the melody is none other than Lata Mangeshkar lending her voice to Kajol’s character, Simran for the blockbuster that still rakes in millions 27 years after its release, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (translated mean The Big hearted takes the bride away) starring alongside Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Lata Ji might have been around age 65 when she did the playback song for the movie, matched to an actress just shy over 20. But Lata’s melodious vocals has been lent to so many actresses over a career spanning over 70 plus years.
Her voice to us, the Indian diaspora living in the Caribbean tell tales of a culture that also endured the decades, as for many residing in the West Indies, grew up hearing her sing on the airwaves. For us in Trinidad and Tobago, where there are over eight out of 34 frequencies dedicated to the music of the Indian community, hearing her songs often take you back to the times of long ago, when a Sunday evening treat was taking a walk to a nearby theatre to see the latest Bollywood film, on the silver screen, often love stories told. When cinema began to blossom in Trinidad back in the 1950s, most theatres outside of the capital city were exclusive to showing Indian films which were brought in by civil engineer, Ranjit Kumar. Films featuring Lata’s playback became widely popular, not to mention on local AM Radio frequencies. The same can be said in neighbouring Caribbean countries Suriname and Guyana, where her songs were heard on Radio Radhika.
From black and white films starring actresses such as Nutan, Meena Kumari in Pakeezah, to Madhubala lip syncing her first hit as a playback in Mahal, Bina Rai in Taj Mahal movie, to the coloured modern films that sang about love and family starring Shamila Tagore, Neetu, Rekha, Sri Devi, and Madhuri Dixit, her voice seem to span multiple lifetimes of movies now classics forever cherished.
Her voice has been paired with many of her male counterparts, from the late Mohammed Rafi, and the late Kishor Kumar, to Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam, making some of the most romantic movie tunes to ever grace the silver screen and airwaves.
Romantic songs like these made them irresistible to any newly wed, and more often these could be heard at any traditional Indian wedding, ushering a motorcade with the bride or groom party’s at the front.
Lata Mangeshkar would visit these shores in the 80s, twice in that decade, in 1980 and in 1985. Lata’s stops here in Trinidad and Tobago and in Guyana, where her songs are celebrated and adored among the diaspora. She did not disappoint her fans on September 28th 1980, her first visit to Trinidad, having packed shows at Skinner Park in south Trinidad and Jean Pierre Complex located in its capital city, Port of Spain.
Lata, was accompanied by Nitin Mukesh, another well accomplished playback singer, while her younger sister Usha was also present along with Anil Mohile who worked with her on multiple projects as musical arranger and conductor.
Next on her scheduled tour, was her visit to Georgetown, Guyana on October 1st that same year. Guyana marked her arrival with a national holiday, having a motorcade escort from the airport to the town where people lined the streets just to catch a glimpse of the songstress.
Today, songs heard on Bollywood movies do not carry the weight of being timeless as they have come to be simply soundtracks heard in the backdrop and not where actresses and actors are seen lip syncing to the lyrics sung by playback singers. Apart from that, the orchestra using real instruments directed by a conductor seems lost. Recollection of the last film to have used this with a classic feel to it was the Yash Raj 2004 movie, Veer Zaara. One you could say Yash Chopra created for Lata Mangeshkar specifically, as songs by the late Madan Mohan were found and the movie was perhaps tailored around the musical scripts, with special request for her voice only to star as the vocals on screen.
While rumours had spread some years ago about her retiring, Lata continued to sing, and recorded several songs focused on pride and love for her homeland, India. Her response to the rumours were she would continue to sing until her final breath. She took that last breath this weekend after having contracted the COVID -19 virus for a second time, however, this was her last battle. It is said organ failure from virus had taken a toll on the 92-year-old songstress.
Her legacy is one that will live on, her voice is irreplaceable, despite her sister Asha Bhosle coming near to her vocal range, Lata’s voice is simply long reaching, with a span of seven decades and more.
Thank you for the songs that will always remind us of love, family, our ancestors and the power music has to transcend despite language differences.
Lata Mangeshkar, 1929-2022.