To continue my upto-1950 Lata thread:
Everyone remembers "Lara lappa lara lappa". No one, probably, remembers that the song was from 'Ek Thi Ladki' (1949); still less is the song's composer, Vinod, known today. This, though Vinod's numbers have always been of a universally high calibre [to wit, his 'Anmol Rattan' creations which already figure on this forum]. Alongside "lara lappa", 'Ek Thi Ladki' figured two of Lata-Rafi's loveliest duets. Here are the three numbers:
"Tumhi kaho mera man kyon rade udaas nahin" was yet another unforgettable for Lata from Anil Biswas in 'Girls School'. Unfortunately, I don't have it readily available on my system, and I have yet to figure out how to convert from cassette to .mp3 or .rar. Still, here's the equally memorable duet with Shanker Das Gupta from the same film: "Baar baar tum soch rahi ho man mein kaun si baat":
"Hans le gaa le O chand mere" and "Mast pawan hai chanchal dhara" from 'Jeet' were, I felt, overshadowed by the Suraiya unforgettables from the film, headed by "Tum man ki peeda kya samjho". 'Jeet' was, I felt, a Suraiya show all the way. Still, here're the two Lata numbers, which are cute in their own way:
Sajjad Husain recorded a mere 14 numbers for Lata in his entire career. Lata, nevertheless, places him at the very pinnacle of the composers for whom she has sung, and with good reason - Sajjad, as they said, never created a tune, he crafted one. "Bhool ja ae dil mohabbat ka fasana" and "Jaate ho to jaao hum bhi yahan waadon ke sahare jee lenge", from Khel (1949), were two of Sajjad Husain's 14 Lata immortals. Which is better? Your guess is as good as mine. Balaji's already posted "Jaate ho to jaao" on my request; here's "Bhool ja ae dil":
Hansraj Behl was another composer who, despite being a master of his craft, never got his due. None of us can forget the peaks scaled by Lata, for Hansraj Bahl, in "Haaye jiya roye" [Milan - 1946]. An early example of Hansraj Bahl's creativity, when in Lata's company, is to be found in the following 'Khiladi' number:
I'm now getting tired of waxing again and again on the magic of the Lata-Anil Biswas meloduo. Hearing is believing. So, here're "Tumhare bulaane ko ji chahta hai" and "Kaise keh doon bajariya ke beech woh jo kaanon mein kehne waali baat hai":
And here's "Baharen phir bhi aayengi", from Shyam Sunder's 'Lahore'. Words fail description where this number is concerned. Lata rated it as one of her 10 best songs of all time. Suffice it to say that, in my view, it could justifiably have been at the very top of the list. The vibrance in Lata's voice here ... well, just hear it ...
Anil Biswas tuned just as well with Mukesh as with Lata. And when Lata, Mukesh and Anil Biswas got together, you got ... well, this 'Lajawab' number - what more needs to be said?
