Showing posts with label Lata Mangeshkar birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lata Mangeshkar birthday. Show all posts
Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar to release Lata Mangeshkar’s lost song from the ’90s on her birthday
8:20 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; September 26, 2021)
On Lata Mangeshkar’s 92nd birthday (September 28), her fans will receive a surprise gift from Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar — a song. This unreleased number, called Theek Nahi Lagta, was sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the 1990s, penned by Gulzar, and composed by Vishal. The romantic song was supposed to be for a film that Vishal-Gulzar were working on at the same time as Maachis (1996), and was to be filmed on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film eventually got shelved and the song was never released. Vishal tells us the story of how the song, which was recorded when he was just starting off in the industry, was lost and found.
‘I SEARCHED FOR THE SONG 10-12 YEARS AGO BUT COULDN’T FIND IT, THEN TWO-THREE YEARS AGO A STUDIO CALLED ABOUT A TAPE THEY HAD FOUND’
In the ’90s, when Vishal was new in the industry, he started as a composer, and was working with veterans like Lata Mangeshkar and Gulzar. “Along with Maachis, I was doing another film which was also written by Gulzar saab, but the film never got made. Maachis release ho gayi, aur main busy ho gaya,” he tells us, adding that it was for this shelved film that the song was recorded. When we point out that the song reminds one of Maachis’ music album, Vishal says, “Maybe because I was in that zone at that time.”
Sharing the story behind the song, he says, “I always used to think that that song was very good. Uss zamane mein cassette hua karte thay toh kahan release karte? Baat hoti rahi ki film banegi, and before I knew it, 8-10 years had passed. Phir woh gaana kahin kho gaya. Then, around 10-12 years ago, I started looking for that song. Lata ji ne gaana bhi kam kar diya tha, so that was another reason to find that song, ki unka gaaya hua hai. Maine bahut dhundha, par woh mila nahi.”
Continuing the story after a pause, Vishal adds, “Then two-three years ago, I got a call. It was from a studio that was about to be closed, and they said, ‘Aap ke naam ka ek tape mila hai, agar aap ko lena ho toh le lijiye nahi toh humlog fenk denge.’ There were many songs in that tape, and this song was among them. I retrieved Lata ji’s voice from that song and usko contemporarise kar liya.”
About his plans for the song, he says, “We will be releasing this song on Lata ji’s birthday. Later, I will use it (in a film). Some of the musicians who have worked on this version were not even born when it was originally recorded.”
VISHAL BHARDWAJ’S HUNT FOR LOST SONGS
Vishal says that one of the reasons he created his label was to find old gems and contemporarise and release them. He says, “I’ve been hunting for several such songs which have been lost. One of the songs which is really close to me, which I recorded when I was just 19, was with Manas Mukherjee.”
He pauses to ask, “Do you know who Manas Mukherjee is? He is Shaan’s father. Asha ji sang that song. Then there was a duet of Lata ji and Asha ji. Since they sing very few songs now, those songs are more precious. I have been looking for it for years. Kai aise gaane hain jo kho gaye hain.”
Vishal says that he wants to retrieve those voices to contemporarise them. He says, “We have the technology to retrieve even Begum Akhtar’s voice from her recorded songs. So, technology-wise, we have come really far. How musicians and singers work has also changed over the years. Now, every musician has their own studio, but in those days, musicians had to wait for dates of studios, and then the orchestra, singer and everyone used to come together to create music. Ab hardware toh sabke paas hai lekin woh collective energy missing hai. We’ve definitely lost that spontaneity.”
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WHEN LATA MANGESHKAR AGREED TO SING THE SONG
Vishal explains that even 25-26 years back, Lata Mangeshkar was not taking on many projects. When he sent her the song he didn’t know if she would agree to sing it. He recalls, “Lata ji sab ke liye gaana nahi gaati thi. First you had to send the song and then wait to hear back. I still remember when she called and said,‘Theek Nahi Lagta toh theek hi lagta hai’ (laughs!). Lata ji jab bhi phone karti hain toh hamesha ek joke sunati hain. Unke pass hamesha joke hota hai. Phir baad mein woh gaana jab release nahin hua, she would tell me, ‘Theek Nahi Lagta aaya nahi ye theek nahi hai’ (laughs!).”
He adds, “Now when I sent her the finished song, tab bhi unhone ek joke sunaya. Unko gaana bahut pasand aaya aur unhone kaha ki ise agar kisi film mein lein toh aur bhi achha hoga.”
Music begins and ends with Lata Mangeshkar, she is the greatest there ever will be-Nitin Mukesh
7:58 AM
Lata Mangeshkar during a live performance in Mumbai (1977)
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 28, 2019)
Nitin Mukesh, son of the late singer Mukesh (right), has known Lata Mangeshkar, who turns 90 today, since before he was born. The Melody Queen was clicked with the Mathur family during a concert in Delhi when he was still in his mother’s womb, forging a bond, which he believes is pre-destined. When he was born, Lata ji’s mother presented him with a gold chain and by the time he was around five, little Nitin was trailing behind his papa to song recordings. It was a year or two later that he realised the legend his father was, as also this enchanting goddess who was always warm and affectionate towards him. And once he did, he was in love with her, for life.“It’s the purest emotion I can feel,” Nitin ji rhapsodises, pointing out that he has a playlist of Lata ji’s songs, around 400 of them, which he listens to every day, from “Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha” (Anupama) and “Kai Din Se Jee Hai Bekal” (Dulhan Ek Raat Ki) to “Kya Janu Sajan” (Baharon Ke Sapne) and all the Raj Kapoor film songs, among others. “There are times when my beloved father’s songs make me depressed because I lost him too soon, but Didi’s songs always elevate my spirit.”
He flashbacks to August 24, 1976, when he made his stage debut with Lata ji at the age of 25. He had accompanied his father on a concert tour. They were in Toronto and Mukesh ji had a slight cold. A concerned Lata ji suggested that since he wasn’t feeling too well, she could sing a couple of duets with Nitin. When the boy was told this, he was aghast. “Papa, will I be able to do it?” he wailed. In her gentle way, Lata ji assured young Nitin that he would do great, and introduced him on stage. His first song as a performer was “Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein” which ironically turned out to be his papa’s last one.
It was encore in Montreal and Nitin ji remembers Mukesh ji crying like a baby in the wings as he watched him sing with Lata ji. Then, leaving him to enjoy the adulation alone, he rushed back to the hotel to call his wife, telling her proudly that their son “papa ki chutti kar di”.
Before this Mukesh ji would keep seeking assurance from Lata ji, “Nitin, apni dal roti kama lega na?” After seeing him perform with her he was convinced the boy would do well. “Meri pension pakki,” he exulted.
Three days after his son’s glorious debut, Mukesh ji succumbed to a sudden heart attack on August 27, and the Detroit and Philadelphia shows had to be cancelled. “But in December, Lata ji graciously returned to the two cities with me, pointing out that papa had never hurt anyone during his lifetime, so it was our responsibility to honour his commitment and ensure the promoters of these shows did not suffer. ‘Tu chal unka adhura sapna pura karne,’ she urged, leading me by the hand again and introducing me to the world as her Mukesh bhaiyya’s son. My father gave me his name, but without Didi, I might have got lost in the mists of anonymity and not been able to take his legacy forward. She gave me a career,” Nitin ji says, his voice cracking with emotion.
Today, he proudly claims that among male playback singers, except for her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar, he’s done the maximum stage shows with Lata ji. They have travelled across the world, from the UK, US, Canada and Europe to Africa, UAE, Russia, West Indies and even Swaziland in South Africa till she took the curtain call. In her heydays, she went on at least three-four foreign tours every year, and everywhere they went, she got a rousing reception.
Nitin ji recalls a visit to Georgetown when they drove from the airport to the hotel in an open car for around 60 kms at a snail’s pace, with screaming fans lining both sides of the road. “It was as if all of Guyana had descended for a glimpse of this petite, unassuming lady who stood all the way, smiling and shyly waving out to the fans. I was told later that not even heads of state, including the Queen of England, had ever drawn such euphoric crowds,” recounts Nitin ji, sharing that no matter what time a concert ended, Lata ji was the first to be ready for sightseeing next morning. Her devotion to music still leaves him awed as he recalls how the songstress never stepped on stage wearing footwear. Also, on the morning of every concert, she’d insist on an hour or two of rehearsals, going over the 30-odd songs in the set. “If show time was 7 pm, she was in the hotel lobby a minute before 6 pm, and two minutes before the curtains went up, she was at the mic. Didi is so disciplined, you can set your watch by her,” he asserts.
They stay in touch through Whatsapp texts, Lata ji responding to his emotional, “Missing you Didi,” with “God bless you, I love you too” and every now and then, sending him a rare song of hers in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia or Bengali. “For me music begins and ends with Lata Didi, she is the greatest there ever will be,” Nitin ji signs off.
Producer Gulshan Rai, director Yash Chopra, Lata Mangeshkar, Nitin Mukesh and composer Khayyam during a Trishul recording in 1978
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