Duets of Lata Mangeshkar with other female singers

Manik Gumte | 9th Mar 2024 

Manik Gumte followed the theme of R. Parthasarathy who a few days ago had presented duet songs of Mohd. Rafi with other male singers. Only he reversed the gender of the singer(s). Manik chose to present songs of Lata Mangeshkar with other female singers as his theme. Quite a challenging theme considering that Manik chose to not enter into the decade starting from 70s. It's quite natural for listeners to wonder who outside of Asha Bhosle & Geeta Dutt would feature since the number of female duets itself is handful in Hindi Film Music (HFM)

Allow me to get Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt out of the way at the start as these take a big share of Lata's female duets. As one would expect Lata's duets with Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt were popular ones and did not catch us with surprise. 

• For Asha Bhosle, Manik chose Jab Jab Tumhe Bhulaya from the film Jahaan Ara. The song filmed on Minoo Mumtaz and Aruna Irani playing courtesans at the court of the Mughal Emperor. Lata and Asha vie for honors and look to be one-up on each other. 
• For Geeta Dutt the song chosen was Ta Thaiyya Karte Aana from the film Panchayat. Filmed on Shyaama and Jabeen Jalil, this outstanding duet is a testimony to the times when these two singers, albeit with different styles were at the top of their singing career.  The breezy, two-paced song has both the faster and slower piece wonderfully embedded into the same Mukhada and antaras . A fabulous one from the talented Iqbal Qureshi, who sadly never made it big in his career. 

Let's now look at the other eight duets featured in the show. 

• Another Mangeshkar clan was featured as part of the show. The duet with Usha Mangeshkar chosen was Tumko Piya Dil Diya from the film Shikari. In a lighter vein this is the Mangeshkar(s) singing for OP Nayyar :). The arrangement is quintessentially OP-ish , and why not given that GS Kohli the composer of this duet assisted OPN for a long time. The Dholaks and Claps based rhythm is a clear give away. 
• A surprise packet was Kabhi Aaj Kabhi Kal from the film Chand featuring a Lata and Suman Kalyanpur duet. A clone of Lata (with no disrespect of course), Suman constantly remained in the shadows of Lata albeit making the most of the opportunities that was presented to her - during the Rafi-Lata tiff and in the Marathi film music where Lata remained away due to her commitments with Hindi Films. Many listeners on the show commented that it was nearly impossible to identify the two voices, thereby leading credence to the "clone" theory.
  
• Saraswati Rane scion of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan was a accomplished Hindustani Classical singer. She, however, had only a brief outing in the Film Playback world and this duet with Lata is their only collaborated song ever. Jab Dil Ko Sataave Gham from the film Sargam is composed is classical style suiting Saraswati's voice with Lata giving her able company. The lyrics - Jab Dil Ko Sataave Gham, Tu Chedd Sakhi Sargam - is an apt description of what music can do to a sorrowful soul.
  
• Zindagi Badli from the film Anhonee featured Rajkumari with Lata in what can be called a passing over the baton song. Rajkumari was very active in Films until the advent of Lata and her fortunes began dwindling as Lata's career soared. A song in two tone character - one exuberant and the other poignant as the two Nargis's (double role) are in in contrasting mood on screen.
  
• Bansuriya Kaahe Bajai from the film Aagosh featured Sudha Malhotra singing with Lata. A sweet melody from Roshan who also composed the Anhonee song with Rajkumari (in feature), is the flavor of the 50s that refuses to lose its charm. The Mukhda reminds you of the part - Chalo Jamuna Ke Tat Par.......Shyam Rang Ranga Re of Apne Paraye (1980)
  
• Bol Papihe Bol from the film Tarana features Sandhya Mukherjee who was a prolific singer in Bengali Films, but her career never took off in Bombay. Almost sounding like an early Geeta Dutt voice, Sandhya sang less than 20 songs in Hindi Films. 
  
• The super popular song Gore Gore O Baanke Chore from the film Samadhi brought the spotlight on Ameerbai Karnataki who sang this duet with Lata. A song that continues to enthrall listeners even 70 years after its recording is testimony to the adage - good quality music has no expiry date. 
  
• The final song of the show was a song that ruled the airwaves in the early 60s and announced the arrival of the composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Hansta Hua Noorani Chehra from the film Parasmani featured Kamal Bharot singing with Lata in what is a foot tapping evergreen melody. 

Credit to Manik for the theme chosen and the deep dive in bringing out these singers who collaborated with Lata in all female duets. A not very often spoken about theme and I am glad, Manik chose to highlight it. As always, a treasure trove of discovery came out of the session. Manik may have found the camera focus a bit discomforting but his songs more than made up for that, leaving a sweet aftertaste.