5 Songs Of The Late Narendra Chanchal That You Probably Don’t Know

  Narendra Chanchal who quietly passed away on January 22  left behind a legacy of  ‘Mata Rani’ Bhajans that  will be chanted sung and  celebrated  as long as God and Music exist. But did you know he  also sang some really  good film  songs that were not  devotionals and were in fact great hits without  addressing the  omnipresent Mataji?

1.     Beshaq mandir masjid todo:  For Bobby, Raj Kapoor wanted a background song based on the legendary  poet  Bundel Shah’s  lines Beshaq mandir masjid todo Bundel Shah yeh kehta/Par pyar bhara  dil kabhi na todo iss dil mein dilbar rehata…Raj Saab discovered the  voice  of Narendra Chanchal  for this searing love ballad filmed on a heartbroken Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.

2.     Mehngayee maar gayee: Laxmikant-Pyarelal who hijacked  Chanchal from the Bhajan  zone to sing  a chartbuster  in Bobby in 1973  again invited  Chanchal to sing the following year in 1974 this time for Manoj Kumar’s Roti Kapada Aur Makaan. The song  about price rise and inflation so relevant back then  , remains even more relevant today.Narendra Chanchal shared the singing  space  with Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar  for a marathon melody of  nearly 9 minutes’ duration where his robust rendition stood out.

3.     Yaara  oh yaara ishq ne maara:  Narendra  Chanchal sang just one  song for R D Burman.This heartpiercing  number in the Bachchan starrer Benaam in  1974. Bachchan Saab loved  the song  so much that he wanted to  lip-sync it on screen. But the song  was already taken. By Chanchal himself! Yes, he rendered the number himself on screen. A flop film,Benaam is remembered by this  song  only

4.     Do ghoont  pila de saqiya: Moving completely away from his devout image Chanchal sang this boisterous  Qawwall in praise of, ahem,intoxication in a flop film Kala Sooraj. Devotees were shocked.Says composer  Bappi Lahiri, “I wanted  to give Narendra Chanchalji a change  of image. He  was so versatile. He could sing  anything. This song was  a rare outing for me  also,and for him. I  haven’t composed too many Qawwallis in my career. And he hasn’t sung many non-devotionals. It was a big hit.”

5.     Oh Rab na kare:  Finally this completely unknown love song where Chanchal  got together with the mighty  Lata Mangeshkar for a love lament. Sadly the two singers belonged to different schools of singing. Their  voices just didn’t  match together. This  number composed  by Kalyanji-Anandji from the  Shatrughan Sinha-Sharmila Tagore starrer Do Shatru is  forgotten. RIP.