As Mughal-e-Azam Turned 63 On August 5, Here Is Looking At Lataji’s Iconic Song Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya

K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam featured one of composer Naushad’s  most accomplished music scores of all times. The indomitable Lata  Mangeshkar toplined  the soundtrack with imperishable songs like  Beqas pe karam kijiye, Mohe panghat pe nandlal, Mohabbat  ki jhoothi kahaani pe roye,  Humein kaash tumse mohabbat na hoti, Khuda nigehban, and others.

But Pyar kiya toh darna  kya was Lataji’s  piece de resistance.

Recalled  Lataji, “The response to this particular  song  was beyond anything we had  imagined. Naushad Saab had composed some other very beautiful songs  for me  in Mughal-e-Azam .We never knew Pyar  kiya toh darna kya would become one  of  the  film’s USPs. People  went back to see  the  film over and over again for this song.They showered  coins on  the screen.”

When I told  Lataji  that her singing contributed  70 percent to the  success of Pyar kiya toh darna kya she disagreed. “I’d credit Madhubala’s beauty  and dancing with  its  success as much as  my singing,  if not more.”

It is believed  that  to get  the  echo effect  of the song Naushad  made Lataji sing from the bathroom of the recording studio.

Lataji debunked  this myth. “There is a false mythology surrounding my rendition of Pyar kiya toh darna kya .That Naushad Saab and I got the  echo effect in the song by making me  sing in the bathroom  of the recording room. No such thing happened. During those days when songs were recorded with  a  huge live orchestra, the studios were stuffy enough. Singing from the  bathroom would have been impossible.People  say to get   echo effect  in the song I  went to the bathroom of the recording and studio and sang parts  of it  from there. That’s all nonsense. We recorded the song like  any  normal  song.”

She  was all praise for  the  composer  of  Pyar kiya toh darna  kya. “ I owe  a lot to Naushad Saab. In terms  of voice modulation and specially pronunciation  of Urdu words, he took keen interest  in  the way I sang and helped me through difficult Ghazals like Uthaye  jaa unke sitam in Andaz and Pyar  kiya toh darna  kya in Mughal-e-Azam.”