Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Picks Her 5 Must-Listen Lockdown Favourite Songs

The Nightingale hates playing favourites.When I  urge  her  to do so she reminds me   that she  never  listens to  her own songs.  “I never do that because if I  listen to my songs I will  find  a hundred things wrong with my singing. So I  never return to them once I’ve recorded them I am  finished with  them.   Even if I hear my voice on television I  quickly drown it  in  noise  on the outside.”  I nonetheless  coax  her  into naming  5 favourite songs to cheer  up  her fans during quarantine. No sad songs . Only the  happy ones.

Bahon  mein  chale aao(Anamika):  “Among  all the songs I  sang for  Pancham(R  D Burman) this is my favourite. It is also  a favourite of  listeners. I’d give  the credit for  the  song’s  perfect romantic mood  to Pancham and then to Jayaji(Bhaduri)  for  her expressions  on screen.  I  was told  it was a  song between  the  hero and heroine when  the whole world had gone to  sleep. So it had to be sung in  a soft voice, so that no one  awakens. And  Jayaji did so much justice  to Majrooh Saab(Sultanpuri)’s words.  Time stops still in this  song.Mujhe is gaane  ki khamoshi bahot pasand hai.”

Man mohana bade jhoothe(Seema):  “I always  enjoyed songs with a classical  base  in them. This tune composed by Shankar-Jaikishan gave me  a   lot of opportunity  to  sing in the classical  style. I  loved it.  What  transported  the song to  an outstanding level  was  the  way Nutanji    lip-synced the  intricate  tune on screen. You can see  on screen  that she was actually singing  the words and not just miming them.She  was  a singer  herself. That helped.”

Sharaabi sharaabi mera naam ho gaya(Chandan Ka Palna):  “Almost all the songs that I sang for Meena  Kumariji were sad pensive and  dark in mood. I like this  songs  composed by Pancham  for its  playful  mood. The heroine is supposed  to  be drunk in the song.So I had to  slur over my words  while keeping in  tune. People think the sad songs are  a bigger challenge. That’s not true.”

Aa jaan-e-jaan(Inteqaam): “I was  very apprehensive  about  singing a cabaret song , and that too  for Helenji. As  you  know, most of Helanji’s songs were  sung by my sister Asha . And  they  share  a great personal rapport also.  Not  many people  know that  Helenji is  also very fond of me ,and I of her.So when  composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal  composed  this  cabaret number  specially for me I  took it up as a challenge. Luckily the song  was a big hit. I  think among my biggest hits.”

O sajna barka  bahaar  ayee(Parakh):  “Though this is a song about  missing one’s beloved  it is a happy song. It combines the  joy of rain  with the  excitement  of  waiting  for love. It  was  always  a  challenge  to sing for  Salilda(Chowdhary). This was  a very delicate  composition, filled with tenderness  , hope and happiness.  How beautifully Sadhanaji  put  the song  across on screen.”