Lata Mangeshkar -Sridevi…A Divine Combination

When it came to ghost voices Sridevi  was  at  her  best when the Nighingale sang for her. Sridevi  once  told me, “When Lataji sings for  me  I feel half  my job has already been done. She  doesn’t only sing the lines she express the deepest emotions.We  heroines just have  to follow her  voice.”

In turn Lataji  says  about Sridevi, “I love her work specially  in Yash Chopraji’s films Chandni and  Lamhe.I was her  voice in  both. I haven’t sung in too many films for her.  But whatever I sang was  special.”

Selecting the  5 best songs  Of  The  Sridevi-Lata Mangeshkar combination:

1.     Morni bagha ma bole aadhi raat ko(Lamhe): This is  that moment of ecstatic eruption that singers  seek  for in their songs and seldom find.Lataji sang this  fabulous Rajasthani folk song  composed by Shiv-Hari   with Ila Arun. When she  saw Sridevi dancing  to the song she felt  as if  the  lyrics had taken flight in Sridevi’s  body language. The song choreographed  in  the  night in  the  Rajshtan  deserts is an exquisite expression of the yearning for love.

2.     Mere haathon mein nau nau  chudiyan hai(Chandni):  In the late 1980s Lataji had decided to quit  playback singing to concentrate  on  classical  music.  But then  Yash Chopra who  was going through a lean phase in his career  came to  Lataji and told her he  wanted  her to sing for  Chandni. Lataji was  reluctant. Then  Yash Chopra revealed it  was for Sridevi. That’s when she agreed. This wedding song is  a signature tune for  Sridevi’s supreme  sprightliness.

3.     Tere mere  hothon pe meethe meethe  geet mitwa(Chandni):  Combining with the little-known Mukhesh clone  Babla Mehta,  Lataji’s romantic song for Sridevi is  among  the most cherishable  numbers  the actress has ever sung. And  her expressions on screen with Rishi Kapoor for company….oof!  Let there be  light, let their be romance,  let there  be Sridevi!!

4.     Main teri dushman dushamn tu mera(Nagina):  The biggest hit film of Sridevi’s career also contained  the biggest  hit song  of  her career. The story goes that Lataji didn’t want to sing this song. But composers laxmikant-Pyarelal  convinced her it would be  a  chartbuster and one of her biggest hits. And it was! A terrible   film, people went back repeatedly to see  it just to see Sridevi dance to this song.

5.     Saat kunwaron mein ek kunwari(Farishtay): A completely neglected grossly underrated song in the Sridevi-Lata Mangeshkar  repertoire, this  Bappi Lahiri composition in one of  Sridevi’s most awful films is  a  comedic canticle. Just hear how much mischief Lataji brings into the lyrics about a virgin girl and her seven  virgin suitors.And then just watch Sridevi’s wild and wacky  act to the song. Magic, sheer magic. There will   never be another Lata Mangeshkar  or Sridevi. And that combination? Forget it!