S D Burman Birthday Special: His  9 Rarest Songs For Lata Mangeshkar

“Give me  a harmonium and my ‘Lota’, and I will give you an outstanding composition,” S D Burman had once famously declared.

True to his word, almost every song they came together  for was  a smash hit: Kaaton se  kheench ke yeh aanchal(Guide), Khai hai re humne kasam(Talash), Kora  kagaz ttha yeh mann mera(Aradhana),Yeh tanhai (Tere Ghar Ke Samne), Jeevan ki baghiya mehkegi(Tere Mere Sapne) were some of their popular songs. What  about the  ones  that never  got the attention they deserved?  S D Burman 

1. Hum pyar ki baazi hare(Sazaa, 1951):  One of their earliest songs  together in the  film Sazaa  which is  primarily recalled  for Lataji’s  haunting  Tum  na   jaane  kis jahaan mein  kho gaye. Try this one for its throbbing pain of separation.Almost like a precursor to  SD-LM’s Piya bina piya bina in Abhimaan., S D Burman best song ever
2. Pighla hai sona(Jaal,1952):  It  was  indeed rare to hear Lataji in a Guru Dutt  film. For reasons  best known to  Guru Dutt she  did  not feel comfortable  about  singing in his films. But Sachinda insisted. And in this  espionage thriller we  got Lataji’s molten gold rendition of Pighla  hai sona .
3. Khaak hua dil jalte jalte(Shahenshah, 1953):  By the time this pictureshow emerged, Bumran  Dada was dithering  between  Geeta Dutt and Lataji as his preferred voice. Geeta had some solid songs in this  film. But the clear winner, this timeless elegiac plea of broken heart, was  the centerpiece.
4. So ja re so ja(Jeewan Jyoti(1953):  Master manipulator of melodic excellence  that he  was, Sachinda   in the lullaby So ja re so ja  got both  Lata ji  and  Geeta Dutt to do separate  renditions  of  the  same composition.The clear winner here was  apparent to the ear.
5. Dil jale to  jale(Taxi Driver; 1954): In  this Navketan  film later remade  as Jaan-e-Mann, there was  no  Geeta Dutt even to do this  zingy smoky seductive number filmed on the  lovely Sheila Ramani. There is  more to Taxi Driver  than Jayen  to jayen  kahan.
6. Aa khilte  hain gul(Sitaron Se Aage, 1958): This was  the last song, a wispy  whimsical semi-dreamy  ballad, Lataji sang for Burman Dada before their infamous 3-year cold war. Makes you wonder how they  could tear themselves from one another’s  artistry.
7. Baharon ki mehfil suhani rahegi(Benazir;1964):  Benazir is one of SD’s most underrated scores underscore by such ageless beauties as Husn ki baharen liye and Alvida jaan-e-wafa. But my  pick of the  hot lot is this plaintive mujra composed like  a surreal dirge  and rendered with such profound grief and  nostalgia by Lataji … ooof!
8. Suno suno  suno meri dukh bhari dastaan(Chupa Rustom,1973):  This Vijay Anand-directed Dev Anand-Hema Malini starrer  flopped(probably because  it had more of  Vijay Anand-Bindu than Dev-Hema). But the music by Burman dada  lingers in memory especially this heartbreaking song of  a damsel in distress. The situation was lifted from Vijay Anand’s Johnny  Mera Naam.But Burman Dada on Hema was every bit as inviting as Kalyanji-Anandji’s Babul pyare in  Johnny Mera Naam.
9. Sham bhaye bin  shyam(Chaitali, 1973):  One of the most beautiful songs from Lataji and Burman’s Dada’s  resplendent  repertoire , it is a Krishna birha bhajan to rival Sachin’s son’s Raina beeti jaye from Amar Prem. Remarkably this Hindi song  was composed  for a Bengali film. S D Burman was a legend