Can you believe it! It’s been a year since the last post in this series was published! Last year on this very day, I covered the year 1965. Today on Lata Mangeshkar’s 97th birthday, let’s have a look at the year 1966.
This year saw her singing around 130 songs in 49 Hindi films with as many as 107 solos, which form almost 82% of her songs in the year. As I said in the last post, the higher number of solos could be due to her not singing with Rafi, leading to composers choosing her mainly for solos. There were just 23 songs other than solos, including 22 duets and 1 tetrad.
The top three composers for the year were
Laxmikant Pyarelal – 10 films (39 songs)
Shankar Jaikishan – 6 films (17 songs)
Usha Khanna – 5 films (9 songs)
We can see that the number of films with a composer in a particular year doesn’t always portray popular associations.
There’s an interesting observation in the year. A number of composers, including the first or second rung of composers, had only one film with Lata Mangeshkar in 1966 and the majority had just one song or two in the entire year. The list could be very surprising!
Ravi – Do Badan (1 song)
R D Burman – Pati Patni (2 songs)
Khayyam – Aakhri khat (2 songs)
Salil Choudhary – Pinjare Ke Panchhi (1 song)
S N Tripathi – Kunwari (1 song)
Bulo C Rani – Sunehre Qadam (2 songs)
S Mohinder – Picnic (1 song)
Sonik Omi – Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya (1 song)
Talking about her duets in the year, an interesting aspect was her duets with Rafi. Though they were not singing together, a few of their duets (4 to be precise) were released in 1966. Obviously the duets were recorded earlier. A couple of their duets are actually on the list too. Otherwise she had duets mainly with Mahendra Kapoor and Mukesh.
The stats for duets
With Usha Mangeshkar – 6
With Mahendra Kapoor – 5
With Rafi – 4
With Manna Dey – 2
With Asha Bhosle – 2
With Mukesh, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar – 1 each
Other songs* –
Tetrad – 1
From Pyar Kiye Jaa – with Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey & Mahendra Kapoor
*The film version of ‘Nainon Wali Ne Hay Mera Dil Loota’ from Mera Saaya has dialogues by Sunil Dutt. It’s not been included in the stats.
We’ll start with the list. This time even after shortlisting the songs, the list had 20+ songs. I know, readers tend to just scroll down longer lists than actually going through it carefully. But I couldn’t help this time. A few songs were iconic, others were personal favourites. So I couldn’t avoid it.
1. Suno Sajna Papihe Ne – Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966) / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi
The film was a box office success and was directed by J Omprakash, who used to prefer Shankar Jaikishan. After a couple of films with Shankar Jaikishan, his third venture went to the upcoming duo Laxmikant Pyarelal, who proved themselves beyond doubt. Lata Mangeshkar was supporting the duo right from the beginning and had a maximum number of films with them in the year. Perhaps ‘संभल जाओ चमनवालो, के आए दिन बहार के’ was describing their own situation in the Hindi film industry. A beautiful semi classical song sung with expertise in raag Pahadi. Note the rich and melodious orchestration in the song. Santoor in first interlude, sitar in the second while violins predominate the third interlude with tabla playing with it almost throughout. Very pleasant to listen to! Lata Mangeshkar’s duet with Asha Bhosle is also among my favourites.
2. Phool Ban Jaaunga – Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966) with Mahendra Kapoor / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Rajendra Krishan
Yet another social, Laxmikant Pyarelal composed for, in the year. I specifically said so as the year saw their releases across low budget, mythological and so called B grade films to the well known banners. In this movie, Lata Mangeshkar’s songs were with Mahendra Kapoor, including a couple of melodious duets. This one’s one of those duets, picturised on Shashi Kapoor and Rajshree (South). The cute and romantic duet portrays conversation between the lovers.
3. Ek Ritu Aaye – Sau Saal Baad (1966) with Manna Dey / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Bharat Vyas
A few of Laxmikant Pyarelal’s earlier films had songs penned by Bharat Vyas. Most of those films were low budget ones. This film had Feroz Khan and Kumkum in the main lead.
The song is actually a Raagmala incorporating Bhatiyar, Abhogi, Megh Malhar and Basant Bahar. The duo, Laxmikant Pyarelal were well acquainted with Indian classical music, so they composed the song with a seamless mixture of raagas. Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, being trained in Indian classical music, were at home with such composition. This melodious Raagmala is the main reason to remember this obscure movie. Lata Mangeshkar’s solo, ‘Yeh Raat Bhi Jaa Rahi Hai’ is also one of my favourites.
4. Maa Mujhe Apne Aanchal Mein Chhupa Le – Chhota Bhai (1966) / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Anand Bakshi
The song is picturised on Mahesh Kothare, who went on to become a successful actor, director in Marathi films. The song has simple but heart touching lyrics and it’s woven in a simple melody.
5. Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye Humdum – Love in Tokyo (1966) / Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat Jaipuri
The song portrays different emotions. It’s not at all a song in a happy mood, there’s fear, apprehension, confusion in addition. The mood changes as each verse progresses. There’s piano throughout the song and its tone also changes with the progression of moods. Lata Mangeshkar effectively captures the mood changes through her rendition. The film also has a few of her other popular solos.
6. Tumhe Yaad Karte Karte – Aamrapali (1966) / Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra
The film has four wonderful solos by Lata Mangeshkar and each one’s a gem. What a soft texture Lata Mangeshkar adopts for this song! It’s like a whisper in most of the parts of the song. Even with a slight broadening of the voice at high notes, it never feels harsh. And when there’s Vyjayantimala to emote the expressions on screen, what else one wants!
7. Tum Bin Sajan Barase Nayan – Gaban (1966) with Rafi / Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra
One of their best duets in my opinion. Picturised on Sadhana and Sunil Dutt, the song captures the perfect aura of longing and desperation. Though Sadhana’s eyes began to lose their charm, she still looked beautiful. This duet always makes me remember my best friend, who loves this song. When he asked me about the song many years back, I said it’s an average song. Later when I listened to it carefully, I realised how foolish I was! It’s certainly the best song. I hope my friend reads this post!
8. Aa Aa Aa Bhi Ja – Teesri Kasam (1966) / Shankar Jaikishan – Shailendra
The film had songs by both the Mangeshkar sisters and in my honest opinion, the younger one won! Still this one’s obviously a good song. A dance performance by Waheeda Rehman who plays a nautanki dancer.
The last half of the 60s saw a decline in Lata Mangeshkar’s songs with Shankar Jaikishan. It was perhaps the result of Shankar’s supporting the singer Sharda.
9. Soorat Haseen Lagta Hai Deewana – Budtameez (1966) with Chorus / Shankar Jaikishan – Hasrat Jaipuri
Sadhana and her friends make life harder for Shammi Kapoor. She openly accuses him of not being fit for love. Though the song maintains a light hearted teasing, it’s being open to all makes the difference. I think even if it’s not a preferred genre for Lata Mangeshkar, she does a good job. For more of such ‘Heroine teasing Hero’ songs, visit this post, published a few years back on the blog.
10. Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayi – Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966) / Naushad – Shakeel Badayuni
Naushad had just a couple of releases in the year with 2 solos in each of them, by Lata Mangeshkar. Lata Mangeshkar has poured her heart out in the song. We can actually feel the pain in her voice, which is equally well emoted by Waheeda Rehman on screen. The late 60s were not much good for Naushad who faced a sharp downfall in the last couple of years of the decade.
11. Rehte The Kabhi Jinke Dil Mein – Mamta (1966) / Roshan – Majrooh
The film had soulful solos by Lata Mangeshkar along with her last duet with Hemant Kumar. Though each of these songs is a gem, including the Raagmala like song Sakal Ban Gagan Pawan, I chose this somewhat side-tracked song. The other songs get overshadowed by the immense popularity of the song ‘Rahen Na Rahen Hum’. This mujra like ghazal has sharp lyrics that are perhaps addressed to the character played by Ashok Kumar.
12. Duniya Mein Aisa Kahan – Devar (1966) / Roshan – Anand Bakshi
A philosophical song that appears thrice in the movie. Firstly picturised on kids, secondly on Sharmila Tagore and Dharmendra who play the grown up characters of the kids. The third version is a background song, not lip synched by anyone and it marks the end of the film. It’s one of the good songs penned by Anand Bakshi during the relatively early phase of his career.
13. Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha – Anupama (1966) / Hemant Kumar – Kaifi Azmi
The lyrics express deep internal thoughts and unspoken emotions, reflecting the introspective nature of the character played by Sharmila Tagore. It captures a quiet, thoughtful mood, and portrays the disconnect between the inner thoughts and external expressions. The song is picturised on Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore. Lata Mangeshkar sang a couple if songs for the movie, both being iconic.
14. Bas Ek Chup Si Lagi Hai – Sannata (1966) / Hemant Kumar – Gulzar
What a deep and unique thought the song conveys! A chosen silence that is not melancholic, but a conscious choice for experiencing quietness. The song has a male version as well that is sung by Hemant Kumar. The song is picturised in Tanuja, though a full video is not available.
15. Nainon Mein Badra Chhaye – Mera Saaya (1966) / Madan Mohan – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
The semi classical song is based on Raag Bhimpalasi and is one of the most popular songs composed by Madan Mohan. The song portrays longing and yearning with beautiful pieces of sitar, santoor scattered throughout the song. The song is picturised on serene locations on Sadhana and Sunil Dutt.
Though the title song of the movie would have been an obvious choice for the list, I deliberately chose the song that I like the most.
16. Sapnon Mein Agar Mere – Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966) / Madan Mohan – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
The lyrics of the song tend to blur the line between dream and reality. There’s longing for the beloved and asking for his presence even in dreams depicting love and desire for him. The orchestration and the tune have a distinct touch of the composer and Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition takes it to an even higher level. Certainly one of their best collaborations.
17. Aadhi Raat Ko Khanak Gaya – Toofan Mein Pyar Kahan (1966) with Rafi / Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan
The early years of the 60s were very successful for Chitragupt. However he faced heart problems in the mid 60s that affected his later career. This melodious romantic duet has all the sweetness a typical Chitragupt melody usually has! It doesn’t matter if it belongs to a Hindi film of prestigious banner or otherwise. Just enjoy the melody. The song is picturised on Lata Sinha and Sailej Prakash, along a riverside.
18. Pyase Hue Nain – Afsana (1966) / Chitragupt – Prem Dhawan
The film had just a couple of solos by Lata Mangeshkar and both were beautiful melodies. The tune has typical features of a Chitragupt melody.
The song is picturised on Padmini and Pradeep Kumar in a way that seems somewhat haunting. Ashok Kumar watching it from a hiding place makes the whole thing look like a trap for Pradeep Kumar. The songs reminded me of my incomplete post of Haunting Melodies of Hindi cinema, which I started a few months back. Should be looking into it soon.
The last part of the post has songs from those films which were the only film Lata Mangeshkar sang for the composers.
19. Baharo Mera Jeevan Bhi Sanwaro – Aakhri Khat (1966) / Khayyam – Kaifi Azmi
The lyrics express a request to the elements of nature to help beautify and support her life. The song is very popular and one of the best among her collaborations with Khayyam. The song is based on Raag Pahadi. Chahdrani Mukherjee features in the song among the serene and picturesque nature.
20 Kajre Badarwa Re – Pati Patni (1966) / R D Burman – Anand Bakshi
One of my favourites! Nanda continues her household chores including changing bedsheets, washing and drying the clothes etc. Lata Mangeshkar has captured the perfect mood of the song. Though neither the song was perhaps very popular, nor the film, I like the song a lot. So its inclusion was a must for me.
21. Lo Aa Gayi Unki Yaad – Do Badan (1966) / Ravi – Shakeel Badayuni
The only song Lata Mangeshkar sang for the movie, also the only song Lata Mangeshkar sang for Ravi in that entire year. The song is still very popular. The song captures a perfect aura of remembrance and the pathos in the song is heart touching. The song is picturised on Asha Parekh with Manmohan Krishna listening to her agony from outside.
22. Pyar Ke Palchheen – Kunwari (1966) / S N Tripathi – Shailendra
The only song Lata Mangeshkar sang for the movie and for the composer S N Tripathi. It’s a tandem song sung by Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar. Both the versions are sad and the version sung by Lata Mangeshkar is picturised on Indrani Mukherjee. It’s a bit slow paced song, but excellent use of piano.
23. Maangne Se Jo Maut Mil Jaati – Sunehre Qadam (1966) / Bulo C Rani – Mahendra Pran
After having a brief period of success in the 40s and the early 50s, Bulo C Rani couldn’t get associated with big banners. Though he was talented, he didn’t get popular songs. Sunehre Qadam was his last Hindi film. It had a couple of soulful solos by Lata Mangeshkar. Both are rarely heard gems, dipped in pathos. Though Bulo C Rani got fame in Sindhi films, he was not satisfied with his career. And under depression, he committed suicide by setting himself on fire in 1993.
24. Bichua Ne Dankh Maara – Thakur Jarnail Singh (1966) / Ganesh – Asad Bhopali
The dance number, picturised on Bela Bose, has a catchy rhythm with a good use of percussion instruments. In an era, when Lata Mangeshkar used to be the main singer of a movie, Asha Bhosle sang for Helen and Lata Mangeshkar sang just one song for the movie, that too a dance performance picturised on a supporting actress. That’s very interesting! Though the song is very good, I always wonder about this thing!
25. Balamwa Bolo Na Bolo Na – Picnic (1966) / S Mohinder – Majrooh
The song is a stage performance by Kalpana, who was actually a trained dancer, or so I gather. Again an impressive semi classical song, rendered perfectly by Lata Mangeshkar. Gorgeous Shubha Khote lip syncs to the song while playing sitar. S Mohinder has composed a really beautiful song. Though he couldn’t create a mark on Hindi films, he did compose wonderful songs, unfortunately never achieving the status of first rung composer.
Thanks for bearing with the long list.
Please add your favourite song by Lata Mangeshkar within the timeline.
Disclaimer –
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.