‘Lag Jaa Gale’ to ‘Luka Chuppi’: 12 immortal Bollywood songs of Lata Mangeshkar

As millions mourn the loss of Bollywood legend Lata Mangeshkar, we take a trip down memory lane to pick 12 classic tracks that capture the essence of her versatile voice across generations. The songs are listed in no particular order.

‘Naam Gum Jayega (Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai)’ (‘Kinaara’, 1977)

The irony behind the lyrics isn’t lost on the millions mourning the loss of Mangeshkar. The song, which was perhaps crooned by the legend at most of her live performances, was composed by the late RD Burman in this masterpiece of a film from Gulzar, who also wrote the song’s lyrics.

‘Kabhi Main Kahoon’ (‘Lamhe’, 1991)

The music of this cult film was composed by Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia (together known as Shiv-Hari) with lyrics writtenby Anand Bakshi. The song ‘Kabhi Main Kahoon’ was actually composed from a melody used as background music in filmmaker Yash Chopra’s ‘Chandni’ (1989), which also scored by Shiv-Hari. But what really stood out was Mangeshkar infusing passion into every word of this song. She was a class apart here.

‘Luka Chuppi’ (‘Rang De Basanti’, 2005)

The emotional track crooned by Mangeshkar delved into the despair of a mother mourning the loss of her son, played by Waheed Rahman and R Madhavan respectively in the film. While composer AR Rahman, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and Mangeshkar created magic together in the studio, this was a track that almost didn’t happen. At a press conference celebrating the film’s 10 years, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said it took him months to get the legend on board to sing the song. “I would like this to sink in that Lata Mangeshkar would come to the studio every day and rehearse the song. For 4 days she rehearsed,” Mehra said at the event. And on the day of the recording, Mangeshkar stood at the mic for eight hours and sang and sang until she was happy with the end result.

‘Aayega Aanewala’ (‘Mahal’, 1949)

There was a haunting quality to the young and newly discovered Mangeshkar as she made a name and space for herself in an industry in the 1940s, which was largely male dominated. In this song, composed by Khemchand Prakash and written by Nakshab Jarchavi, Mangeshkar’s voice was as mesmerizing as the visuals of Madhubala and Ashok Kumar.

‘Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua’ (‘Shree 420’, 1955)

The illicit real life romance of Raj Kapoor and Nargis was beautifully echoed in the on-screen romance of this song that was composed by Shankar-Jaikishen and crooned by Mangeshkar and Manna Dey.

‘Chalte Chalte’ (‘Pakeezah’, 1972)

Legends came together to bring this evergreen classic to life with musician Ghulam Mohammad leading Mangeshkar and lyricist Kaifi Azmi to create a song that was immortalized on screen by the late Raaj Kumar and the versatile Meena Kumari. Legend has it that ‘Pakeezah’ took 14 years to complete due to Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi, the producer and director of the film, falling out. However, soon after the movie’s release, Meena Kumari tragically died and the film and the song went on to create history.

‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’ (‘Guide’, 1965)

Vijay Anand’s film was well before its time, presenting a case for redemption and a step towards smashing the patriarchy. The song ‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’ comes at a pivotal moment in the film when Dev Anand and Waheed Rahman’s characters break free from the shackles to embrace life. The song, written by Shailendra, is the lightest and the most heartwarming in the entire SD Burman soundtrack.

‘Lag Jaa Gale’ (‘Wo Kaun Thi?’, 1964)

The track that perhaps remained one of the most popular one sung by Majeshkar, and a firm favourite according to past interviews, was composed by the lehendary Madan Mohan Kohli with lyrics penned by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. Sadhana played the eternal tragic heroine to perfection with the haunting voice of Mangeshkar giving the song a melancholy feel.

‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ (1963)

Legend is abound with tales of Mangeshkar’s powerful voice, with one famous anecdote recalling how India’s former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was moved to tears during a rendition of ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ in 1963, as a tribute to the country’s fallen soldiers after the Indo-Sino war.

‘Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ (‘Mughal-e-Azam’, 1961)

The song was a defiant cry of a lover that Mangeshkar channeled with perfection in this cult classic direct by K. Asif. The song was composed by Mangeshkar’s mentor Naushad and written by Shakeel Badayuni, which was picturised on Madhubala.

‘Yaara Seeli Seeli’ (‘Lekin’, 1991)

Directed by Gulzar and produced by Mangeshkar herself, this National Award-winning film had a particular haunting composition that struck a chord with fans - ‘Yaara Seeli Seeli’. At the 38th National Film Awards, the film won five awards, including Best Music Direction for Hridaynath, and Lata and Gulzar were awarded the Best Female Playback Singer and Best Lyricist honours for ‘Yaara Seeli Seeli’, respectively.

‘Aye Dil-e-Nadan’ (‘Razia Sultan’, 1973)

The soul-stirring composition by the legendary Khayyam was only elevated further by the lyrics written by Jan Nisar Akhtar and the song crooned by Mangeshkar. There was a regal quality to the song picturized on Hema Malini as the Sultan on Delhi in the 13th century.