The feeling Lata ji imbued in her songs was unparalleled: Shabana Azmi

Singer Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away on Sunday, had lent her voice to films featuring actor Shabana Azmi such as Swami (1977), Masoom (1983) and Libaas (1988), among others. Mourning her demise and remembering her, the actor took to social media and wrote, “Lataji ..our national treasure no more ..her voice lit up our lives , gave us solace when we were sad , gave strength when we were low..”

Talking about what set Mangeshkar apart, she tells us, “It was not only was her sur [that was] perfect. A classical maestro had said once that bareek se bareek sur ke bhi theek beech ka sur lagati hain Lata.”

She goes on to add that it was also the emotion that she put into her songs that made them iconic. “Her pronunciation was perfect but the feeling and emotion she imbued in her songs was unparalleled,” she says.

To support her statement, she gives an example of the popular love ballad Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum (Silsila; 1981): “Rekha (actor) has famously said that even if she is reborn a hundred times, she will not be able to recreate the emotion [with which] Lata ji sings [the line] ‘Hui aur bhi mulayam meri raat dhalte dhalte’!”

Azmi’s late father, poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi wrote songs like Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai To Dil Sochta Hai (Haqeeqat; 1964) and Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho (Hanste Zakhm; 1973) which Mangeshkar crooned.

Recalling her favourite collaboration between the icons, the The Empire actor shares, “Kuchh Dil Ne Kaha written by my father for the film Anupama (1966) takes my breath away each time I hear it. There are innumerable such examples [of how she conveyed emotions through singing]. We are blessed to have been born in an era and country in which Lata Mangeshkar lived.”