Lata Mangeshkar was famously prim and propah to the point of being particular about the songs she sang.
Double meaning or vulgar lyrics were a hard no, but the legendary singer didn't hold out against occasionally projecting sensuality in song, as long as it was created by a trusted collaborator.
Dinesh Raheja celebrates Lataji's 96th birth anniversary on September 28 by picking her songs tinged with a rare eroticism.
Jalta Hai Badan from Razia Sultan
This song won more notoriety because of same-sex erotic interpretations that many people made in the onscreen sequence between Hema Malini and Parveen Babi.
But, in reality, it is this fabulously composed Khayyam gem that throbs with genuine passion, and Lata Mangeshkar doesn't hold back in its headily seductive rendition.
Note the way she cries: 'Aah... Jalta Hai Badan'.
Director Kamal Amrohi, known for grand set pieces after Pakeezah, films this song in a lavish palace stateroom with running water bodies and with female junior artistes writhing suggestively on the marbled floor.
Armed with Lata's voice, the lead dancer makes bold to ply the prince, who has given over to hedonism, with drink, as she extends this barely-veiled invitation:
Jaane Kab Raat Dhale
Subah Tak Kaun Jale?
...Aao Lag Jaao Gale
Pyaas Bhadaki Hai
Sar-E-Shaam Se Jalta Hai Badan.
Man Kyon Behka, Aadhi Raat Ko? from Utsav
Aadhi Raat Ko runs as a refrain at the end of every line of this Vasant Dev-written number, leaving no need to look for further clues about what exactly is being discussed in this song.
In this dulcet Lata Mangeshkar-Asha Bhosle duet from Utsav, two women -- the wife and the courtesan -- discuss the man they both love in a uniquely blame-free manner. The wife's (Anuradha Patel, sung by Asha) shy doubts about intimacy are dispelled by her more wordly souten/saheli (Rekha).
Laxmikant Pyarelal made the unusual but on-point decision in choosing Lata to mischievously voice the experienced courtesan as she propels the wife to upskill her marital lovemaking in this exchange:
Laaj Laage Ri Laage, Aadhi Raat Ko
Dena Sindoor Ki Sau, Aadhi Raat Ko
Bela Mehka Ri Mehka, Aadhi Raat Ko
Man Kyon Behka Ri Behka, Aadhi Raat Ko?
Yeh Waqt Na Kho Jaaye, Bas Aaj Yeh Ho Jaaye from Raaste Pyar Ke
Here, Jeetendra and Rekha ratchet up the urgency in Lata and S P Balsubramaniam's vocals. There's much talk about 'duniya ki rasmein' and there's a close miss of a kiss onscreen so there is no mistaking the intent of these lyrics:
Yeh Waqt Na Kho Jaaye
Bas Aaj Yeh Ho Jaaye
Main Tum Mein Sama Jaoon
Tum Mujh Mein Sama Jao
When the man sings about burning in 'bechaini ki aag', Lata signals the heroine's acquiescence using the rains as a clever metaphor:
Sawan Ka Rasta Na Dekho, Sawan Jaane Kab Aayega
Ban Jaao Tum Baadal, Mausam Par Chha Jaao.
The song does not have overt declarations like today's rap songs but Anand Bakshi's lyrical imagery is vivid while Laxmikant Pyarelal cranks up the music to a swelling crescendo. Lata infuses not oomph or brazenness into her seduction, but a blazing intensity.
Dooriyan Sab Mita Do from Saboot
Rain songs have long brought sizzle to Hindi films and Lata has sung her fair share, including Bheegi Bheegi Raton Mein from Ajnabee in which Zeenat Aman in Lata's voice tantalises Rajesh Khanna with:
Aisa Lagta Hai Tum Banke Badal
Mere Badan Ko Bheegoke Mujhe
Chhed Rahe Ho.
The allurement is amplified even further in Dooriyan Sab Mita Do, a seductive rain number from Saboot which states in no uncertain terms:
Dil Mein Lagi Jo Agan, O Sajan
Tum Bujha Do.
Which begs the question: Why would the mighty Lata sing this uncharacteristic song for a film with no big names attached? The film was made by the Ramsay brothers and the song was filmed on the starlet Kaajal Kiran making overtures to an ageing Navin Nischol.
Probably because Lata Mangeshkar, known for her unerring eye for spotting talent, recognised Bappi Lahiri's potential though he was not yet the Disco King or being wooed by big banners. Sure enough, the result was a scintillating song.
Zidd Na Karo, Ab To Ruko, Ye Raat Nahi Aayegi from Lahu Ke Do Rang
Only Mahesh Bhatt can decipher why he recorded but didn't film this smoking hot enticement number in Lahu Ke Do Rang, a film he made early in his career with Vinod Khanna, Shabana Azmi, Danny and Helen in a non-dancing role.
Lata gives this melodious Bappi Lahiri composition her expertise.
As a viewer, I think the Lata version would have fitted perfectly in the film's prelude with half-Oriental Helen singing it to a married Vinod Khanna during their six-month affair in Hong Kong. Perhaps because Helen already had another song, this one went unfilmed... though not unsung.
As for the frolicsome song situations featuring heroine Shabana Azmi, doing glamour for once, and vamp Prema Narayan, lyrics like the lines below would have been too intense:
Lag Jaa Gale. Khushboo Teri
Tan Man Mera Mehkayegi
Zidd Na Karo.
Doori Na Rahe Koi, Aaj Itne Kareeb Aao from Kartavya
In this smouldering Lata solo, Rekha turns on the wattage and throws come-hither looks at a shirtless Dharmendra, who looks completely dazzled, if a bit dazed, even during the embraces. The entire song -- the mukhda and two antaras -- is all shot on one bed!
The temperature shoots up, thanks to Laxmikant Pyarelal's sinuous tune. And Lata effectively fires up the mood further with lines such as:
Jalte Hue Hothon Ka
Armaan Nikal Jaaye.
So much so that it seems unnecessary for the director to accentuate the seduction by introducing smoke (don't ask how) into the bedroom.
Tumhe Dekhti Hoon Toh Lagta Hai Aise from Tumhare Liye
Sanjeev Kumar and Vidya Sinha had more of a wholesome appeal, so Director Basu Chatterji relied on Naksh Lyallpuri's outspoken poetry and Lata's rendition to convey Vidya Sinha's onscreen attempts to get the man she loves to break his vow of celibacy.
Lata gives voice to such forthright lines as: Mujhe Mere Sapnon Ki Ek Rain De Do Na.
Three-time National Award-winning composer Jaidev's exquisite music encompasses lyrics that make the songs objective clear:
Tumhari Mehek Se Mehekane Lage Tan
Mere Paas Aao, Gale Se Lagao
Piya Aur Tumse Main Kya Chahati Hoon?
Notably, this is a prime example of a song that conveys sensuality without resorting to any lasciviousness in the writing or the singing.
Bhool Gaya Sab Kuch... Julie Loves You from Julie
The constant push and pull of craving and caution, of youthful attraction and seduction, is effectively captured in this popular duet in which Lata and Kishore Kumar exchange erotically charged salvos.
The nubile Julie's dilemma at the cauldron of emotions she is experiencing is tunefully articulated by Lata with: Itna Bhi Paas Mat Aao
Ke Door Jaana Muskil Ho.
Julie (memorably played by Laxmi) ends up consenting.
An eventuality prognosticated by this pivotal song in which newbie music director Rajesh Roshan cleverly elongates certain syllables ('Juuulieeee') to turn up the heat.
Thodasa Thehro from Victoria No 203
In this blowtorch-hot Kalyanji-Anandji number, Lata pulls no punches in tantalising the bad guy whose iraada is clear. Her lines are loaded with erotic promise:
Karti Hoon Tumse Waada
Pura Hoga Tumhara Iraada
Main Hoon Sari Ki Sari Tumhari
Phir Kaahe Ko Jaldi Karo?
Onscreen, villain Ranjeet doesn't stand a chance when accosted by the spice in Lata's voice and by Saira Banu in slinky dress creatively assembled from towels.
Aa Jaane Jaan from Intaqam
This sizzling hit has long held up as an example of Lata's ability to carry off full-fledged cabaret numbers long considered a monopoly for Asha Bhosle, her younger sister and closest competitor.
Aa Jaane Jaan is filmed on Helen as she baits a caged man while dancing to the beats of Lata's crooning Mera Yeh Husn Jawaan. Until the man symbolically unlocks himself and unleashes his wild side.
Lata's protegees Laxmikant-Pyarelal convinced the diva to step out of her comfort zone, and the result was a pulsating chartbuster.
Lag Jaa Gale from Woh Kaun Thi
This burnished nugget from the age of delayed gratification has become the anthem for romantic carpe diem, seizing the romantic moment, in today's times.
The Madan Mohan composition is enjoying a renewed place in our cultural consciousness thanks to Lata's impassioned intoning of freighted-with-undertone lines such as:
Paas Aaiye Ke Hum Nahin Aayenge Baar Baar
Baahein Gale Mein Daal Ke Hum Ro Le Zaar Zaar.
Main Kya Karoon Ram Mujhe Buddha Mil Gaya from Sangam
Lata was reluctant to sing the sultry number even for ]Raj Kapoor whose films were festooned with her milestone hits. The fallout: RK's next, Mera Naam Joker was his first film in 20 years without a single song by Lata!
Reservations aside, Lata sang with full gusto and dollops of the required sauciness.
The song situation had Vyajayanthimala improvise a Folies Bergere cabaret in a hotel room while on a European honeymoon with hubby played by Raj Kapoor.
Onscreen, the number ends with RK throwing his wife over his shoulders and carrying her into the bedroom, caveman style... the suggestive 'buddha' barbs as hurled in Lata's voice had obviously hit home.
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