When I try to compile the most melodious, the most beautiful songs of Lata Mangeshkar, the following songs invariably come to my mind:
| Song | Film |
| Kare kare badra ja re ja re badra | Bhabhi (1957) |
| Na to dard gaya na dawa hi mili | Kali Topi Lal Rumal (1960) |
| Sajna sajna kahe bhul gaye re pukar ke | Chand Mere Aa Ja (1960) |
| Rang dil ki dhadkan bhi lati to hogi | Patang (1960) |
| Main hun gori nagin dekhungi rasiya | Nache Nagin Baje Been (1960) |
| Balma mane na | Opera House (1961) |
| Kajra na dekhe gajra na dekhe | Suhag Sindur (1961) |
| Aaj ki raat naya chand leke ayi hai | Shadi (1962) |
| Dil ka diya jala ke gaya | Akashdeep (1965) |
| Uthegi tumhari nazar dheere dheere | Ek Raaz (1969) |
Correction: Main hun gori nagin dekhugi rasiya in the above table is a Rafi-Lata duet
All these songs are composed by Chitragupta and they should figure in any list of Lata’s best.
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Your relationship with songs that moved you, that brought tears to your eyes the first time you heard them and every time you hear them, is deeply personal. How can others relate to your experience? And no matter how well you write it would be less than what you felt.
You would be hard put to recall a mainstream film whose hero bore the name Salim, Javed or Asghar – unless it was a ‘Muslim’ film. You might think of the student-poet Anwar (Rajendra Kumar in Mere Mehboob, 1963) plaintively singing Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki kasam in the college farewell function, which was actually addressed to the mysterious beauty whom he had accidentally bumped into, and caught only a fleeting glimpse of, clad as she was in burqa. He could not forget that suhana manzar, and ever since he had been looking for her in har raah har mehfil with all consuming yearning to have her deedar once again in life. Lest you miss the point, the campus would be Aligarh Muslim University. Regulation Johnny Walker could be there to provide comic relief to the brooding hero and help resolve the mystery at crucial moments.
