Oct 02 2016

Lata Mangeshkar's best songs 2000s: Birthday series Part 6

by   Sonal Pandya

Lata Mangeshkar remains the gold standard for playback singing in India. For seven decades, the singer reigned at the topmost echelons of Indian film music, with grace and poise. As the singer turned 87 this week, we look back at some of her most memorable songs from each decade through a six-part series. Here are the final five songs from the new millennium that mark the golden reign of the melody queen.

1 ‘Humko Humise Chura Lo’ — Mohabbatein (2000)

The soundtrack to Aditya Chopra’s second film after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) featured many new singers. But Lata Mangeshkar’s voice remained as a constant in the Yash Raj production. The romantic duet picturised on Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai was sung by Mangeshkar and Udit Narayan. Anand Bakshi gave the lyrics for the song. This was the first time that Amitabh Bachchan worked with both Khan and Rai in the film.

2 ‘O Paalanhaare’ — Lagaan (2001)

Ashutosh Gowarikar’s period drama Lagaan made waves around the world for its story and its music by AR Rahman. Songs like ‘Mitwa’ and ‘Chale Chalo’ were instant hits but ‘O Paalanhaare’, a devotional song about hope, sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Sadhana Sargam and Udit Narayan lingers long after the movie ends.

3 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham' — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001)

The title song from Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... reinforced the film’s tagline: It’s all about loving your parents. Written by Sameer and composed by Jatin-Lalit, the song was picturised on actress Jaya Bachchan for whom Lata Mangeshkar sang primarily in the 1970s.

4 ‘Tere Liye’ — Veer-Zaara (2004)

Twenty-nine years after Madan Mohan’s death, his music was revived for Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara. Lata Mangeshkar’s voice was a staple on his albums and once again, she sang for him with these songs. ‘Tere Liye’ with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, where the lead pair Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta finally reunite, was an especial standout from the soundtrack.

5 ‘Luka Chuppi’ — Rang De Basanti (2006)

AR Rahman picked up yet another Filmfare Award for Best Music Director with his score for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s revolutionary Rang De Basanti. Lata Mangeshkar sang the heart-wrenching song written by Prasoon Joshi about a mother trying to find her lost child. After this album, Mangeshkar slowed down considerably on her commitments. Her last film song ‘Jeena Kiya Hai Jana’ was from Dunno Y 2 (2015).