Her voice is bewitching,” said melody queen Lata Mangeshkar about P Susheela in 1969. The occasion: An event in Madras hosted by AVM chief Saravanan Chettiar to honour P Susheela on her winning the first-ever national award for best female playback singer. (The song: Paal polave in

Who transformed Shammi Kapoor’s career, which began with 17 flop films? His 18th film was the 1957 musical romance Tumsa Nahin Dekha with music by O P Nayyar, and Shammi was reborn — flamboyant and stylish, singing songs with joyous abandon that enslaved young India. Jawaniyan yeh mast

In 1963, Dev Anand was busy with his magnum opus Guide. Music composer S D Burman fell very ill after composing just one song of the 10 songs planned. Dev refused to engage any other composer, saying, “I’ll wait for you to get better.” “And what if I

When did Hindi film music become a national mania? It was after the incomparable 1949 Barsaat, for which Shankar-Jaikishan (SJ) gave the world 11 delectable songs including seven Lata Mangeshkar solos. It is after Barsaat that Hindi film music started accounting for 70 per cent of the

In 1946, music maestro Naushad and legendary singer K L Saigal came together for the first time in Shah Jehan. Saigal usually needed a drink of his favourite Black Label before recording a song. Naushad persuaded him to record two versions of the song Jab dil hi toot

In October 1983, singer Vani Jairam had a surprise meeting with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She sang. She was told that Indira wanted her to sing the Saraswati vandana (invocation) at the Vishwa Hindu Sammelan in Delhi. Her exquisite rendering

He had a seductively soft and caressing voice that captivated millions all over India. But he had a special status in Bengal where he was a god-like figure. If god could sing, he would sing in Hemant Kumar’s voice, said Salil Chowdhury.

She commanded a fee of Rs.1,000 per song in the 1940s, when Lata Mangeshkar charged Rs.50 per song. Her voice — sprightly, expressive and one of free-wheeling abandon — had a charisma of its own. It could give any song

Way back in 1945, KL Saigal heard the song Dil jalta hai jo jalne do, which was all Saigal in voice and style and a masterpiece of melancholy.  “I don’t remember singing this song,” he said. He was astonished to hear that it was actually rendered by

Till the day I’m alive and till Lata is there, she will always be my first choice,” composer Madan Mohan minced no words when Asha Bhosle once complained, “You give me ordinary tunes, but Didi your best tunes.” S D Burman