Jaya Bachchan talks about her association with Lata Mangeshkar, says, ‘heroines felt they had ‘arrived’ only when Lataji sang for them’ – Times of India

Jaya Bachchan is a diehard fan of Lata Mangeshkar. “I believe a heroine felt she had ‘arrived’ only when Lataji sang for her. I was heartbroken when Lataji did not sing for me in my debut film, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi. But she sang for me in my second release (Uphaar) and in most of my films thereafter,” says Jaya.
In Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Abhimaan when Jaya got an opportunity to play a singer she attended Lataji’s recording sessions to observe the singer’s body language during the recording. Jaya admits she copied Lataji’s posture while singing in Abhimaan.

Sachin Dev Burman’s songs in Abhimaan for Jaya—Piya bina piya bina, Ab to hai tumse har khushi apni, Nadiya kinare, Tere mere milan ki yeh raina, Loote koi mann ka nagar and Teri bindiya re—are Jayaji’s career-favourite songs. They are also regarded as among Lataji’s finest.
Jaya also loves Lataji’s Din jaa rahe hain ke raaton ke saaye from Doosri Sita, a song that Gulzar wrote with a heart-shattering passion.

But the Gulzar-written number that Jayaji is proudest of is Beeti na bitai raina in the film Parichay. Composed by RD Burman, this number defines Jaya Bachchan’s stardom more than any other song.

“I would have to agree with you,” says Jaya. “It is the most important song of my career, and it makes me proud to say that Lataji too considered Beeti na bitai raina to be one her own favourite songs. Lataji won the National Award for this song. It was made even more memorable as I shared screen space with my favourite actor Haribhai (Sanjeev Kumar).”

While Beeti na bitai raina is an all-time classic, one of the most popular songs of Lataji’s entire career Bahon mein chale aao was filmed on Jayaji.

“Again, I had Haribhai for company. Everything about Bahon mein chale aao was perfect. The way it was shot in the quietude of the night. Lataji sang it in a soft subdued voice, so that no one hears the song and wakes up. One of the proudest moments of my career was when Lataji said I did justice to the song,” Jayaji says emotionally.

Jayaji also singles out her songs by Lataji in Ek Nazar and Annadata. “In Ek Nazar I played a tawaif and Majrooh Sultanpuri saab wrote such beautiful Ghazals for me Pehle sau baar idhar aur udhar dekha hai and Hamin karen koi surat unhe bulaane ki. Aur Lataji ne to char-chand laga di (Lataji made it memorable). In Annadata, Salil Chowdhary composed that exquisite song Raaton ke saaye ghane. Lataji sang it with unparalleled feelings. Unka koi jawaab nahin (She has no equal). Whenever I hear this song I get goosebumps. Or for that matter, Raina beeti jaye (Amar Prem) and Chand phir nikla (Paying Guest), though these are not filmed on me.”