'To imagine cinema without Lata Mangeshkar is beyond me': Mumtaz

Mumtazji, I wanted to ask you about all those special songs that Lataji sang for you?

(Sobbing into the phone) My tears haven’t stopped flowing ever since I heard the awful news. Lataji was the voice of Hindi cinema. To imagine cinema without her is beyond me. I am proud to say she was my voice in all my best songs. And do you know what was one of my proudest moments?

What, do tell?

When Lataji said in an interview that among all the heroines that she sang for Saira Banu, Waheeda Rehman and Mumtaz were her favourites. Can you imagine how proud that made me? Waheedaji and Sairaji were top heroines from the time they entered the industry. But I struggled from playing a junior artiste to a heroine in B-grade films and then to the top.

That’s when Lataji started singing for you?

  That’s right. It felt very special when she sang    Sanam Tu bewafa ke naam se  in  Khilona  and ….what was that song in  Tere Mere Sapne….(she hums) Ah yes!  Jaise Radha Ne Mala Japi Shyam Ki…I felt confident on-screen when she sang for me.

But your most famous song by Lataji is Bindiya chamkegi…

Haanji. Bilkul. What a hit. Lataji counted it among her favourites. She performed it live at every one of her concerts. No concert of hers would be complete without two songs  Ae mere watan ke logon  and  Bindiya Chamkegi.

That’s true. Did you feel the song would turn out so special when you were shooting it?

Honestly? No…  Mujhe laga  it’s a bit slow-paced for a dance number…(she sings it). But who knows what will become famous and what not?  Sab Ooparwale aur public ke haath mein hain. Mujhe ek aur gana jo Dharamji ke picture mein thi bahot pasand hai (I love one more song of Lataji in a film I did with Dharamji).

Main tere ishq mein marr na jaaon kahin in Loafer?

Jee jee!  Dharamji loves that song too and another song in  Loafer,  Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai.  When I had gone to meet Dharamji when I was in India last month he had asked me, ‘Mammo—that’s what he affectionately calls me—tujhe yaad hai yeh gaane?’

When did your association with Lataji begin? Did you know her personally?

Of course, I knew her. She was an amazing personality. I knew her from when I was 5 years old. I lived with my mother and the rest of my family in Walkeshwar, where Jackie Shroff also used to live. Lataji too lived in Walkeshwar with her family. We kids went to her home to watch 16mm films. I’ve not forgotten her warmth. Now she’s gone. There will never be another Lataji.

I agree.

Lekin kya pataa, Bhagwan ko hum pe taras aa jaye. Ek aur Lataji waapas bhej den  (But who knows the Gods may take pity on us and send another one like her).

You are an optimist?

That’s what keeps me going.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.