The ‘Irreplaceable’ Lady In Dev Anand’s Life

‘She
is
the
gorgeous
Lata,
the
love
of
my
life.’

Like
everyone
in
the
entertainment
industry,
Dev
Anand
loved
his
“Lata”.

He
insisted
on
calling
her
just
that,
and
not
Didi
as
everyone
did.

‘Who
would
want
to
call
this
enchanting
woman
his
sister!
She
is
the
gorgeous
Lata,
the
love
of
my
life,’
Dev
Anand
would
say
about
Lata
Mangeshkar

The
love
of
every
Indian’s
love.
Her
voice
plays
in
every
Indian’s
life.
I
remember
once
Burmandada
was
being
pressurised
to
record
a
song
in
someone
else’s
voice,
as
Lataji
was
unavailable.
Burmandada,
being
as
stubborn
he
was,
said,
‘No,
Lota’
—
he
called
her
Lota
—
‘Lota
it
will
be
for
my
songs.’

Dev
Anand
felt
she
was
the
only
one
in
the
film
industry
he
would
stop
his
shooting
for.

‘Lata
is
Lata.
She
is
irreplaceable,’
he
had
once
told

Subhash
K
Jha.

‘The
others,
we
can
do
without.
Not
Lata.
She
is
known
to
cancel
recording
at
the
last
minute.
That’s
because
she
is
a
perfectionist.
She
always
says,
“When
I
record,
it’s
just
a
few
people
listening.
But
when
the
song
goes
out,
it
is
millions
listening.
I
cannot
afford
to
be
less
than
the
best
version
of
myself.”
I
would
happily
wait
for
her.’

Lataji
was
equally
fond
of
her
Devsaab.

‘It’s
not
just
the
songs
that
we
did
together,
memorable
as
they
were
for
us
and
for
the
listeners.
It
was
the
man
that
Devsaab
was.
So
handsome
in
looks
and
in
his
deeds.
I
worked
with
him
for
decades.
Never
heard
him
raise
his
voice
at
anyone,
let
alone
get
abusive
just
because
work
was
not
happening
properly,’
she
had
said.

Interestingly,
Lataji
says
Devsaab
did
not
attend
any
of
the
recordings
for
their
iconic
songs.

‘The
only
time
I
remember
him
being
there
for
a
recording
was
for

Hothon
Pe
Aisi
Baat
in

Jewel
Thief.
And
there
too,
Devsaab
sat
outside,
not
in
the
recording
room.
It
was
a
long,
tough
song.
Pancham
(R
D
Burman)
was
also
there.
Burmandada
(composer
S
D
Burman)
kept
losing
his
cool
over
the
recording.

‘Devsaab
finally
intervened.
“Ab
rehne
bhi
do
Dada,
singer

thak
gaya
hoga,”
Devsaab
reprimanded
Burmandada.
That’s
the
kind
of
considerate
human
being
he
was,
always
asking
about
others.

‘He
loved
my

Rangeela
Re
from

Prem
Pujari.
He
would
call
and
say,
“Why
can’t
you
sing
another

Rangeela
Re
for
me?”‘

Curiously,
Lataji
revealed
Devsaab
hated
the
iconic
number

Aaj
Phir
Jeene
Ki
Tamanna
Hai
from

Guide
when
it
was
recorded.

‘He
didn’t
like
how
it
sounded
and
made
his
dislike
clear
to
Burmandada.
You
see,
it
was
a
very
unusual
song.
It
starts
with
the

antara
(stanza)
rather
than
the

mukhda
(opening
riff).
But
when
Devsaab
saw
the
song,
he
conceded
he
was
wrong.
That’s
the
greatness
of
the
man.

‘For
another
song
in

Guide,
Devsaab
rejected
the
tune.
Burmandada
took
it
as
a
challenge.
He
rang
Devsaab
at
2
am
to
tell
him
to
hear
the
composition.
That’s
the
kind
of
passion,
the

junoon
that
Devsaab
spread.
He
would
often
tell
me
he
missed
that
among
today’s
artistes
and
technicians.’

Devsaab
was
keen
that
Lataji
take
to
music
composition.

‘He
would
say,
“You
have
to
compose
music
for
me.
When
I’d
beg
off
saying
there
was
too
much
work,”
he
said,
“But
you
composed
music
for
Marathi
films.”
That
was
Devsaab,
always
in
pursuit
of
new
goals,
new
avenues
and
dreams.

‘Among
the
three
iconic
heroes
of
the
1950s,
Raj
Kapoor,
Dilip
Kumar
and
Dev
Anand,
it
was
he
who
led
the
most
regimented
life.
He
was
very
strict
about
his
food
habits.
I’ve
heard
he
once
almost
fainted
during
a
shooting
because
he
hadn’t
eaten.

‘His
energy
was
infectious.
He
was
a
thorough
gentleman
in
speech
and
manner.
He
hated
being
called
‘Uncle’
even
by
youngsters.
“Call
me
Dev
or
Devsaab,”
he
suggested.
No
matter
what
people
called
him,
he
was
exceptional.’

It
is
Lataji’s
95th
birthday
today,
September
28.
It
was
Devsaab’s
101st
birthday
on
September
26.