The song, ‘Jabse Pi Sang Naina Lage’, from the 1952 Shyama-starrer Aasman , was the only song that O.P. Nayyar commissioned Lata Mangeshkar to sing. When a recording didn’t take place as planned due to what Mangeshkar later described as a ‘severe case of sinusitis’, he got the song recorded by the then prominent playback singer, Rajkumari. Nayyar famously never worked with Mangeshkar again. Neither did he ever hire Rajkumari for any subsequent film.
Aasman happened to be his first collaboration with Geeta Dutt, who sang four solos in the film. With that began a successful partnership that lasted six years, after which Asha Bhosle took over the baton as his favourite songbird.
In a 1998 music talent show for television, special guest Rajkumari found herself in the company of many erstwhile music composers, including Nayyar. When exhorted by host Sonu Nigam to sing a few lines from her oeuvre, she volunteered an interlude from the Aasman number, as Nayyar, in his trademark hat, nodded his head along patronisingly.
It was a moment of irony because barring a few sporadic outings, the pristinely voiced Rajkumari, singing star of the 40s, found herself without work from the mid-50s.
No real breakthrough
Some are quick to blame the demise of several playback singers’ careers to the so-called Mangeshkar monopoly. Here, she was surrounded by composers who swore by her talent but hadn’t used her voice for decades.
Her rendering of the Nayyar composition had been particularly flawless. One might have thought it would have led to more work and a more prolific innings in the industry.
One name stands out in this — maestro Naushad’s. In the 1960s, when he found Rajkumari standing in the breadline with chorus singers, he refused to hire her as a backup vocalist. Instead, he asked her to recite a few lines for the Mohammad Rafi ditty ‘ Mere Pairon Mein Ghunghroo Bandha De’ in the Dilip Kumar-starrer in Sunghursh (1968).
Unused numbers
Later, while taking over from the late Ghulam Mohammed in Pakeezah , he gave her the thumri ‘Najariya Ki Mari’. In Pakeezah , Mangeshkar sang almost every number.
There are other Rajkumari numbers embedded in the soundscape of the Kamal Amrohi masterpiece, but they didn’t make it to the released soundtrack.
Another rare number from Rajkumari in that decade was the devotional song, ‘Hari Din To Beeta’, from Gulzar’s Kitaab (1977).
Amrohi’s Mahal (1949) remains the crowning glory of Rajkumari’s career. The composers of both films — Mohammed and Khemchand Prakash respectively — died long before the fruits of their labour took the world by storm.
The song from Mahal that Rajkumari is most associated with is ‘Ghabra Ke Jo Hum Sar Ko’, picturised on Vijaylaxmi who plays the wife of Ashok Kumar’s character.
In 1982, as part of the concert ‘Mortal Men Immortal Melodies’ that celebrated 50 years of the Indian talkies, a visibly frail Rajkumari took the stage to sing that very number. What was surprising was how well-preserved her voice was, and how she stood out among many of her contemporaries.
The six songs she sang in the past two decades suddenly seemed much more significant than anyone would care to remember.
