Lata Mangeshkar added emotion, grace to 'Luka Chuppi': Prasoon Joshi

Lata Mangeshkar/picture courtesy: AFP

As country mourned the loss of Lata Mangeshkar, people turned to her track "Luka Chuppi" from "Rang De Basanti" to remember the iconic singer, and lyricist Prasoon Joshi says it was her grace and soulful voice that made the song special. Composed by ace music director A R Rahman, the track from the 2006 film, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, started trending on social media after it was announced that the veteran singer had passed away at the age 92 on Sunday.
Joshi penned the lyrics for the song but it was brought alive by Mangeshkar who channelled the feelings of a mother, grieving the death of her son.

The lyricist, who is also the current Chief of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), said the track "Luka Chuppi" remains close to his heart. "The song will always remain special. We spent a few days together, she came to Chennai and lived there with us. One thing I observed was that she hadn't changed at all. She would rehearse a lot before a song even then. And till she was not satisfied, she would continue (singing). The kind of dedication she had for her work was huge," Joshi told PTI.

Joshi said the thought behind the song was to show the hide-and-seek moment between the mother (Waheeda Rehman) and the son (R Madhavan). But the son is hidden at a place from where he can't come back. "In the film, we see the song being played when the body of the son comes home and Waheeda ji is waiting. I got inspired by AR Rahman's tune and wrote poetry and the way Lata ji came and sang, she took it to a different level. She added emotion and grace to it. The song fitted her age," he added.

As a person, Joshi said, Mangeshkar was "humble, warm, intelligent and witty". He recalled how the singing legend made him feel comfortable when he first met her. "For me, Lata ji is very special. I will always cherish the time we spent together during the recording of the songs we worked on. My first song in the film industry was with Lata ji.

"I was young then and the kind of guidance and comfort she gave me was immense. I was just starting out and she understood my thoughts, talked to me and extended warmth," he said. Joshi, who is a former adman, made his debut as a lyricist with Rajkumar Santoshi's 2001 movie "Lajja". He penned the lyrics for the song "Kaun Dagar Kaun Shehar", which was also sung by Mangeshkar.

He said Mangeshkar was very careful and would pay attention to every detail while singing. "She would not think of her as a legend and would rather practice a lot. She would sing for herself. She would satisfy others with her work. Sincerity never left her, I learned that from her," he added. Joshi said he wanted to collaborate with Mangeshkar again for a special track, titled "Mohe janam janam betiya hee ki jo".

However, things were not meant to be as the singer fell ill. "This was just a song, it is not for any film. It's a positive take on being a daughter. It's been two years since we were thinking about this. We were going to go to the recording studio but then her health did not permit it," he said.

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