#lekh tandon

[masalafilmsrevival]

Amrapali (1966)

[inmyworldblr]

Shammi Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala in Prince (1969)

| dir. Lekh Tandon

[starsfromanothersky]

Shabana Azmi in Doosri Dulhan, Lekh Tandon, 1983

[famousinuniverse]

Amrapali

1966 ‧ Musical/Drama ‧ 2h 1m

Amrapali is a 1966 historical Hindi film directed by Lekh Tandon, starring Sunil Dutt and Vyjayanthimala as leads. The film's music was by Shankar–Jaikishan.

It was based on the life of Amrapali (Ambapali), the nagarvadhu (royal dancer) of Vaishali in present-day Bihar, the capital of the Licchavi republic in ancient India around 500 BC, and Ajatashatru, the Haryanka dynasty king of the Magadha empire, who falls in love with her. Although he destroys Vaishali to get her, she has been transformed by her encounter with Gautama Buddha in the meantime, of whom she becomes a disciple and an Arahant. Her story is mentioned in old Pali texts and Buddhist traditions.

Starring

Sunil Dutt Vyjayanthimala Prem Nath

Amrapali (film) - Wikipedia

Vyjayanthimala in and as Amrapali (1966)

[indiejones]

THE 100 GREATEST DIRECTORS IN THE HISTORY OF WORLD CINEMA! (@INDIES)

.Roman Polanski

.David Lean

.Alfred Hitchcock

.Frank Capra

.Elia Kazan

.Dasari Narayana Rao

.Fred Zinnemann

.Milos Forman

.Kamal Amrohi

.Peter Jackson

.John Huston

.Billy Wilder

.Frank Lloyd

.Roland Joffe

.Lekh Tandon

.Asit Sen

.B.R. Chopra

.Edgar Wright

.Chris Columbus

.Ernst Lubitsch

.Alain Resnais

.Guru Dutt

.George Cukor

.Ivan Reitman

.Mahesh Kaul

.Jayant Desai

.Richard Curtis

.Robert Clouse

.Basu Bhattacharya

.Maurice Pialat

.David MacDonald

.Mel Gibson

.Anthony Minghella

.Jamie Uys

.Joseph Mankiewicz

.Pierre Chenal

.David Fincher

.Ken McMullen

.Jeremy Leven

.Mary McGuckian

.Alfonso Cuaron

.Rob Reiner

.Delbert Mann

.Louis Malle

.John Cromwell

.Charles Chaplin

.A. Bhimsingh

.Jean Delannoy

.Mervyn LeRoy

.Nancy Meyers

.William Wyler

.Bhargava (Kannada)

.Jonathan Lynn

.Peter Weir

.Robert Rossen

.Roger Michell

.Robert Zemeckis

.Robert Z. Leonard

.J. Lee Thompson

.Robert Wise

.Jerome Hill

.Anthony Quinn

.Jacques Audiard

.Agnes Jaoui

.Mervyn LeRoy

.Roland Emmerich

.Wallace Worsley

.Stephen Herek

.Blake Edwards

.Andrew Fleming

.John Frankenheimer

.Claude Autant-Lara

.Kenneth Branagh

.Lasse Halstrom

.Ralph Nelson

.Andrei Tarkovsky

.Robert Stevenson

.John Madden

.Stanley Kramer

.Olivier Dahan

.Norman Z. McLeod

.Mike Newell

.Raymond Rouleau

.Michael Curtiz

.Nora Ephron

.Arthur Hiller

.Vittorio De Sica

.Bernardo Bertolucci

.Sohrab Modi

.John McTiernan

.Steven Spielberg

.Tay Garnett

.Abel Gance

.Richard Linklater

.Merian C. Cooper

.Michael Bay

.Renny Harlin

.Victor Fleming

.Phil Karlson

.Satyajit Ray

.David Yates

.John Guillermin

.Oliver Stone

.James Cameron

[saumya6969]

Lyrics Agar Tum Na Hote

"Agar Tum Na Hote" is a romantic Hindi song from the 1983 Bollywood film with the same name, directed by Lekh Tandon and starring Rajesh Khanna and Rekha. The song is composed by legendary music director R.D. Burman and written by Gulshan Bawra. The song is a heartfelt expression of love and longing, with the singer wishing that their beloved was with them all the time.

https://www.lyricshindisp.in/2023/02/Lyrics-Agar-Tum-Na-Hote.html

[angelstills]

Amrapali (1966)

[shankarjaikishanfansassnintl]

Many Happy Returns Of The Day ...Happy Birthday Vaijayantimala ..!

By

Sudhakar Shahane

लेख टंडन साहब के निर्देशन में बनी फ़िल्म 'आम्रपाली' (१९६६), आचार्य चतुरसेन शास्री (१८९१-१९६०) द्वारा लिखित 'वैशाली की नगरवधू' नामक ऐतिहासिक उपन्यास पर आधारित थी, जिसकी कथा और कालावधी इसवी सन पूर्व ५०० साल के आसपास का था, तब लिच्छवी और मगध के अलावा अन्य साम्राज्य थे ... इस फ़िल्म में एस जे को शास्त्रीय संगीत पर आधारित रचनाएं, धुनें बनाने का सुनहरा अवसर 'बसंत बहार', 'राजहठ' के बाद मिला था ...और एस जे ने भी उस कालखंड और उस दौर के वाद्यों का बहुत अभ्यास और परिश्रम करके उस अनुरूप सभी गीतों की धुनें बनाई थी !

मगध सम्राट 'अजातशत्रु' (सुनील दत्त) वैशाली पर ससैन्य आक्रमण करता हैं, वोह युद्ध जीतता तो नहीं पर खुद जख्मी होकर बेहोश होता हैं ...होश आने पर वोह एक वैशाली के एक सैनिक के कपडे पहनकर भेस बदल लेता हैं, उसकी मुलाकात 'आम्रपाली' (वैजयंतीमाला) से होती हैं, स्वागतोसत्व के दर्मियां वोह आम्रपाली की जान बचाता हैं, जो वैशाली की नगरवधू हैं, और राजनर्तकी भी हैं, उसे वैशाली का एक बहादुर सैनिक समझती हैं और अजातशत्रु भी भविष्य में वैशाली राज्य को जीतने की मंशा से वही वैशाली नगर में रहने का फैसला करता हैं ... कुछ ही दिनों में आम्रपाली उससे प्यार करने लगती हैं, और अजातशत्रु भी उससे प्यार करने लगता हैं...एक रात वैशाली के राजदरबार में आम्रपाली का गायन और नृत्य का आयोजन किया गया हैं, वैशाली के सम्राट (बिपीन गुप्ता), उनके साथ वैशाली की सम्राज्ञी (रुबी मायर्स), कुलपती महानाम (गजानन जागिरदार), आदि सभी मान्यवर राजदरबार में बैठे हैं, उन्हे आम्रपाली के गायन और नर्तन का इंतजार हैं ... पर आम्रपाली इंतजार कर रही है, उसका जिसे वो दिल दे बैठी हैं, उसीके खयालों में खोयी हैं ... इस सिचुएशन पर, हसरत साहब का लिखा, यह राग 'भूपाली' पर आधारित गीत ...

Prelude की शुरुआत पखवाज वादन से होती हैं ... फिर सितार की झंकार ... फ़िर भी आम्रपाली खोयी खोयी खडी हैं, उसकी सखी (माधवी) उसे सचेत करती हैं ...और लता की मधुर आवाज में और रूपगर्विता वैजयंतीमाला का सहज सुंदर अभिनय और नृत्य से गीत शुरू होता हैं ... मुखडा गाते उसके चेहरे के भाव यह दर्शाते हैं की वोह उसके प्रीतम में खयालों में खोयी खोयी सी हैं ...दूसरी बार मुखडा गाते गाते वोह नाचना शुरू करती हैं ... मुखडे की पहली और दूसरी पंक्ती के बाद लता के आलाप का कोई तोड नहीं

नील गगन की छाँव में दिन रैन गले से मिलते हैं ..आssssआsssआssआsआ दिल पंछी बन उड़ जाता है, हम खोये खोये रहते हैं ..आssssआsssआssआsआ

Interludes में सितार, पखवाज, ढोलक वादन अप्रतिम साथ में वैजयंती जिस नृत्यकला को पेश करती हैं, वोह बेमिसाल हैं ... अब उसका प्रीतम भी राजदरबार की ओर आ रहा हैं ...पहले अंतरे में लता की आवाज़ उपर की पट्टी में जाती हुई ...'जब फूल कोई मुस्काता हैं', इस के बाद 'प्रीतम की सुगंध आ जाती हैं' पर नीचे आती हुई ...इसी प्रकार 'नस नस में भंवर सा चलता है', 'उपर की पट्टी फिर मदमाती जलन कलपाती हैं'पर सामान्य नीचला स्वर ... पूरा अंतरा ही लता ने गज़ब का गाया है ...हर मौज में हम तो बहते हैं के बाद लंबा आलाप ...

जब फूल कोई मुस्काता है, प्रीतम की सुगंध आ जाती है नस नस में भँवर सा चलता है, मदमाती जलन कलपाती है यादों की नदी घिर आती है, हर मौज में हम तो बहते हैं

फिर Interlude में सितार, ढोलक पखवाज का प्रयोग ... पहले अंतरे की तरह दूसरे अंतरे में भी उन्ही उंची और नीचली पट्टी में लता की लहराती आवाज़ का कोई सानी नहीं .. आलाप

कहता है समय का उजीयारा एक चन्द्र भी आनेवाला है इन ज्योत की प्यासी अखियन को अंखियों से पिलानेवाला है जब पात हवा से बजते हैं, हम चौंक के राहें तकते हैं

गीत ख़त्म होता है और अजातशत्रु बाहर पहरा देते सैनिकों से लड़ता हुआ राजदरबार के द्वार पर आकर खडा होता हैं ... आनंदविभोर आम्रपाली उसका स्वागत करने पहुंचती हैं ... फिर समय का ध्यान रखते हुए अजातशत्रु का परिचय वैशाली सम्राट से करवाती हैं की, 'यही वोह बहादुर वीर हैं, जिसने उसकी जान बचाई थी' ... अंदर आकर अजातशत्रु अपनी तलवार सम्राट के चरणों मे रख देता हैं ... योग्य सन्मान देते हुए सम्राट उसे अपने बाजू में बिठाते हैं ...अब

Postlude व्हिडिओ क्लीप में ५.१९ से सितार वादन से शुरू...फ़िर पखवाज, ढोलक के ताल पर आम्रपाली के थिरकते कदम ...गायन के बाद अपनी नृत्यकला को शानदार तरीके से पेश करती हुई आम्रपाली, 'प्रीतम' और राजदरबार का दिल जीत लेती हैं ...!

पूरे गीत में हसरत साहब ने आम्रपाली के मनकी तड़प, प्रीतम की याद में खोया उसका दिल,उसके जज़बात, लफ़्जों द्वारा प्रकट किए हैं ...तो एस जे ने बहुत कम वाद्यों का प्रयोग करके उसे राग 'भूपाली' में रचा हैं ...फ़िल्म के अन्य गीत भी रागदारी पर आधारित थे ...पूरी फ़िल्म आम्रपाली के इर्दगिर्द घूमती हैं ... कथा नायिका गायिका और राजनर्तकी हैं, तो यह भूमिका वैजयंतीमाला के अलावा और कोई अभिनेत्री बेहतर कर ही नही सकती थी ... पूरी लगन से वैजयंती ने यह किरदार निभाया ... फ़िल्म औसतन चली, पर एस जे की अन्य गीतों की धुनें और संगीत यादगार था ...'एस जे एस एच' को सलाम !

https://youtu.be/55LRrp3XNA4

[my-window-reflection]

Amrapali (1966) dir. Lekh Tandon

“Tadap Yeh Din Raat Ki”

[masalafilmsrevival]

Amrapali (1966)  

[inmyworldblr]

Vyjayanthimala in a still from Prince (1969)

[starsfromanothersky]

Shabana Azmi in Doosri Dulhan, Lekh Tandon, 1983

[desicinephile]

Amrapali (1966)

Genre: Historical

Director: Lekh Tandon

Cast: Vyjanthimala, Sunil Dutt

I've been wanting to watch this film for a really long time and I finally got the chance to do so on the pretext of doing a college assignment. I think it may low-key be my new favorite, hence I am starting my new blog by writing a review of this very film. Though I must add that I am absolutely obsessed with period films, especially those set in ancient India, so I was definately biased towards this one.

Synopsis

Magadh's King Ajaatshatru (Suniel Dutt), as indomitable as he is ambitious, disguises himself as a soldier belonging to his rival Kingdom- the small but illustrious Republic of Vaishali, in order to escape being identified and killed during war. A defeated and wounded Ajaatshatru stumbles upon Amrapali (Vyjanthimala)- a compassionate woman and a patriotic citizen of Vaishali who nurses him back to health. Soon, a romance starts to blossom amidst the two, but their relationship is bound to get jolted from it's false and deceitful foundation.

Plot/Writing & Execution

The story is based on actual historical figures. It has many of the cliché filmy elements we've seen in bollywood. I find this familiarity comforting. Afterall, there's a reason clichés are clichés.

Treating a mysterious soldier wounded in war and falling in love? Jaakakakakakja yes please.

That mysterious soldier being the king of your rival Kingdom? Pspspspssskkss gosh stop you're killing me.

The war sequence, I would say, is fairly good for the time. The overall cinematography is #aestheticcc .

The film was not successful upon it's release, and that's such a shame. It's epic.

Characters

Saying it out loud in case the title wasn't a big enough hint, Amprapali is the hero of the story. It's been a few months since I watched the film, and there isn't a lot I can recall about Ajaatshatru. Amrapali, on the other hand, steals the show in every frame. Vyjanthimala's graceful presence, her dancing skills and her beautiful dark eyes (and those brows!) are more than enough to keep one engrossed, in addition to how nicely the character of Amrapali has been written.

Costume

Bhanu Athiya, India's first Oscar winner designed the costumes for the film. While not always true to history (especially the men's costumes), the overall impact of the clothing is what would be desired for a period film. They are instrumental in transporting the viewers back in time.

Amprapali's wardrobe is sensual and majestic, with a couple of really gorgeous looks that stand out. Extensive use of ornaments that adorn her look very whimsical. Ajaatshatru's Kushan-inspired (?) wardrobe is highly inaccurate for 5/6th century BCE Magadha, but still works for his towering personality.

Music

The late Lata Mangeshkar sang all the songs in this film, so you know it's iconic. I thoroughly enjoyed the long dance routines. Vyjanthimala as Amrapali is a dream, and the music is enthralling. In particular, I love Tadap Yeh Din Raat Ki for it's subtle, sensual and demure visuals and my personal favourite pearl-adorned pink outfit from the movie, and Neel Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein for the iconic red outfit, mellow tune, and Vyjanthimala's graceful dance.

Watch it on

I watched it on some sketchy website using VPN but it's available on Netflix for the less adventurous (and less frugal) ones.

[indiejones]

BOLLYWOOD'S TOP 236 MOST POPULAR/HIT FILM DIRECTORS OF ALL TIME ! (BASED ON THE 1436 BIGGEST BOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER FILMS LIST, INFLATION-ADJUSTED & COMPILED @INDIES >> http://www.imdb.com/list/ls564758654/ )

Imdb Link: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls568080444/ P.S. All the Directors selected for this most august of captain's lists, have delivered atleast 1 film ranked in the All-Time Top ~450 Biggest Bollywood Blockbusters List, at helm! Full List-

.Shakti Samanta

.Raj Khosla

.Manmohan Desai

.Asit Sen

.Bimal Roy

.H.S. Rawail

.Sohrab Modi

.Yash Chopra

.Kishore Sahu

.Raj Kapoor

.Lekh Tandon

.Chander Vohra

.B.R. Chopra

.K. Balachander

.David Dhawan

.D.D. Kashyap

.Narendra Bedi

.Satpal

.Mahesh Kaul

.Ashok V. Bhushan

.Kalidas

.Ravi Tandon

.Vijay Sharma

.Hrishikesh Mukherjee

.Prakash Mehra

.Subodh Mukherji

.Aravind Sen

.Ram Maheshwari

.Sooraj Barjatya

.S.S. Vasan

.A. Bhimsingh

.Gulzar

.Ramesh Sippy

.Nandlal Jaswantlal

.Amarjeet

.Mukul Dutt

.Babbar Subhash

.Basu Bhattacharya

.M. Sadiq

.Gajanan Jagirdar

.Vijay Anand

.Mehboob Khan

.A. Subba Rao

.Guru Dutt

.C.V. Sridhar

.Jayant Desai

.Tarun Majumdar

.Lekhraj Bhakri

.Chimanlal Luhar

.Atma Ram

.Chandulal Shah

.Kidar Sharma

.Nitin Bose

.Shaheed Latif

.V. M. Vyas

.Mukul Anand

.R.S. Choudhury

.Ramanand Sagar

.R.K. Nayyar

.Mohan Segal

.G.P. Sippy

.Mohan Kumar

.A. R. Kardar

.M.A. Thirumugham

.Prem Narayan Arora

.Devendra Goel

.Vijay Bhatt

.Hemchandra Chunder

.L.V. Prasad

.Nasir Hussain

.Ravikant Nagaich

.J. Om Prakash

.Bhappi Sonie

.Dulal Guha

.Gyan Mukherjee

.Naresh Saigal

.Dasari Narayan Rao

.Muzaffar Ali

.Raghunath Jhalani

.O. P. Ralhan

.B.R. Panthulu

.Hiren Nag

.Sai Paranjape

.Naresh Kumar

.Rakesh Roshan

.Samir Ganguly

. Tulsi Ramsay

.Shyam Ramsay

.Ramesh Saigal

.Kamal Amrohi

.P.L. Santoshi

.Manoj Kumar

.K.S. Prakash Rao

.Krishan Chopra

.Sachin Bhowmick

.Arjun Hingorani

.Amiya Chakrabarty

.Sikander Bharti

.Bibhuti Mitra

.Phani Majumdar

.Jambulingam

.Shammi Kapoor

.B.R. Ishara

.Pramod Chakravorty

.K. Shankar

.Karunesh Thakur

.Trilok Jetley

.Meraj

.Ravindra Dave

.Homi Wadia

.K. Bapaiah

.Raja Nawathe

.Mansoor Khan

.Chaturbhuj Doshi

.K.B. Tilak

.Esmayeel Shroff

.V. Shantaram

.Girish Trivedi

.Moti B. Gidwani

.Hemen Gupta

.Girish Karnad

.Devare S. Gajanan

.Debaki Bose

.Shaukat Hussain Rizvi

.Vishnupant Govind Damle

 Sheikh Fattelal

.Yakub Hasan Rizvi

.K. Asif

.Ashutosh Gowariker

.Tinnu Anand

.Nanabhai Bhatt

.Kedar Nath Agarwala

.Sunil Hingorani

.Vijay Sadanah

.Akhtar Hussein

.Basu Chatterjee

.Chetan Anand

.Raj Sippy

.S.N. Tripathi

.Surendra Mohan

.Aditya Chopra

.Anil Sharma

.K.S. Sethumadhavan

.Ram Dayal

.Ashok Roy

.Govind Saraiya

.Kanak Mishra

.Dada Kondke

.K. Raghavendra Rao

.J.B.H. Wadia

.M. L. Anand

.Radhu Karmakar

.Prayag Raj

.K. Babuji

.Mehmood

.Khalid Akhtar

.Franz Osten

.Rajkumar Hirani

.S.S. Ravichandra

.Satyen Bose

.Ambrish Sangal

.Sanjay Leela Bhansali

.Rajkumar Kohli

.Raman B. Desai

.Shantilal Soni

.Joy Mukherjee

.Sultan Ahmed

.Balu Mahendra

.Vijay Kapoor

.Mohan Bhavnani

.Biren Nag

.Roop K. Shorey

.Ismail Menon

.Dhirubhai Desai

.Kalpaturu

.Jyoti Swaroop

.K.S. Gopalakrishnan

.Bharathiraja

.Kiran Ramsay

.P.C. Barua

.Amit Mitra

.Sombhu Mitra

.Shibu Mitra

.Raj Tilak

.Kailash Bhandari

.Rakesh Kumar

.Master Bhagwan

.Ismail (Rangeela Raja, 1960)

.Deepak Bahry

.Yeshwant Pethkar

.Baburao Painter

.Amar Kumar

.Jaishankar Danve

.S. Shankar

.Mani Ratnam

.Shah G. Agha

.Rajat Rakshit

.Anand Prasad Kapoor

.N. Buli (Nakhrewali, 1960)

.J.J. Madan

.Rajinder Singh Bedi

.Subodh Mitra

.K. Amarnath

.Raj Kanwar

.Hira Singh

.Rajendra Bhatia

.Fatma Begum

.Chawla (Shair, 1949)

.Brij

.Ashok V. Bhushan

.T. Prakash Rao

.Kolli Pratyagatma

.Brij Rani

.Joginder Shelly

.Prakash Arora

.S.P. Rajaram (Gharwali Baharwali 1988)

.Ram Daryani

.T. Rama Rao

.Kawal Sharma

.Chitrayug

.Babubhai Mistry

.Shyam Ralhan

.Najam Naqvi

.K. Viswanath

.Vishwamitter Adil

.M.V. Raman

.J.K. Bihari

.Zul Vellani

.Homi Master

.Kalipada Das

.Mohan Sinha

.Kedar Kapoor

.Satyajit Ray

.Mohd Hussain

.Rahul Rawail

.S.D. Narang

[sabkuchgyan]

तलाक के मुद्दे बनी ऐसी फिल्म 'फिर उसी मोड़ पर' आपको झंझोड़ कर रख देगी

तलाक के मुद्दे बनी ऐसी फिल्म ‘फिर उसी मोड़ पर’ आपको झंझोड़ कर रख देगी

कनिका मल्टीस्कोप प्राइवेट लिमिटेड के बैनर तले निर्मित फ़िल्म-‘फिर उसी मोड़ पर’ 8 मार्च को प्रदर्शित होगी।तीन तलाक जैसी ज्वलंत मुद्दे से जुडी इस फ़िल्म को पर्दे पर साकार करने के सपने को कनिका बाजपेयी,अंशुला बाजपेयी और त्रिनेत्र बाजपेयी ने अपने अथक प्रयास के फलस्वरूप मुकम्मल किया है। इस फ़िल्म की कहानी एक सीधी सादी मुस्लिम महिला ‘नाज़’ पर केंद्रित है। निर्देशक स्व लेख टंडन जी के निर्देशन व् मार्गदर्शन…

[shankerjaikishen-the-unbeatables]

Tribute to producer, writer, director, actor Lekh Tandon

by

Dinesh Shankar Shailendra

I have seen #Amrapali ages back... What is really interesting about this song is how it was born... This was narrated to me by Lekh Tandon himself... #LekhTandon's dream project, Amrapali was in progress...

Famous Recording Studio Tardeo..... #ShankerJaikishen, Lekh Tandon and #Shailendra were present while Shanker Jaikishen's 100 piece orchestra rehearsed the music for the song... Everything was in place... Suddenly, the phone in the recording studio rang.... Shanker was summoned....Raj Kapoor was on the line. He asked Shanker to let him hear the song, which Kaviraj had written. Shanker sang the words on the phone while the orchestra played...It was "Kaatey na katey rainaa...".... As soon as the song got over, Raj Kapoor told Shanker.... " Please hand over the phone to Lekh " As Lekh Tandon spoke to Raj Kapoor, the others saw the blood draining from his face. He finally kept the phone. When the others asked him what the matter was, Lekh told them.... " #Rajsahab wants this song for 'Mera Naam Joker'..... what do we do now " ?

Lekh Tandon had been Raj Kapoor's assistant... Shanker Jaikishen and Shailendra were Raj Kapoor's discoveries.... There was no way they could turn him down... They were in a huddle, at a loss as to what to do, when, the tragedy worsened.... Lata Mangeshkar arrived !!! They were colleagues but all were in awe of, and had great respect for the lady... She asked them what the matter was... They told her.... For a moment she was silent, then she pulled the Harmonium towards herself and said... " So what ! Let us make another song... we can do it..." !

Within a few minutes, Shanker Jaikishen and #Lata had a tune ready... Shailendra wrote.... " Jaao re, jogi tum jaao re...." "Waah waahs" all around... Then came the question.... " The verses " ??? Shailendra gallantly rose to the occasion and said.... " Let everyone disperse and come back at 3pm.... I will have the verses...."

Disperse they did.... Shailendra called Lekh and asked him to accompany him.... They sat in Shailendra's car and reached 'Aarey Milk Colony'.... One of their favourite haunts.... Shailendra stopped on the way and picked up some beers....They sat in the restaurant.... Lekh Tandon was getting nervous.... Shailendra kept smoking and thinking.... His notebook was blank.... They had lunch.... Lekh could hardly eat.... It was past two in the afternoon when Shailendra rose ... He apologetically told Lekh Tandon... " Kuchh aa nahin rahaa hai.... recording cancel kar detey hain...."

To say that Lekh Tandon was shattered, would be an understatement ! 100 musicians, the studio.... and most of all, cancelling Lata Mangeshkar's precious 'date' ! Nothing short of sacrilege...!

Lekh was getting panicky.... If Lata Mangeshkar did not kill him, his producer would... Shailendra and Lekh Tandon were silent as the car reached the recording studio. Horror of horrors ! Latabai's car was already there....Lekh told Shailendra... " You handle her.... I cannot face her...." Shailendra moved ahead....

When he entered the 'monitor' room, he saw Lata in the glass cabin where singers stood and sang....He went in... Lekh Tandon was looking on .... he saw Lata and Shailendra having an animated conversation.... He was curious....This was what he had anticipated.... Lata was giving Shailendra hell for wasting her day.... Because the cabin was sound-proof, he could not hear anything.... He quietly switched on the singer's microphone.... What he heard really shocked him.... Lata Mangeshkar was asking Shailendra... " Do we need three verses " ? Shailendra was furiously scribbling something.... He handed it to her and walked out....

Lekh Tandon always breaks down when he narrates this interesting story.... Shailendra had rattled off three verses in front of the great Lady...!!! Lekh, excitedly ran up to Shanker and Jaikishen and narrated what he had just witnessed.... They were amused but not shocked... They expected Shailendra to deliver...Deliver he did... AND HOW !!!

Read the words and judge for yourself...

" Jaao re, jogi tum jaao re, yeh hai premiyon ki nagari, yahan prem hi hai pooja..."

Verse1

"Prem ki peeda, sachchaa sukh hai, prem binaa yeh jeevan dukh hai..."

Verse 2

"Jeevan se kaisaa chhuttkaara, hai nadiyaa ke saath kinaara..."

Verse3

"Gyaan ki kaisi, seema gyaani, gaagar mein saagar ka paani..."

While Lekh Tandon and Shailendra were struggling for the words, the great Shanker-Jaikishen were decorating the music with some excellent sitar pieces and rhythm....

HE does not make people like this anymore....