Asha Bhosle And Lalit Pandit
In Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge Asha Bhosle had only one song. “It was because because she sang only one song in DDLJ, a film she for which she had recommended me and my brother Jatin to Yash Chopraji, we thought she should sing one full film for us. That’s why we did Pyar To Hona Hi Tha with Ashaji.”
Lalit recalls a memorable incident during the recording of Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main for DDLJ. “While Ashaji was on the mic and she was singing beautifully, Jatin and I were unnecessarily intervening in her singing. Where we went wrong with Ashaji was in underestimating her. You see, we were mostly working with singers with whom we would work on each line while dubbing and had forgotten that Ashaji was an artist in a different league. We were dubbing one line at a time. She patiently followed everything that we wanted and sang exactly as was being guided (or rather interrupted in her case). Once the song got completed to our satisfaction she didn’t move away from the mic! She said, ‘Tum logo ka ho gaya? Ab mai ek baar fir se vaapas pura gayu, tum rokna mat.’ I guess she had memorized during the dubbing what we were asking her to do in the song. She sang the whole song with a self-confidence which stunned all of us in the recording room. She added such a fire to the song and made us realise what Asha Bhosle was! That was an amazing learning experience for us. But, of course, only she could have done that! An experience of a lifetime for me and Jatin. Today is a wonderful day! It’s Ashaji’s 90th birthday. Happy birthday Asha Didi!”
