K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam featured one of composer Naushad’s most accomplished music scores of all times. The indomitable Lata Mangeshkar toplined the soundtrack with imperishable songs like Beqas pe karam kijiye, Mohe panghat pe nandlal, Mohabbat ki jhoothi kahaani pe roye, Humein kaash tumse mohabbat na hoti, Khuda nigehban, and others.
But Pyar kiya toh darna kya was Lataji’s piece de resistance.
Recalled Lataji, “The response to this particular song was beyond anything we had imagined. Naushad Saab had composed some other very beautiful songs for me in Mughal-e-Azam .We never knew Pyar kiya toh darna kya would become one of the film’s USPs. People went back to see the film over and over again for this song.They showered coins on the screen.”
When I told Lataji that her singing contributed 70 percent to the success of Pyar kiya toh darna kya she disagreed. “I’d credit Madhubala’s beauty and dancing with its success as much as my singing, if not more.”
It is believed that to get the echo effect of the song Naushad made Lataji sing from the bathroom of the recording studio.
Lataji debunked this myth. “There is a false mythology surrounding my rendition of Pyar kiya toh darna kya .That Naushad Saab and I got the echo effect in the song by making me sing in the bathroom of the recording room. No such thing happened. During those days when songs were recorded with a huge live orchestra, the studios were stuffy enough. Singing from the bathroom would have been impossible. People say to get echo effect in the song I went to the bathroom of the recording and studio and sang parts of it from there. That’s all nonsense. We recorded the song like any normal song.”
She was all praise for the composer of Pyar kiya toh darna kya. “ I owe a lot to Naushad Saab. In terms of voice modulation and specially pronunciation of Urdu words, he took keen interest in the way I sang and helped me through difficult Ghazals like Uthaye jaa unke sitam in Andaz and Pyar kiya toh darna kya in Mughal-e-Azam.”