Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao: Sudha Malhotra HMV has done a yeoman service to the Hindi film music fans as well as the Industry, by bringing out a series of albums under the title; “Anmol Ratan” featuring various artists,singers and composers of bygone era, full of evergreen songs that remind you of the golden era of Hindi film music. The series is a collector item, especially for the younger generation who haven’t had the fortune of listening to those songs.
We the elder generation grown up on Vividh Bharti, Bhoole Bisre Geet and Binaca Geet mala in our formative years, have savored the great music and these albums take us back to the golden period of our nostalgic era of these songs and evoke the emotions associated. This album by Sudha Malhotra is a class by itself. Sudha Malhotra was active in the decade 1950-1960, most of her hits came after 1955. Sudha a very talented singer with a melodious voice which is something in between Lata’s and Asha’s, incorporating the melody of Lata and lilt of Asha, yet she could never make it big because of the monoploly which suppressed many a talented singers including Subir Sen, Suman Kalyanpur etc.
The highlights of the album are; 1. Maalik tere jahan mein; Dattaram composition from Ab Dilli Door Nahin, showcases the melodious range of Sudha. 2. Mera jala raat bhar duya; another great melody composed by Sardar Malik. I wish his son Anu Malik had some talent of his father! 3. Aaj mujhe kuch kehna hai…; Sudha’s one of the well known duet with Kishore Kumar composed by Hemant Kumar. 4. Kaise Kahoon main manki baat;;; N dutta’s composition in raga yaman from Dhool ka Phool. 5. Tum Mujhe bhool bhi jao to yeh haq hai tum ko; The signature tune of Sudha Malhotra who has also composed the music for film Didi (1959).This song sung with Mukesh is an evergreen favorite. 6. Mere nadeem, mere humsafar udaas na ho; A soothing, encouraging, counselling melody of N dutta from Bhai Bahen 7. Salam-e-hasrat qubool kar lo; A typical mughal flavored composition from the master Roshan from film Babur.
There are umpteen other nostalgic numbers, but the above listed are my favorites. Sudha Malhotra had a golden voice, it’s a tragedy that she never made it big!
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