‘She is the gorgeous Lata, the love of my life.’

IMAGE: Vyjayanthimala in the Hothon Pe Aisi Baat song in Jewel Thief.

Like everyone in the entertainment industry, Dev Anand loved his “Lata”.

He insisted on calling her just that, and not Didi as everyone did.

‘Who would want to call this enchanting woman his sister! She is the gorgeous Lata, the love of my life,’ Dev Anand would say about Lata Mangeshkar

The love of every Indian’s love. Her voice plays in every Indian’s life. I remember once Burmandada was being pressurised to record a song in someone else’s voice, as Lataji was unavailable. Burmandada, being as stubborn he was, said, ‘No, Lota’ — he called her Lota — ‘Lota it will be for my songs.’

Dev Anand felt she was the only one in the film industry he would stop his shooting for.

‘Lata is Lata. She is irreplaceable,’ he had once told Subhash K Jha.

‘The others, we can do without. Not Lata. She is known to cancel recording at the last minute. That’s because she is a perfectionist. She always says, “When I record, it’s just a few people listening. But when the song goes out, it is millions listening. I cannot afford to be less than the best version of myself.” I would happily wait for her.’

Lataji was equally fond of her Devsaab.

‘It’s not just the songs that we did together, memorable as they were for us and for the listeners. It was the man that Devsaab was. So handsome in looks and in his deeds. I worked with him for decades. Never heard him raise his voice at anyone, let alone get abusive just because work was not happening properly,’ she had said.

IMAGE: The Prem Pujari team: R D Burman, Gulshan Rai, Lata Mangeshkar, Dev Anand, S D Burman and Kishore Kumar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X

Interestingly, Lataji says Devsaab did not attend any of the recordings for their iconic songs.

‘The only time I remember him being there for a recording was for Hothon Pe Aisi Baat in Jewel Thief. And there too, Devsaab sat outside, not in the recording room. It was a long, tough song. Pancham (R D Burman) was also there. Burmandada (composer S D Burman) kept losing his cool over the recording.

‘Devsaab finally intervened. “Ab rehne bhi do Dada, singer thak gaya hoga,” Devsaab reprimanded Burmandada. That’s the kind of considerate human being he was, always asking about others.

‘He loved my Rangeela Re from Prem Pujari. He would call and say, “Why can’t you sing another Rangeela Re for me?”‘

IMAGE: Waheeda Rehman and Dev Anand in the song Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai from Guide.

Curiously, Lataji revealed Devsaab hated the iconic number Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai from Guide when it was recorded.

‘He didn’t like how it sounded and made his dislike clear to Burmandada. You see, it was a very unusual song. It starts with the antara (stanza) rather than the mukhda (opening riff). But when Devsaab saw the song, he conceded he was wrong. That’s the greatness of the man.

‘For another song in Guide, Devsaab rejected the tune. Burmandada took it as a challenge. He rang Devsaab at 2 am to tell him to hear the composition. That’s the kind of passion, the junoon that Devsaab spread. He would often tell me he missed that among today’s artistes and technicians.’

IMAGE: Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Film History Pics/X

Devsaab was keen that Lataji take to music composition.

‘He would say, “You have to compose music for me. When I’d beg off saying there was too much work,” he said, “But you composed music for Marathi films.” That was Devsaab, always in pursuit of new goals, new avenues and dreams.

‘Among the three iconic heroes of the 1950s, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, it was he who led the most regimented life. He was very strict about his food habits. I’ve heard he once almost fainted during a shooting because he hadn’t eaten.

‘His energy was infectious. He was a thorough gentleman in speech and manner. He hated being called ‘Uncle’ even by youngsters. “Call me Dev or Devsaab,” he suggested. No matter what people called him, he was exceptional.’

It is Lataji’s 95th birthday today, September 28. It was Devsaab‘s 101st birthday on September 26.