What made Lata sing the 6th song

Maj Ashok Kaul (retd)

In 1974, the legendary Raj Kapoor was scouting around for locations in Kashmir for a film he was planning, based on an Indo-Pak love story.

I was a young captain in the Baramulla sector, and was asked to accompany him and facilitate his reconnaissance. Over the next few days, an emotional bond developed between us, which we continued to nurture in the coming years.

As a young student at Chandigarh, I had been an active stage actor, so not surprisingly, when 10 years later I quit the Army, I headed straight for Mumbai to join my mentor at RK Studios.

In 1984, Raj Kapoor was involved in the making of Ram Teri Ganga Maili, the last film he would produce. I was soon plunged deep into the heady atmosphere of creating an RK movie under the tutelage of the great master.

Lata Mangeshkar was to sing as many as six songs for the film, of which five had already been recorded. One day Raj Kapoor told me, ‘Lata has refused to sing the sixth song in spite of all my persuasion. You go and meet her and use your fauji charm to change her mind.’

I reached her home at Peddar Road. The great Lata sat down with me over a cup of tea. When I hesitatingly broached the subject of recording the song, she glared at me and snapped, ‘I’ve said that I will not do it. Why has he sent you to me now? Aap ja sakte hain.’

As I got up to leave, she asked me, ‘Aap ka naam Major hai?’ A little taken aback, I replied, ‘No, ma’am, I am a fauji. I have now joined Raj saheb after leaving the Army. Major is my rank. I am Major Ashok Kaul.’

She asked me: ‘Aap ne koi jang ladi hai (have you fought in any war)?’ I replied, ‘Yes, ma’am. I fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak war in Kashmir.’ To my utter surprise, she got up and hugged me. ‘Have another samosa, Major saheb,’ she said.

As I prepared to leave, she held my arm and said, ‘Tell Raj saheb that I will do the song. How can I refuse a war hero?’

Lata went on to sing the sixth song, ‘Sun sahiba sun pyaar ki dhun’, for the film. Ram Teri Ganga Maili became an all-time blockbuster and money grosser of Indian cinema, sweeping the Filmfare Awards, including those for the best film, best director and best music director.

The movie about a cross-border love story, Henna, was made by Raj Kapoor’s son Randhir Kapoor in 1991, three years after the filmmaker’s death. The young Major he had mentored and guided went on to produce and direct films such as Bhagmati and Param Vir Chakra.