Throwback: Lata Mangeshkar’s voice made Poonam Dhillon a star – Credit: Yash Chopra
Throwback: Lata Mangeshkar’s voice made Poonam Dhillon a star – Credit: Yash Chopra
A playback singer’s voice plays a very significant role on a heroine or hero. It is the singer’s voice that makes them an actor and to a star later. As for the heroines it had been only Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Right from the yesteryear heroines and the generations later heroines made their mark and established themselves purely in the backdrop of the voice of a playback singer and so the heros too. voice of Lata Mangeshkar and Poonam
Poonam Dhillon recalls her experience in her journey in the entertainment industry. She owes her success as a star only because of Lata Mangeshkar. It was Lataji’s voice that was responsible to have made Poonam win recognition as an actor and star later. Whatever she is today is because of Lataji Poonam recalls.
To cite an example, no sooner Lataji sang ‘Aaja re aaja re oh mere dilbar aaja and Chori chori koi aaye’ for Poonam in Noorie, it gave birth to a star
Once Lataji had recalled how Yash Chopra had briefed her about Poonam. He told her
“Ek nayee ladki hai, bahot pyari hai.Agar aap uske liye gayenge toh woh star ban jayegi
(There’s a new girl, she’s very sweet. If you sing for her, she’ll become a star).”
Notwithstanding the fact that
the two compositions by music composer Khayyam in “Noorie” went a long way into the making of a star, Poonam lip-synced much better songs composed by RD Burman in “Saveray Wali Gaadi and Romance. “Din pyar ke aayenge sajaniya in Saveray Wali Gaadi and Dil ke aasman pe gham ki ghata chayee in Romance were classics of Lataji in the 1980s.
Frankly speaking, RD’s composition was far better soundtrack for Kumar Gaurav and Poonam Dhillon in “Romance” than he did for Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit in “Love Story”. RD himself felt that way. Sadly Love Story was a hit. Romance was not.
Poonam’s most memorable songs were featured in unsuccessful films, like Lataji’s haunting Dur nahin jaa sakti, a rare Nadeem-Shravan number sung by the Melody Queen in “Hisaab Khoon Ka”.
And “Saath jiyenge saath marenge”, that tender tapestry of timeless affection in the film “Laila” crooned by Lataji and cinematographed by Manmohan Singh.
In her early film Poonam with Sunny Deol Sohni Mahiwal also had Asha Bhosle singing all the songs with Sunny Deol, Sohni Mahiwal. But that too didn’t work.
However, as of today, Poonam remains identified with her two songs in “Noorie” and of course her introductory song in Yash Chopra’s directorial “Trishul” “Gapuchi gapuchi gam gam”, for which composer Khayyam wanted a younger singer to sing.
But it was Yash Chopra insistence on Lataji. He had said, “Lataji was 40 when she sang for 15-year old Dimple Kapadia in Bobby. And look what her songs did to Dimple! If Poonam is to be launched as a star of tomorrow it has to be Lataji’s voice only.”
News input KV Raman
