When Hema Malini crooned With Kishore Kumar for Prakash Mehra directorial Haath Ki Safaai

When Hema Malini crooned With Kishore Kumar for
Prakash Mehra directorial
Haath Ki Safaai

Hema Malini has always been willing to go that extra mile in her life and career.

Not many know that in 1974, she sang a hit duet with Kishore Kumar for composers Kalyanji-Anandji.

The duet was Peene Walon Ko Peene Ka Bahana Chahiye in Haath Ki Safaai,” and Hema Malini still reminiscences the song well but doesn’t think she did full justice to it.

She went on to say that she was so busy back then, working multi-shifts in various films. She never wanted to sing. Why should she sing when Lataji (Mangeshkar) was there? But everyone insisted so Hema obliged.

Hemaji doesn’t recall being intimidated by Kishore Kumar.
Everyone knew she was not doing this to prove what a good singer she is. The composers Kalyanji-Anandji had given her nice rap passages to do while he (Kishore Kumar) did the actual singing. I just took the Almighty’s name and plunged into it,” she says.

She admits if she had to do it again now, she would be more prepared. “But it was nice, considering that she is not a trained singer.

The song turned out to be a hit and many other producers wanted Hema to sing but she refused. But some years ago,
he did sing some non-film bhajans.

Looking back at her superstardom, Hema says, she never thought about being a star. She just did work. There was no life beyond the studios.

Even she finds it hard to believe saying that it seemed like the other day she started out.
She had to face none of the hurdles that newcomers do.

She started getting offers immediately and soon she was shooting in Nalanda for Johny Mera Naam.”

Hemaji remembers fans who came to the Patna airport in 1969: “They came to mob Devsaab. They couldn’t recognise me. But there was this curiosity. ‘Who is that girl?’ the crowds were whispering.”

Dev Anand and Hema went on to do many films together. When there was slump in Dev Anand’s career in the 1970s, he requested her to do Aamir Garib with him. It was a superhit.

Rajesh Khanna and Manoj Kumar’s careers were also revived with Hema as their co-star in Premnagar and Sanyasi respectively.

Film distributors then would say, if there is Hema Malini in a film, they don’t have to think twice before buying it.

News Edit K.V.Raman