Chhaayaageet #198 - "Keh do unse tum kisi ke liye dub nahin karogi."
The leading male singer reaches Mehboob Studios. He has a song recording there today. As he walks in to the studio, he sees a woman sitting outside the room. She sees him and immediately gets up to touch his feet in a gesture of reverence. He is also pleased to see her. He holds her in high esteem as an accomplished singer.
"Arre tum yahān? Mere sāth gāne wali ho?", he asks her. You here? Are you going to sing with me
"Hān Dādā. Lekin mein sirf dub karne āyī hūn. Main singer āj nahin ā sakti hain. To āj mujhe phone āyā ki āp dub kijīye," the woman replies. Yes, Dada. But I have just come here to dub. The main female singer couldn't make it for the recording today. So I got a phone call in the morning requesting to come and dub for her.
The male singer gets upset to learn about this. He almost scolds her, "Tumne dub version gāne ke liye hān kaise kar dī? Tum agar koi gānā gāogī to woh sirf final version gāogī. Tumhāri bhī ab ek pehchān hai. Filmfare jīt chukī ho tum. Keh do unse ke tum kisī ke liye dub nahin karogī." Why did you agree to sing a dub version? If you sing any song, it will only be the final version. You have your own strong identity now. You have won a Filmfare Award. Tell them you will not dub for anybody.
Seeing the anger on the male singer's face, the woman gets anxious. "Nahin Dādā. Mein aisā nahīn keh saktī. Nahīn to mujhe dub version bhi gāne ke liye nahīn bulāyenge," she voices her concern. No Dada, I cannot tell them that. Otherwise, they won't call me again even to sing the dub version of a song.
The male singer's face grows a darker shade of red. He sends word inside the studio to call the filmmaker and the music composer outside. They come out of the music room wondering why they have been summoned outside.
He tells them point blank, "Mein ye gānā nahīn gāūngā." I will not sing this song.
The filmmaker and music composer are perplexed. Not going to sing the song? What does he mean he won't sing the song?
The filmmaker poses the question, "Huā kyā hai? Āp kyūn nahīn gāyenge?" What has happened? Why won't you sing the song?
The male singer takes one look at both of them and answers back, "Naye gāyakon ke sāth āp log is tarah kā vyavhār kyun karte hain?" Why do you behave like this with new singers? He then looks at the woman, and then back at them. "Āp inhe mere sāth dub version gāne ke liye keh rahe hain, jab ki āp jānte hain ke woh mere sāth duet gāne ke liye saksham hain. Woh ek puraskār vijetā gāyika hain," he continues in anger. You are asking her to sing a dub version with me, when you also know very well she is very capable of singing a duet with me. She is an award winning singer.
The filmmaker tries to explain who the female singer is that they want to record the final version with. "Dādā, hum final duet āp aur..." Dada, we want the final version to be with you and...
But before the filmmaker says anything further, the male singer interrupts him. "Mein yeh nahīn jānnā chāhtā ki mere sāth kaun gāne wāli hai. Agar yeh mere sāth record karengī tabhi mein gāungā," the singer lays down the gauntlet, while looking at the woman. I don't want to know who you've intended to sing with me. I will sing this song only if she is going to record with me.
Everybody is stunned. But they have no choice. Without a further word being said, the final version of the song is recorded between the leading male singer and the woman.
Kishore Kumar insisted that Anupama Deshpande sing the duet O yārā, tu pyāron se hai pyārā in Kaash (1987), written and directed by Mahesh Bhatt, music by Rajesh Roshan, lyrics by Faruq Qaiser. The song is filmed on Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia.
Kishore da and Anupama Deshpande had met at the 1984 Filmfare Awards ceremony where he had won the Best Male Singer Filmfare for Sharaabi (Manzilein apni jagah hain, also the last song that Kishore da gave playback to Amitabh Bachchan) and she had won the Best Female Singer Filmfare for Sohni Mahiwal (Sohni chināb de). So Kishore da was shocked to learn that she was there to sing a dub version of the song. Anupama Deshpande had been asked to dub the song from Sohni Mahiwal in place of Asha Bhosle. When Asha Bhosle heard the dubbed version, she insisted to Anu Malik that they keep the dubbed version as no one could sing it better. That song ended up getting Anupama Deshpande the Best Female Singer Filmfare Award.
After Kishore da's strong push to get her to sing this duet with him, Anupama Deshpande's career got a boost. She has sung some greatly popular songs, such as, Lagī āj sāwan kī phir woh jhadī hai from Chandni with Suresh Wadkar, filmed on Vinod Khanna and Sridevi, and Humko āj kal hai from Sailaab filmed on Madhuri Dixit. The chants that play continuously in the Shirdi Sai Baba temple are in her recorded voice.
The intense performances of Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia in Kaash were widely appreciated. The song O yārā, tu pyāron se hai pyārā also became popular.
Singers: Anupama Deshpande, Kishore Kumar
*ing: Dimple Kapadia, Jackie Shroff
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Lyrics: Faruq Qaiser
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Film: Kaash (1987)