Chhaayaageet #66 - “Tumhaari itni badi ladki hai. Isko kahan chhupa ke rakha tha?”

Music runs in the family like blood. Father is an actor cum singer in the film industry. Uncles and cousins are also big names. Any function in the house, any celebration, any festival is just an excuse to display your singing prowess and keep improving. Singing is second nature.

She is not immune to this. Having grown up in such a family, it's even hard to remember when she really started to sing. When a song played on Vividh Bharati, she would lower the volume and start singing like she is the actual playback. Suddenly her mother would come by “Arre ye tum gaa rahi ho. Mujhe to laga radio pe gaana baj raha hai.” Are you singing this? I thought there was a song playing on the radio. It was a good feeling every time someone said that.

There is one thing about talent. If it is good, it will come out in the open. Her father’s friends visit their place quite often. One of them is in the advertising world. He comes by one day to visit and hears her sing. “Ek product launch ho raha hai. Kya ye humare liye ek jingle gaa sakti hai.” We have a product launch coming up. Can she sing a jingle for us?

Father isn’t that worried. He knows she is a good singer but studies are important too. “Agar padhai mein koi nuksaan nahin hai to zaroor gayegi.” As long as studies are not impacted, she will definitely sing.

She starts preparing for the jingle. 30 seconds is all you get. There is no alaap, no mukhda, no antara. Just a few lines and lots of expressions. It goes really well.

Since then the phone rings off the hook for one jingle after another, whatever the brand may be - Liril, Nirma, Pan Paraag, Hawkins, Lipton, Amul, etc. It doesn't matter. All agencies want her to be the voice behind the brand. In a few years, over ten thousand jingles are recorded in multiple languages. When it comes to female voices on the radio, it is either Lata or Asha singing film songs or it is her singing jingles between the songs.

She is the jingle queen.

A few years go by.

Her father is a close friend of a composer’s father. They both started their careers together around the same time and have a deep bond. The composer has heard her sing jingles. There is something in her voice that is so unique.

He reaches their house and asks her father, “Kya ye meri film mein gaana gayegi?” Will she sing a song for my movie? The father checks with her “Agar iski marzi hai to kyun nahin. Zaroor gayegi.” If she is ok with it then sure, she will sing.

It is decided that she will sing the song. A few rehearsals are scheduled. She comes to know that it's a western song. Western songs in those days were not associated with the main characters of the movie. She starts making assumptions. It could be a cabaret or some song playing in the background in some club where the hero is visiting. But who cares. It’s her first song in the movies and she is super excited.

Today is the day to record the song. She has to be at Mehboob Studios. The recording studio is on the top floor and at the lower level, there is a shooting going on with two of the leading male actors in the industry. They have a break during the shoot and decide to take a stroll around the studio.

Whose voice is that? They can hear her singing but can’t really see her. Is it Lata? No, it’s not her. Is it Asha? Nope, not even her. Then who is singing? So melodious and full of expression.

They come close to the recording studio to congratulate this new singer. The song recording finishes. It has gone really well and everyone congratulates her. Suddenly the two actors see a familiar face. Her father is right next to her feeling proud of what she has just accomplished. “Tumhaari itni badi ladki hai. Isko kahan chhupa ke rakha tha?” You have such a big daughter. Where were you hiding her all this time?

Preeti Sagar provided the playback for the song My Heart Is Beating in the film Julie. This was her debut song that nominated her for Filmfare Best Female Singer and won a special Filmfare award. This was one of the first English language songs in an Indian film. Rajesh Roshan composed the music and was responsible for getting Preeti Sagar to do more than just jingles. Julie was a music blockbuster and got Rajesh Roshan the Filmfare Best Music Director award for the year. The lyrics of the song were written by Harindranath Chattopadhyay.

Rajesh Khanna and Shammi Kapoor were shooting for the movie Bundal Baaz in Mehboob Studios on that day when this song was recorded. They were both impressed by Preeti Sagar's singing talent.

Preeti Sagar’s father, Moti Sagar, was an actor and singer back in his days. His cousins were the actor Motilal and singer Mukesh. Moti Sagar was also good friends with composer Roshan, Rajesh Roshan’s father.

After this song, Preeti Sagar went through training in semi-classical music and was able to deliver several hits. One of them was the song Mero Gaam Katha Parey in the movie Manthan for which she got her first Filmfare award for Best Female Singer.

If you want to hear Preeti Sagar's voice in one of the older jingles, this is a famous one for the soap Liril. It was very popular back then.

Music: Rajesh Roshan
Lyrics: Harindranath Chattopadhyay
Singer: Preeti Sagar
*ing: Lakshmi
Director: K. S. Sethumadhavan
Producer: B. Nagi Reddi
Film: Julie (1975)