Malayalam’s tryst with Lata

Though she sang only one song in the language, her songs have been a part and parcel of Malayali’s life

Out of the close to 30,000 songs in Lata Mangeshkar’s extensive oeuvre, Kadhali Chenkadhali is the only song that she has sung in Malayalam. The song, composed for the 1974 film Nellu, witnessed the coming together of two other legends along with Lata — music composer Salil Chowdhury and lyricist Vayalar Ramavarma. But, much before that, Chowdhury had tried to get her to sing in Malayalam, for Chemmeen, in 1965.“Vayalar Ramavarma had initially written Kadalinakkare Ponore from a woman’s angle. Salil Chowdhury got Yesudas, who was a beginner then, to sing a track, which they took to Lata Mangeshkar in Mumbai. She was reluctant to sing in Malayalam, saying that it would take her time to learn the pronunciations. She also said that Yesudas’s track sounded good, which in the end was used in the movie. But Salil Chowdhury did not give up his wish, and went back to her when he was composing for Nellu. The song Kadhali Chenkadhali became a hit, although there were issues with pronunciation,” says music critic Ravi Menon. Jayabharathi, who acted with Mohan in the song on screen, says that she is proud to have lip-synced to Lata’s much-loved song. “During that period, I was acting in a lot of films and I probably did not realise the importance of acting in a song sung by her, that too her only song in Malayalam. It was only years later that it sunk in. Here is a legendary singer, who has been singing even before I was born and to give expression to her voice on screen is something I am really proud of. I am sad to hear of her passing away,” Jayabharathi told The Hindu.