Parineeti Chopra Plays An Alcoholic In The Girl On The Train; Revisiting 5 Best Sozzled Songs by Lata Mangeshkar

As Parineeti Chopra plays an alcoholic wreck in The Girl On The Train, it’s time to uncork that bottle, nightingale style! Here are the 5 best sozzled melodies by Lata Mangeshkar.

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Parineeti Chopra Plays An Alcoholic In The Girl On The Train; Revisiting 5 Best Sozzled Songs by Lata Mangeshkar
Parineeti says she  didn’t drink a drop to play the alcoholic in The Girl On The Train. Lataji has never tasted  a drop of alcohol. Still she has sung some extraordinary songs about drunkenness which are masterclasses in slurring without stumbling. Strange,  you would expect the other  more uninhibited sister Asha Bhosle to indulge in such  a vice-like grip on the microphone. But then the myth  about Lataji being the sober and the other sister being sexy is effectually and completely broken in these songs about being blissfully sloshed.

1. Kaise rahun chup ki maine pee hi kya hai hosh abhi tak hai baqi, aur zarasi dede saqi aur zarasi(Inteqaam): A classic ode to  inebriation this party  song has Sadhana taunting provoking and embarrassing her loverboy Sanjay Khan in  from of his party guests. Lataji slurs over the words so convincingly listeners were convinced she had taken her astonishing artistry  a  few ‘pegs’ higher. Laughs Lataji, “How can one sing if one were  to actually drink. It’s a performance, just like  an actor who plays a  killer. He doesn’t come on the sets with real blood on his hands.Composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal believed I could do anything. Even sound drunk on screen.”  They were so right.h

2. Sharaabi Sharaabi mere naam ho gaya(Chandan Ka Palna):  Meena  Kumari who  stumbled sizzled and  slurred  across the screen  was battling the  bottle  at  the time in her  real life. Lataji  sang this R D Burman composition  with a  pronounced slur in her voice. It is  incredible how  closely  her singing voice matches Meena Kumari’s speaking voice. “Meenaji was  very fond of me. She loved  my hair and wondered how I kept it so long,” In those days  Lataji’s pleats literally  touched  the  ground.While her voice soared to sky even when acting sloshed.

3. Na chhero kal ke afsane karo iss raat ki baatein(Raat Aur Din): Shankar-Jaikishan’s  startling  ode to inebriation features Nargis slithering tipsily  across the screen in a druken stupor singing  Shailendra’s  poetry about living in the present. The entire  song is rendered  in a hazy slur  by Lataji. “When I asked  about the  song situation I was told Nargisji  was drunk in the scene. I  sang accordingly careful that that the beautiful words didn’t get slurred.”

4. Haan jee haan maine sharaab pee hai(Seeta Aur Geeta):  Hema Malini who has never tasted alcohol says the electric effect she created of  being sozzled was  entirely the singer’s doing. “Lataji has emoted so well in that song, given just the  right punctuations  pauses and  hiccups , I just had to follow her voice.”  R D Burman’s composition  is  indeed unique. But it’s  the singing that elevates  the number. Note how  Lataji trips over the  line ‘Haan jee haan…na jee na!!!”  Anyone would mistake her plush  rush of gush  for a real lush.

5. Chhor mera haath  mujhe peene de aaj saree raat mujhe peene  de pyasi mar jaaongi jeene de(Subha-o-Sham): A complete  unknown gem , this is  a timebomb in  a glass every word  a plea to let the  drinks  flow, the  let let  jaam-session begin .Waheeda Rehman who doddered her way through  the fabulous song recalls, “Yeh  ladki   bahot  pareshan tthi.She gets drunk and creates a scene  in  a poarty. Lataji jab gaateen hain toh hum heroine ko zyada  kuch karne  ki zaroorat nahin hoti.She does all that needs  to be done.”   Cheers to that.                         


Image source: SpotboyE archive