So what exactly had transpired? The story goes that the film’s maker Pahlaj Nihalani had offered this song to only Lata Mangeshkar. The legendary singer, who passed away yesterday, was singing all the other songs as well in the movie. But she found this particular song picturised on Manisha Koirala as objectionable.
Confirming the story, Pahlaj Nihalani threw more light on the incident. According to him, “Lata ji came to me personally and said that she cannot sing that song. It wasn’t obscene; it was just that Manisha and Vivek were hiding under a blanket from a swarm of bees.”
Nihalani went into a tizzy. No amount of cajoling could do the trick. “Later, Lata ji suggested that I should ask Asha Bhosle instead to lend her voice to that song. Asha agreed,” Nihalani concluded, but not before adding, “It was all done very amicably. Lata ji was a very gentle lady.”
Post 1990, Lata had become careful in selecting her songs. She wouldn’t take up anything that she felt could even remotely have double-meaning.
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