It's Jaya Prada's birthday month, and a good time for Subhash K Jha to revisit some of her hit songs with Lata Mangeshkar.
Dafliwale Dafli Baja from Sargam
Jaya Prada could never equal Sridevi's stardom but she had a superior slew of songs.
In her first Hindi film Sargam, Jaya had chartbusters like Koyal Boli and Parbat Ke Us Paar, both sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
The biggest hit was Dafliwale.
Tujh Sang Preet from Kaamchor
Jaya Prada followed up her Sargam hit with more hits by Composer Rajesh Roshan in Kaamchor: Tujh Sang Preeti, Tum Mere Swami and Tumse Badhkar Duniya Mein.
Jaoon Tore Charan Kamal from Sur Sangam
Laxmikant-Pyarelal's classical score had Jaya showing off her Bharata Natyam skills.
'K Vishwanath sir and I shared a very close bond. The songs in his cinema went a long way in making me look special on screen,' Jaya said.
More Nainon Mein Shyam Samaaye from Baawri
Jaya Prada had excellent songs composed by Khayyam in Baawri: More Nainon Mein Shyam Samaaye and Ab Charaghon Ka Koi Kaam Nahi, which went unnoticed as the film was a flop.
This bhajan sung by Lataji deserves a suno for its ceaseless sonority.
Chandni Raat Mein from Dil-e-Nadaan
A Rajesh Khanna-Jaya Prada-Smita Patil starrer that sank without a trace with music by Khayyam.
This Kishore Kumar-Lataji duet ranks high in Jaya's body of work.
Naqsh Lyalpuri, who wrote this ballad, once said the actress inspired him to get even more poetic.
Yashoda Ka Nandlala from Sanjog
A masterclass in composition and rendition, this Laxmikant-Pyarelal song, rendered to immortality by Lataji, is among the ultimate ode to maternal love.
'I've been very lucky with my songs. Lataji sang most of my Hindi songs and added so much to my performance.'
Gori Hain Kalaiyan from Aaj Ka Arjun
One of Lataji's most popular songs in the 1990s was Gori Hain Kalaiyan.
'It is one of the biggest hits of my career,' Lataji had said.
'Bappida's grasp of Hindustani classical and folk music is zabardast.
'Yeh gaana har shaadi, har tyauhar, har khushi ke mauke pe bajega.'