Ae mere watan... was originally planned as a Lata-Asha duet

New Delhi: It is a song that broughttears to Jawaharlal Nehru's eyes but not many know thatPradeep's Ae mere watan ke logon was originally planned as aduet to be sung by Lata Mangeshkar and sister Asha Bhosle.

Lata, who was not on good terms with the composer ofthe song, C Ramchandra, agreed to give her voice only on onecondition that it will be recorded as a solo, says a new book.

"C Ramchandra had actually tuned Ae mere watan kelogon as a duet...Lata and C Ramchandra were not on talkingterms by then. Kavi Pradeep played master reconciler.

"This coincidentally was when Lata, out of the bluecalled around six one morning at Pradeep's Vile Parle home toexpress her keenness on singing Ae mere watan ke logon,provided she could do it as a solo," writes Raju Bharatan inhis new book A Journey Down Melody Lane.

Bharatan says Asha had even rehearsed with thecomposer but was dropped when Lata insisted to record it solo.

"Pradeep found C Ramchandra, too, to be jumping atthis chance to have his very own Lata back to render such ahallmark number. Forgotten in a trice were C Ramchandra'slong-spread rehearsals for the number with Asha Bhosle," thebook says.

The song touched a chord with a nation traumatised bythe 1962 defeat by China and Nehru was so moved that he huggedLata.

Talking about the two sisters, whose rivalry is partof Bollywood lore, Bharatan says that O P Nayyar was the onlycomposer, who stayed away from Lata at a time when othersfound it was crucial to have her voice in their songs.

Nayyar not only resisted Lata but started preparingAsha as a rival, a union that lasted nine years.

"No one, just no one, save O P Nayyar, made good sospectacularly as a composer, sans the vocals of LataMangeshkar, in the hurly-burly of the glitterati-chatteratiindustry. That too by sedulously promoting Lata's stillvocally groping sister, Asha Bhosle, to star-singing status,"says the writer.

The OP-Lata confrontation began when the melody queenobjected to Nayyar displacing her favourite director in thefilm Mehbooba in 1954.

OP and Asha went on to give musical gems like Yeh haireshmee zulfon ka andhera, Jaayiye aap kahaan jaayenge andHaaye, ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene waale but laterparted ways.

Asha then went on to create a different identity underthe music direction of R D Burman, whom she later married.