Asha Bhosle’s ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ was first offered to Lata Mangeshkar; was banned on Doordarshan, All India Radio

ALSO READ | Asha Bhosle dies at 92 LIVE Updates: Singer’s funeral to be held on Monday

“Dum Maaro Dum” was initially conceived with Lata Mangeshkar

While it is almost impossible to imagine the song “Dum Maaro Dum” without Asha’s voice, the song was initially conceived as a duet between Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Uthup, and was to be filmed on both Zeenat Aman and Mumtaz, who were both starring in the film. For some unknown reason, Lata dropped out of the song, and it was then decided that Asha would step into her older sister’s shoes and record it with Usha. However, in the end, this became Asha’s song. Usha, however, was roped in to record some English portions in the song, which also gained popularity.

The producer and director of Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Dev Anand, was in two minds even after the song was recorded, as he could foresee the reservations that the song might face. Even in the recording stage, he had sensed hesitation from SD Burman, RD Burman’s father, and Dev’s long-term collaborator. To reduce any chance of controversy, he decided to drop the song. When Asha learnt this, she decided to convince Dev herself. “I was extremely upset and headed straight to director Dev saab’s house. I told him it’s a wonderful number and should be retained at any cost. He thought for some time and said, since you are saying so, I shall,” she told The Hindu in a 2020 interview.

ALSO READ | Asha Bhosle, India’s most versatile and prolific voice, dies at 92

Banned on AIR, ‘Sartaj Geet’ on Radio Ceylon

As expected, the song landed in controversy as soon as it released. It was banned on All India Radio but was allowed to play freely on Radio Ceylon (which was based out of Sri Lanka), which hosted the popular Binaca Geetmala. For months on end, the song stayed on top of the charts. Since it sustained on the top spot for 12 weeks, it was declared as ‘Sartaj Geet’.

The song was also banned on Doordarshan for many years as even when the film was broadcast on the channel, the song would be edited out. Asha recalled the controversies around the song in a 2003 chat with Rediff and shared, “In those days, I had to face a lot of criticism. My song ‘Dum maro dum’ was banned by the [Indian] government. It would not be played on radio. And if the film was shown on television – at that time, there was only one channel, Doordarshan – the song would be cut.”

But despite the criticism it might have received at the time, “Dum Maaro Dum” stood the test of time and continues to be celebrated as one of Asha’s best numbers.