Prema Narayan's iconic Bollywood journey

Prema Narayan who turns a year older on April 4, had a brief but popular innings as a second lead. She played the Other Woman in Amanush for which she won herself a Filmfare nomination, and the accidental dancer in the same director’s Anand Ashram.

In Shakti Samanta’s Uttam Kumar-Sharmila Tagore starrer Amanush she sang Shyamal Mitra’s composition Gham ki dawaa toh pyar hai gham ki dawa sharaab nahin in Asha Bhosle’s voice. The composition sounded suspiciously like Madan Mohan’s Shokh nazar ki bijliyan from WohKaunThi. Creative kinship, we guess.

Prema Narayan was back as a nautanki dancer in the Amanush teams’s follow up film Anand Ashram where she was seen dancing to Lataji’s exquisitely rendered number Jab chaha chali aaungi. This is the only Hindi song that Mitra composed for Lataji, and what a composition!

Prema Narayan actually started her career as a leading lady in My Friend in 1974 with Lataji’s voice providing Prema with a pack of playful playback for Naushad’s atypical compositions. She also played the lead in Maa Bahen Aur Biwi where singer-turned-composer Sharda sang Achcha hi kiya dil toota gaya for Prem Narayan.

In Mahesh Bhatt’s Manzilein Aur Bhi Hain, Prema Narayan played a sex worker in a relationship with two men Kabir Bedi and Mahesh Bhatt’s brother Mukesh.Does anyone remember Prema singing Aaj naye geet saje mere payal mein in Asha Bhosle’s voice?

With her career as a leading lady not making any headway Prema switched to supporting roles .As a dancer she sang her way into several hits of the 1970s including Botal se ek baat chali in Ghar(in Asha Bhosle’s voice, the song got submerged in Lataji’s melodic memorabilias), Machali oh manchali in Barsaat Ki Ek Raat,Raja torey baagh ki main maalan hoon(Baat Ban Jaye) and Kaahe jhatke mare(Kissise Na Kehna) .

Now 67, Prema Narayan is now a happy wife and mother, far removed from show business. In one of her last interviews she said, “I played a diverse range of characters over the course of my acting career...Some may call my choices bold, but for me, it was about challenging myself and trying new things. I was always open to different kinds of roles, and I was never concerned with being the heroine—who was usually a fairly helpless and weepy character."