CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1
The First Footfalls of Musical Stardom

Chapter 2
Top Spots Up for Grabs

Chapter 3
A Price to Pay for Being Number One

Chapter 4
A Super Hero in the House

Chapter 5
Inside the ‘Ashiana’ of His Dreams

Chapter 6
Javed Akhtar Calling and Recalling We Go

Chapter 7
The Voice of ‘The Girl Next Door’

Chapter 8
Shamshad Scores: Lata Soars

Chapter 9
A Journey So Talismanic, So Poetic

Chapter 10
The Ego of Being from Lucknow

Chapter 11
When Composer Was King

Chapter 12
Classic Legend and Rude Reality

Chapter 13
The Murky Scene behind the Silver Screen

Chapter 14
Upfront No Longer as the Backlash Comes

Chapter 15
Rafi as Our Maestro’s Singer Extraordinaire

Chapter 16
Face and Façade

Chapter 17
Those Instrumental in Crafting Our Ace’s Tunes

Chapter 18
The ‘Background’ to Meena Kumari as Pakeezah

Chapter 19
The Mirage of Going High, Higher and Still Higher

Chapter 20
Musings of ‘The Last Mughal’

Chapter 21
His Shadow Never Grew Less …

Appendix 1: A Career Record to Play Back

Appendix 2: From the Shadows into the Limelight

Appendix 3: Awards and Rewards

Appendix 4: Filmography

Photos