Morni Baga Ma [Lamhe] 🎶

Given the megawatt performer Sridevi was, seldom had songs asked her to just sit and emote. But 'Morni Baga Ma' does exactly that. Seated in the middle of the desert like a goddess before Viren, Pallavi sings about love and longing. Clad in that iconic yellow and blue ensemble, Sridevi appears incandescent, both festive and pensive like those dual colours. Watch her close-up as she sits gazing into the fire, pinning for someone else. The camera is hypnotized like Viren. The choreography is minimal yet magical. Towering above the dines, Sridevi radiates such grandeur that she makes the song another addition to her list of legendary solo numbers. 

Saroj Khan recalls how this shoot had also tested the actress: "We were filming in the Jaisalmer desert. The whole song is a night sequence and as it would get darker, the temparature would drop drastically. The wind was blowing like ice but Sri cartied on. Yash-ji had provided heaters and in between shots, she would huddle around it shivering with cold, but what you see on-screen is pure magic."

Lata Mangeshkar, who made the song as iconic as so many of her Sridevi songs, reveals that she loved most about the actress: "What Sridevi did beautifully was to really understand the lyrics, comprehend each and every word and perform accordingly. You could make out that there was a thought process behind her every expression and action and yet she would make it look totally spontaneous."

TRIVIA

Many shots of the movie were filmed in Kanak Vrindavan and Rambagh Palace of Jaipur and other locations in Jaisalmer.

This song, Morni from Lamhe (1991) composed by Shiv Hari (Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma) playback by Lata Mangeshkar became so popular in Rajasthan that it is still played in weddings and on special occasions.

The Rajasthani dress that the veteran actress donned in this song had been designed by famous designer Neeta Lulla. The dress was appreciated so much that it won a national award.

The shooting for this Ila Arun and Lata Mangeshkar duet song took place with the beautiful dunes of the state in the backdrop.

The shooting of many of her films took place in Rajasthan. She used to frequently visit Jaipur and Udaipur for movie promotions.