Runa Laila of Dama dam mast qalandar fame begins her second innings with a Punjabi wedding album

Runa Laila, during the seventies and eighties burst into the limelight with her swinging hit, dama dam mast qalandar! The Bangladeshi singer was a favourite with Indian listeners who crooned her hip-swinging singles like Mera babu chhail chabeela , and Bollywood was quick to rope her in — Do deewane sheher mein from Gharaonda were instant hits. In the nineties, however, she hit a trough and seemed to stay there. Now, the iPod-swinging children of the generation who listened to Laila on cassettes have a chance to understand her magic; the 64-year-old has sung eight tracks in the album The Great Big Punjabi Wedding . . This is her first recording in 10 years, and she’s bubbling over with excitement.

“I spent the last decade busy with concerts all over the world and this album has been a welcome change. It’s great that in India people still move to Dama dam or Mera babu ,” says Laila over the telephone from Bangladesh . The album releases today in Delhi and also includes tracks by other popular singers like Jasbir Jassi and Harshdeep Kaur.

Laila first came to India from Dhaka in 1974 when the ICCR invited her to do shows in Delhi , Mumbai and Kolkata. The crowds loved her, and she soon became a fixture at Doordarshan. Smitten by her voice, Bollywood music directors Kalayanji-Aanandji offered her the playback for Ek Se Badhkar Ek , including the title track and the iconic Dama Dam . “Both struck a chord with the audience,” she recounts. But what thrust her into the limelight was Gharaonda , starring Amol Palekar and Zarina Wahab and the songs composed by Jaidev. Do deewane sheher mein , a ghazal with Bhupendra Singh, and a solo Tumhe ho na ho from this film cemented her reputation.

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