Was Lata Mangeshkar and not Asha Bhosle the first choice to sing 'Dum Maro Dum'?

Asha Bhosle's 'Dum Maro Dum', featuring Zeenat Aman, is one of the iconic songs which has been remade again and again. Now a new revelation has come to light. Instead of Asha Bhosle, the 'Nightingale Of Bollywood' Lata Mangeshkar was reportedly supposed to croon the song.

Reportedly, composer Rahul Dev Burman wanted Lata Mangeshkar for the song, and Asha Bhosle got finalized much later. According to a report on Bollywood Hungama, Dev Anand was the person who suggested Asha's name for the song.

“Lata sang two beautiful solos ‘Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka, Ho Ho Re Ghungroo’ and a lovely duet ‘Kanchi Re’ for me in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. ‘Dum Maro Dum’ didn’t seem right for her,” the portal reported Dev Anand stating.

In fact it is heard that Dev Anand, who suggested Asha Bhosle, then wanted to remove the song out of the film stating that he 'found it strange'. It was then RD Burman who requested that the song should remain a part of the soundtrack, if not in the movie. Of course, eventually 'Dum Maro Dum' was part of 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and went on to become a huge hit.

Co-incidentally, 'Dum Maro Dum' became one of the biggest hits of both Asha Bhosle and RD Burman's career. It was supposedly the most requested song at Asha Bhosle's concerts.