Learning little-known facts about Lataji, the legend

Lata Mangeshkar’s prolific career in the Indian film industry lasted for over 70 years. Her melodious voice, which was first rejected for being too ‘thin’, can still touch a deep chord in the hearts of Hindi film music lovers.

It is not surprising that Lata Mangeshkar took to music from a young age growing up in a family of performers. Her father Pt Deenanath Mangeshkar, a renowned Marathi theatre actor and Hindustani classical musician, used to run a theatre company, and Lata grew up with a love for music.

Lata had recalled in an interview that once her father had asked his shagird (disciple) to practice a raag while he was busy with some other work. And the story goes that Lata was playing nearby and suddenly when she heard a note that jarred she corrected him. When her father returned, a new disciple was waiting for him – his own daughter.

Lata used to act and sing in the plays written by her father. In 1942, when she just 13 years old, she sang a song Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari for a Marathi movie called Kiti Hasaal. But the song was chopped off from the film’s final cut. She also acted in a Marathi film, Pahili Mangalagaur. However, it was only in 1946, she sang her first Hindi film playback song for Aap Ki Seva Mein, which was directed by Vasant Jogalekar.

By 1949, she became a sought after playback singer. In the 1949 Madhubala-starrer Mahal, she sang the breakthrough Aayega Aanewala and in Barasaat, she sang nine songs for three different stars in the film. She also pushed record labels like HMV to credit the singers on the records.

Lata never listened to her songs

But a little-known fact is that Lata never listened to her own songs.

Lata Mangeshkar once said while speaking to Bollywood Hungama that she did not listen to her own songs because she would find a hundred faults in her singing. Between 1950s-60s, Lata cemented her position as the most popular playback singer of Hindi cinema, working with some of the most notable music composers of her generation, including Anil Biswas, Naushad Ali, Madan Mohan, SD Burman, C Ramchandra, Khayyam, among others. She sang alongside some of the great male playback singers, from Kishore Kumar to Mohammed Rafi.

Her favourite music director with whom she shared a special bond however was Madan Mohan. She said in a 2011 collector’s item calendar called ‘Tere Sur Aur Mere Geet’, “I shared a special relationship with Madan Mohan, which was much more than what a singer and a music composer share. This was a relationship of a brother and a sister.”

‘Woh chup rahe to mere’ from Jahan Ara is a favourite song.

Lata never worked with OP Nayyar

In her long career, Lata worked with the greatest of Indian composers and music directors, but she never worked with OP Nayyar.

Lata refuses Filmfare award

In 1958, Lata Mangeshkar was nominated as best playback female singer for her song ‘Aaja Re Pardesi’. However, she refused to accept the Filmfare award on the grounds that the award was designed in the shape of an unclothed woman. To placate her, the organisers wrapped up the award with a cloth and presented it to her. In 1989, she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In 2001, Lata won India’s Highest Civilian Award – the Bharat Ratna.

Ae Mere Watan Ke

In January 1963, Lata performs Ae Mere Watan Ke in front of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, moving him to tears. The song was written in honour of the Indian soldiers who died in the India-China War of 1962.

In 1999, Lata was nominated to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and she had described her tenure as an unhappy one since she was not keen on being inducted. Her tenure lasted until 2005.

Lata honoured with the Officer of the Legion of Honour in 2007

Lata has sung songs across genres and recorded over 700 songs for composers Laxmikant Pyarelal alone. Lata was the first ever Indian to perform in the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, London.

The government of France conferred her with the Officer of the Legion of Honour in 2007, which is the country’s highest civilian award.

Later, in 2012, she even launched her own music label, LM Music. By this time, she had thousands of songs in several Indian languages, from Punjabi to Tamil, Bengali to Chhattisgarhi, and across genres from Gurbani to ghazals to qawwals to classical compositions.

Slowly, she withdrew from lending her voice to Bollywood films unhappy with the kind of music being composed. Lata Mangeshkar recorded her last song ‘Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki’, which was composed by Mayuresh Pai, as a tribute to the Indian Army and nation. It was released on March 30, 2019. Lata passed away on Sunday (February 6) but she will however continue to live on with her massive body of work spanning seven decades.