What can be a better occasion to write about my all time favourite singer than her 75th birthday! Yes, today nightingale of India turns 75 and my best wishes are with her. Born in 1929 in the family of Dinanath and Shevanti (or Suddhamati) Mangeshkar in Indor, Madhya Paradesh, she is the oldest amongst the four sisters and a brother.
Lataji went on to obtain training first from her father and thereafter from Ustad Aman Ali, Ustad Amanath Khan and P L Tulsidas Sharma. She was an ardent fan of K. L. Saigal and Noor Jehan – the leading playback singers of that time. She gave her first classical music recital at the age of nine in front of huge crowd.
Her first break as a playback singer was for a marathi film Kiti Hasal, in 1942 under the music direction of Sadashiv Nevrekar. Unfortunately the song was not included in the movie. She sang her first song for a Hindi film in 1947 in Aap ki Sewa Mein, which had the music score by Datta Davjekar.
When teenager Lata was struggling to find work to support her impoverish family, the film industry was ruled by Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum. When her name was brought to the attention of Naushad and Dilip Kumar, they both were not confident about her ability to pronounce Urdu words properly. By sheer hard work she proved both wrong and went on to sing several hit Gazals. In fact, Naushad became her fan and was adamant about having Lata for his films – worth mentioning among them are Pakizah, Mughal-e-Azam and Mother India.
Lataji’s first successful break was – Ayega Anewala for the film Mahal (music: Khemchand Prakash, 1949). Unfortunately, she was asked by the producers to alter her voice to sound more like Noor Jehan, since the perception was her ‘thin’ voice will not go down well in the era of Shamshad Begum.
In 1950 when Raj Kapoor was auditioning singers for the movie Awara, Khemchand Prakash recommended Lata for consideration. She was hired immediately after the first mukhada and went on to sing in all R. K. Films movies thereafter. On her first day of song recording for the movie, she continued the style utilized in Mahal. She was prompted by Shankar Jaikishan to sing on her own and not to imitate others. Hesitantly she did and the album became super hit.
The infamous song after 1962 war with China – ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo’ (penned by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C. Ramchandra) moved Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears and he said to Lata ‘Beti Tune Mujhe Rula Diya’. The same song prompted the Pakistani Prime Minister to say that he would exchange Kashmir with Lata.
Lata Mangeshkar has rendered her voice for almost all music directors barring a few. Madan Mohan, according to me, was the music director with whom she had the best rapport. They both have given some of the best songs – ‘Aapki Nazaron Ne Samjha (Anpadh)’, ‘Naino Mein Badra Chhaye (Mera Saaya)’, ‘Woh Bhooli Daastan (Sanjog)’, ‘Aap Kyon Roye (Woh Kaun Thi)’ – just to name a few. Even O. P. Nayyar, who has never utilized Lata’s voice made a statement in 1992: ’I don’t know whether Madan Mohan was created for Lata or Lata for Madan Mohan. But there has never been a composer like Madan Mohan nor a singer like Lata.’
Raj Kapoor never used any singer other than Lata Mangeshkar for his movies. He compromised by using Laxmikant Pyarelal for Bobby after she refused to sing for the composer duo Shankar Jaikishan. Purportedly, Shankar Jaikishan favoured Sharda over Lata for the movies Around The World and Mera Naam Joker and moreover they influenced filmfare to award Sharda over Lata for the movie Jahan Pyar Mile in 1970. This did not go down well with Lata and she decided against singing for the duo. The incident created an impression in the film world that Lata is too authoritarian and she doesn’t allow ‘competition’. To disprove this notion, she stopped accepting Filmfare awards.
Raj Kapoor famously likened Lataji to Goddess Saraswati and declared that he could never make a movie without her vocals. He even dedicated the movie ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ to Lataji. Title song of the movie and ‘Bhor Bhaye Panghat Pe’ made history.
In her career of 62 years, Lataji has provided vocals for almost all actresses – from Madhubala to Madhuri to Priety Zinta. There was an era when actresses like Mina Kumari used to ask for Lataji as a playback singer as a condition to doing a movie. Lata’s career has been thru father and son composing songs – Roshan and Rajesh Roshan, S. D. Burman and R. D. Burman, Sardar Malik and Anu Malik, Chitragupta and Anand Milind.
She has rendered her golden voice for 30, 000 songs; more than any other singer in the world. Guinness Book of World Records states: ‘Lata Mangeshkar (b.1929) has reportedly recorded 30, 000 solo, duet, and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages since 1948. She has frequently had five recording sessions in a day and has backed in excess of 2, 000 films.’
Lataji is an ardent cricket fan. She watches practically every game and Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev are her favourite sportsmen.
Major Awards:
Padma Bhushan – 1969
Guinness Book of World Records for singing maximum number of songs: 1974
Dada Saheb Phalke – 1989
Padma Vibhushan – 1999
Bharat Ratna (Nation’s highest civilian award) – 2001
Rajiv Gandhi Award – 1997
National Film Awards:
Parichay - Best Female Playback Singer - 1972
Kora Kagaz - Best Female Playback Singer - 1975
Lekin - Best Female Playback Singer - 1990
Filmfare Awards:
Aaja Re Pardesi, MADHUMATI - 1958
Kahi Deep Jale Kahi Dil, BEES SAAL BAAD - 1962
Tumhi Mere Mandir Tumhi Meri Pooja, KHANDAAN - 1965
Aap Mujhe Achhe Lagne Lage, JEENE KI RAAH - 1969
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award - 1993
Filmfare felicitated by the Maharashra Government - 1993
Filmfare Special Award ( Didi Tera Devar Deewana -HAHK) - 1994
The Government of Madya Pradesh instituted a national level music award, in 1984, in recognition of Lata’s extraordinary talent and her services to the field of music. The award, Lata Mangeshkar Award, consists of a certificate of merit and a cash award of Rs. One Lac.
Lata Mangeshkar Award was also instituted by Maharashtra Government in 1992, first recipient of this award was Manik Verma for her outstanding contribution in singing.
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