A throwback of Lata Mangeshkar.
Highlights
- Lata Mangeshkar died on February 6
- Lata Mangeshkar was known as the 'Nightingale of India'
- Lata Mangeshkar made her radio debut, 80 years ago
Lata Mangeshkar, popularly known as India's Nightingale, died at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital on February 6, 2022. When she was admitted to the hospital, her niece Rachna confirmed to NDTV that she was suffering from mild Covid and was in the Intensive Care Unit. She also added, "Keep her in your prayers. Your prayers are precious." The singer's fans and well-wishers around the globe will continue to do that as they listen to their favourite Lata Mangeshkar song. Her contribution to the world of music earned her the biggest and the most prestigious awards in India. She was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989 by the government and in 2001 she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, which is India's highest civilian honour.
Lata Mangeshkar's debut on radio happened 80 years ago. She herself shared this fond memory on her social media account. She said that on December 16, 1941, she sang two songs for the first time in a radio studio. In her melodious voice, Ms Mangeshkar had sung over 50,000 songs in 14 languages since the radio debut.
Many of Lata Mangeshkar's songs are on the list of Indian classics like Aaega Aanewala from Kamal Amrohi's 1949 film Mahal. She sang for the biggest actresses and the biggest films from the 50s to the 90s. She was the voice of the leading ladies of the film industry for decades.
With songs like Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya from Mughal E Azam in 1960, Inhi Logo Ne from Meena Kumari's Pakeezah in 1972, Lata Mangeshkar was an unstoppable force who sang in over 500 films with the country's leading music composers of the times be it Naushad, RD Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, Anand Milind, Nadeem Shravan, Jatin Lalit and AR Rahman.
Even in the 90s, she continued to be the most popular singer among A-list filmmakers like Yash Chopra, who had a Lata song in almost all his movies including Chandni, Lamhe, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein and even his last film Veer Zaara in 2004. Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman too worked with her, they worked together for Zubeida, Rang De Basanti and Lagaan.
In her book, Ritu Nanda, Raj Kapoor's daughter, revealed that Lata Mangeshkar was the inspiration behind Raj Kapoor's Satyam Shivam Sundaram and he wanted to cast her in the film. A quote in the book 'Raj Kapoor' says: "I visualised the story of a man falling for a woman with an ordinary countenance but a golden voice and wanted to cast Lata Mangeshkar in the role."
Being a Maharashtrian, Lata Mangeshkar also sang for popular Marathi films made by Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale and Sudhir Phadke. Lata songs in Kannada and Bengali became huge hits. She sang in Assamese as well under the guidance of Bhupen Hazarika.
One of the famous episodes of her life is when her music moved Pandit Nehru to tears. On January 27, 1963 during the backdrop of the India-China war, Lata Mangeshkar sang Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon in the presence of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, bringing him to tears.
She was also awarded the title and insignia of 'Officier de la Legion d'Honneur' - Officer of Legion of Honour -by France in 2009. This is the highest French civilian award. She received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.
Lata was the oldest of the four siblings of the Mangeshkar family, one of whom is Asha Bhonsle. Lata Mangeshkar's immense contribution will continue to live with unforgettable songs like Aaega Aanewala and Inhi Logo Ne.