HT Cafe

‘I DON’T LISTEN TO MY SONGS TOO OFTEN’

In the 75th year of her career, singer Lata Mangeshkar talks about her relationsh­ip with her sisters and how she almost worked with music composer OP Nayyar

- Prashant Singh ■ prashant.singh@hindustant­imes.com

Ever since she sang for the first time in 1942, Lata Mangeshkar made people sit up and take notice. The singer went on to become a legend in Indian film music. In fact, the ‘Nightingal­e of India’ reveals that she completed 75 years in the industry this year. Interestin­gly, the chartbuste­r ‘Aayega aane wala’ (Mahal; 1949), which is believed to have turned her into a star singer, also completes 68 years on January 1. Apparently, when the song first played on All India Radio (AIR), its phone lines were flooded with callers who wanted to know the singer’s name. AIR had to find out who the singer was from the record company before they could announce that Lata Mangeshkar sang the song.

Do you remember your initial years in films?

I acted for the first time in the Marathi film Pahili Mangalagau­r in 1942. I also sang for the movie. After that, I sang and acted in other Marathi as well as Hindi films, the last one being Mandir (1948). We used to work in Master Vinayak’s (late actor-producer) company, Praful Pictures. At that time, all the musicians, actors and other artistes were part of his company. Since I was very young, I played the hero or heroine’s sister. But after Master Vinayak’s death in 1947, his company closed down.

Did things become difficult after that?

There was a cameraman in the company who was also our neighbour. One day, he said, “Lata, I know Baliji, and he wants a fresh voice for his new film.” So, he took me to Baliji. He heard my song and immediatel­y took me for the [music] rehearsals. He recorded the song in two days. That’s how my journey started. From there, I went to Filmistan and Bombay Talkies (production companies). So, this is the 75th year since I started working.

You worked with almost all the music composers except the late OP Nayyar…

There was a time when OP Nayyar sahab had approached me to work with him. I had even given him the dates [to record the song]. However, at that time, I was suffering from severe sinus, so I told him that I wouldn’t be able to record songs for him, and that if we would work out dates after a few days, then it could happen. He said he was in a hurry and would have to record the songs immediatel­y. I don’t know which singer he approached later on to record the songs for him.

But your sister, Asha Bhosle, sang a lot for OP Nayyar…

Yes, she and even Geeta (Dutt; singer) did. These two sang the most for him. Sometimes, Shamshad bai (Begum; singer) also worked with him.

There was a time when OP Nayyar sahab had approached me to work with him. I had even given him the dates [to record the song]. LATA MANGESHKAR, SINGER

In your illustriou­s career, did you and OP Nayyar ever think of working together again?

Nayyar sahab created his unique and different style eventually. And I had never sung in that style. Maybe, his style wasn’t suitable for my voice. In fact, we both would agree on the same thing. I remember, I once spoke to Majrooh sahab (Sultanpuri) and told him not to push me to sing in that (OP Nayyar’s) style. I always had a good relationsh­ip with OP sahab. It’s just that I could never sing for him. But whenever we met, he would speak to me in the nicest manner.

Your sister, Asha Bhosle, has also worked extensivel­y in the music industry. But the perception is that the two of you had a fallout many years back…

I’ve never had any fallout with any of my sisters. There was never any competitio­n between us because we used to sing very different kinds of songs. She had her own style, which was really good. So there was no scope for any competitio­n. But Asha’s (right) first husband, Bhosle sahib (Ganpatrao Bhosle), was upset with me. He used to believe Asha wouldn’t get work because of me. But there was a time when Asha and I sung a number of duets, and many of them became popular as well. Later, when Asha came to our house, we used to stay together.

Do you and your sister keep meeting each other?

Asha has a house next to ours in the neighborho­od, but she doesn’t stay here anymore as she has bought a new house. But when she used to stay here, we would eat and even travel together. Even her kids used to stay with us. I used to take her son, Anand, when he was just a year old, with me to Kolhapur and Pune. When he turned 12 or 13, I took him to London (UK) and USA for the first time. He used to always be with me. So, there has never been any problem between us.

There was never any competitio­n between us because we used to sing very different kinds of songs. LATA MANGESHKAR, SINGER

 ?? HT PHOTO ??
HT PHOTO
 ?? PHOTO: PRODIP GUHA/HT ??
PHOTO: PRODIP GUHA/HT
 ?? PHOTO: VIJAYANAND GUPTA/HT ??
PHOTO: VIJAYANAND GUPTA/HT

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