Being honoured with the highest civilian award- the Bharat Ratna in the year 2001, ‘Queen of Melody’- Lata Mangeshkar has dominated the music industry for more than three decades. If composers didn't believe in my ability, I wouldn't have been able to achieve what I did.MUMBAI: Even at the age of 86, she remains one of the country’s favourite female singers. I asked Naushad saab if he thought I could do it. Shamshad ji had already sung her portions, everything was done. I had to fly back, record the song and then they were to shoot the song. What he was saying was they were waiting to get the song on set. We will record the song and they will shoot it).'Īt first, I didn't understand what he meant. Hum record karenge aur woh gana shoot karenge ( Just come. Naushad saab rang me up and said, ' Aap bas aa jayiye. I had not been able to record the song because I was out of town. The set to shoot this dance number had been put up. It was the song Dur Koi Gaye Dhun Yeh Sunaye with Shamshad Begum. There were many, but the one that stood out was for Naushad saab in Baiju Bawra. Which was your most memorable song recording ever? IMAGE: Meena Kumari and Bharat Bhushan in Baiju Bawra. Main hamesha perfection chahti thi ( I always strove for perfection). Just writing down the lines and practising their pronunciation. There are eight-nine of them, one of them a duet with a local Malaysian singer. I got to know this when a fan sent my songs sung in Malaysian. You send so many songs of mine to me on WhatsApp that I don't recognise.īut the strangest thing was that I have sung in Malaysian! I don't even remember many of the Hindi songs I sang. There are so many songs in so many languages, many forgotten. What I sang on stage remained there only.ĭid you keep track of all the songs you sang? My Russian songs are not to be found anywhere, as they did not allow my renderings to be recorded. Singing in Russian on stage was my other big challenge. I would note down the lines in English and then master the pronunciation, as they are very particular about accent and diction. The sheer pleasure of being on a live stage with a tanpura doing classical vocals for two hours. It's not the same as pure classical singing. IMAGE: Waheeda Rehman in the song Mose Chal Kiya Jaye from Guide.īut Didi, your control over classical vocals is beyond exceptional in songs like Maann Mohana Bade Jhoothe (Seema) and Mose Chal Kiya Jaye ( Guide)?īut that is filmi classical. I would be running away from him to play while he would be trying to get me to sit and learn music. I was too small to understand the value of what he was teaching me. I learnt classical Hindustani singing from my father, but he left too early. Not being able to do enough practice of Hindustani classical music. If I had one thing to rectify in my life, it would be the early departure of my father. I found my voice in the entertainment business pretty quickly. Luckily, you didn't have to struggle long. The next day, I was on a train looking for opportunities to sing at various recording studios. There was no time to do all the normal things that children do as they grow up. Main seedhe bachpan se jawani mein chali gayi ( I went straight from childhood to youth).Īfter my father passed away, I became the sole bread-earner of the family. What's the one thing you missed having in your life? Now, I see so many of my other songs gain a special popularity. When I was still singing on stage, the songs in demand were Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, Aayega Aanewala (Mahal), Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (Mughal-e-Azam), Bindiya Chamkegi (Do Raaste) and so many others. Which songs of yours are the most popular? Who gets this kind of love and affection for such an uninterrupted span of time? I never cease to be humbled by how kind and generous God has been to me.Įven today, my songs are hummed and loved. It is the best wishes of my well wishers and the fans of my songs that has brought me so far. Sab ko bahot bahot shukriya aur mera pranaam ( Thanks to everyone and my greetings). Lata Mangeshkar looks back at her glorious career on her birthday, September 28, and asks Subhash K Jha, 'Who gets this kind of love and affection for such an uninterrupted span of time?'įirst of all, best wishes for your birthday from your millions of fans the world over, who may not be as lucky as me, to be able to connect with you. Photograph: Kind courtesy Lata Mangeshkar/Twitter