The Nightingale of India: Lata Mangeshkar
Introduction
Lata Mangeshkar was born on September 28, 1927 in Indore. She quickly became the most popular playback singer in Bollywood history. She has sung over 50 years for several actresses ranging from Nargis to Preity Zinta, as well as recorded several albums of all genres like ghazals and pop.
She was born to Dinanath Mangeshkar, who was the owner of a theatre company and also a reputed classical singer. He started giving his daughter Lata singing lessons from a tender age of five, as well as studying with renowned singers like Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Ali. Even at such a young age, she displayed a beautiful musical gift.
Entering Films as a Roadmap to Music
Lataji initially became an actress. This became a strategic point to fulfill her ambitions to become a singer. The advantage from acting also got her to sing a bit in the films she starred in. Her first big break as a singer in Bollywood, featured Madhubala. With music playing an essential role in Bollywood, she had a massive career as a singer spanning over six decades.
Lata never had a passion for acting. However, it strategically became a path to her passion of music. Her situation echoes to the famous saying by the American singer-songwriter, Toni Amos: ‘Sometimes you have to do what you don’t like to get where you want to be.”
This is exactly what Lataji did. After performing on stage and screen, she got her first break in Bollywood. She also acted a minor part alongside her sister, Asha Bhosale in Bari Ma (1946), a direction of Master Vinayak.
The Magical Effect of Lata Mangeshkar and Madhubala
Lata Mangeshkar and her film voyage from a playback singer viewpoint, took off after singing the song ‘Aayega Aanewala Aayega’. Madhubala plays the lead actress, alluring Ashok Kumar in a ghostly manner in the song. The actress, the singer as well as the song from the film Mahal(1949) became an instant hit.
Apparently, Madhubala had put a condition when signing this film. And that was for Lata Ji to lend her voice in the film’s songs featuring Madhubala.Ankit Chougale a fan of the song, mentions an interesting fact on YouTube about the singer and actress:“At that time Lata Ii was 19-years-old, while Madhubala Ji 17-years-old.”It seems this film and track gave both celebrities a big impetus for what was to come, particularly Lata Ji.
The magical effect of the Lata Mangeskar and Madhubala came to the forefront for the evergreen song ‘Jab Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya.’The song from Mughal-E-Azam (1960) is one of the best visual songs in Bollywood that had the voice of Lata Ji.When watching the track on-screen, it is as if the souls of Madhubala and Lata Ji are entangled with each word and movement.
A Yash Raj Films Favorite
Lata Mangeshkar had a very close association with late director-producer Yash Chopra and his production company Yash Raj Films.
They had a fruitful relationship which began in 1959, by Laa Ji singing songs for Dhool Ka Phool.
Barring a couple of films, she sang for all Yash Raj films until his penultimate film Veer-Zaara (2004).
She gave voice to many top Yash Raj actresses on-screen. The list is endless, including:
Neetu Singh (Kabhi Kabhie: 1976), Hema Malini (Trishul: 1978), Rekha (Silsila: 1981), Sri Devi (Chandni: 1989), Juhi Chawla (Darr: 1993), Kajol (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge [DDLJ]: 1995), Madhuri Dixit (Dil Toh Pagal Hai: 1997) and Tere Liye (Veer-Zaara: 2004).
To put things into perspective, she sang for Yash Raj Films for over five decades. Who can forget the on-screen chemistry of Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha for the song ‘Yeh Kaha Aa Gaye Hum’ in Silsila (1981)?
Interestingly, whilst Amitabh narrates the poetic portions of the song, it is Lata Ji who brings life to the love between Big B and Rekha.
The most fascinating aspect is that her voice was ageless and timeless.
When she sang ‘Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna’ from DDLJ, the on-screen actress Kajol was almost half her age, yet Lata Ji’s voice was a perfect fit for her.
