Lata ji - recent articles & interviews

Excerpts from an Interview:

Your last ghazal album, Sajda, was released 17 years ago. Why this long gap?

There is no particular reason for the gap. I was always keen that my next album had to be a ghazal album. So I think the decreasing popularity of ghazals over the years somehow contributed to the delay in the making of Saadgi. Ghazals have become less popular. Even the frequency of ghazals concerts has drastically reduced. So though I had worked on four songs with three different shaayars, I was always toying with the idea as to what to do with them when Javed Akhtar came on board and I did four more songs with him and we all decided to bring out the eight songs as a ghazal album. That's how Saadgi happened. My only brief was not to make it too difficult so that the common man could understand and enjoy our album.

Why this keenness on a ghazal album, when you could have done any genre of non-film music?

I had done two ghazals albums earlier-Ghalib and Sajda--and though a lot of time has passed, the two albums are still quite popular and are my personal favourites.

Why did you opt for a new music director like Mayuresh Pai when you could have got the best in the industry to compose for you?

Mayuresh Pai is a student of Suresh Wadkar. I had earlier worked with him while recording for an album Antarnaad on Atal Behari Vajpayeeji's songs. So when he told me that he wanted to compose for some ghazals we teamed up. I have always enjoyed working with new music directors.

Does Saadgi have any overriding theme or tone? How did you zero in on the name?

Ghazals are normally sad, but we have tried to have a mix of various emotions in Saadgi. The album captures varied moods with sad, romantic and philosophical songs. My first tribute album Shraddhanjali was a big hit. Sajda also too was quite popular. I think the letter 'S'is lucky for me. So when we were planning this album, one of its lyricists, Meraz Faizabadi, suggested a few titles starting with the letter S. I liked Saadgi.

That's a perception the people and media have created about me. What more can I say apart from thanking them for their kind thoughts.

How easy or difficult is it to sing a ghazal vis-a-vis other genre of songs? Which are your all-time favourite Hindi film ghazals?

No song is easy. Light music has its own colours while classical songs have their own metre. It's not easy to sing ghazals either. My rendition of Ghalib's ghazals for the album Ghalib was a bit hatke in the sense that it was more classical. Sajda had an interesting play of tabla and a slightly modern touch reflecting Jagjit's style of music. Saadgi is simpler. I guess people prefer simple lyrics. My all-time favourite Hindi film ghazals include those composed by Madan Mohanji like 'Lag jaa gale' and 'Jo humne dastan apni sunayi' and 'Woh chup rahen to mere dil ke daag jalte hain'.

You had put a ban on working with T-series over cover versions of your songs. How come Saadgi is being released by T-Series?

I had done two albums for my brother with T-series when Gulshan Kumar was alive, but they hadn't been publicised well. However, his son Bhushan is doing a good job with the publicity of Saadgi. I am still upset over the issue of violation of copyrights, but it wasn't a battle against any particular individual. Though most of my work has been with HMV, occasionally I have worked with other companies too.

What do you think of contemporary playback singers? Who are your favourites and your favourite song among recent compositions?

Those who sing in films today are pretty good. My favourites are Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan and Kunal Ganjawala. Even Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shreya Ghosal are doing a good job. My favourite song in recent times is 'Kiska hai yeh tumko intezaar main hoon na' (Main Hoon Na).

What's your take on playback singing today?

You hardly have songs like those composed in our days. In Mughal-e-Azam, I had 12 songs but in today's films every other song is recorded by a different voice. In one film I used to sing a sad song, a fun song, a lullaby but forget variety, how many solo songs do today's singers get in a film?

I have not retired but I sing only what I like. I don't sing much these days as I can afford to be choosy. I first listen to a song and if I like it, then only I sing it. I guess the composers too must be thinking that 'Yeh gaana Lata ke liye nahin hai' for most of the songs they are churning out today. As regards Veer-Zaara, Yash Chopra is one filmmaker whom I can never turn down. I have sung all the songs in all his films up to Veer-Zaara, but now even he has stopped directing films and I guess I don't fit the kind of music one hears in the films directed by other filmmakers under his banner.

Are any other albums on the anvil?

After Saadgi I am doing an album on Meera bhajans, which will be followed by another with artistes from India and Pakistan. I also have a few Marathi albums in mind. Currently I am working on four or five more projects, which will be out in quick succession.

On the occasion this is what Javed Akhtar has to say about the versatile Lataji. "Normally artistes strive for perfection. Only Lata Mangeshkar has achieved it. Perfection suits Lataji. There're no boundaries to her excellence and reach. Today we remember Lataji's songs. No matter how much we revere Lataji, we cannot even begin to evaluate her contribution to Indian cinema and ethos. Her body of work is beyond awesome. She has proved perfection is possible in this imperfect world. Sometimes I think people like Lataji, Ghalib, Beethoven and Shakespeare are far removed from the normal chain of human civilization. They are a kind of intruders who come as reminders of the rule of mediocrity that prevails. Lataji belongs to a different league."

From her first super hit "Aayega aanewaala" to "Jab pyaar kiya to darna kya" and "Noorie" to her recent bests like "Yeh hum aa gaye hain kahaan" and "Luka chuppi", Lata has managed to thrill music lovers of every generation with her soulful singing.

This year Lata offered two back-to-back rare treats to her fans - she released a ghazal album, "Saadgi", and a devotional one titled "Sumiran".

While her ghazal album is her first in 17 years after "Sajda", "Sumiran" is a 17-year-old private recording done by the angel of melody for a temple, which was unearthed by a quirk of fate. Her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar has composed the songs of "Sumiran".

The septuagenarian singer loves and enjoys working with new music directors.

"I love working with new talent. In recent times I've sung the first compositions of Vishal Bharadwaj, Rahul Sharma and now Mayuresh," she said.

From popular and light classical music to film songs, from ghazals to bhajans and pop, she has sung all kinds of songs in her more-than-five decade-long career. And Lata has worked with almost all the top music composers and singers in the industry. She has sung more than 30,000 songs in over 20 Indian languages.

"I have sung thousands of songs and I feel there are many which are not good, but there are also many songs which are the best," she said.

Asha Bhosle, her sister and popular singer, was quoted as saying: "Have you ever seen a waterfall retrace its path? I have seen it... rather heard it in didi's voice. The tinkling notes of her taan tumble forth like a waterfall plunging down a cliff and then go back exactly the same way."

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan echoed her when he said: "When the voice achieves perfect harmony with a note (sur), it is as if the soul has soared up to become one with the Supreme Being. That is how I feel when I listen to Lataji."

Headstrong and confident, Lata also pioneered many constructive changes in Bollywood, which proved to be beneficial for singers in the long run. And not only her contemporaries but also new generations.

She was the one who introduced the royalty system for singers in the industry. She also insisted that the singer's name be published with the songs instead of actors.

However, her revolutionary ideas were not taken to kindly by many bigwigs of the era and they tried to stop her. For instance, she stopped singing with Mohammed Rafi. She even refused to sing for S.D. Burman. She had a tiff with Bollywood's biggest showman Raj Kapoor as well.

Such was her clout that she had her way and they came back to her.

Born Sep 28, 1929, to a family of musicians settled in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Lata started learning the nuances of music at the age of five from her father Dinanath Mangeshkar, a reputed classical singer from the Gwalior school of music who used to own a theatre company.

Since singing was in her blood, Lata was able to master the vocal lessons much quicker than others in her age group. Her talent was noticeable to everyone who came in contact with her.

But the sudden demise of her father in 1942 pushed Lata and her family into bad times. Lata being the eldest among the siblings had to take the responsibility of her mother, three younger sisters and a brother. The burden of being the sole breadwinner fell on her shoulders.

She started her career as an actress with Hindi and Marathi movies and acted in eight films. While she was working as an actress, she also made her debut as a playback singer with a Marathi film, "Kiti Hasaal", in 1942 but her song was edited.

In 1947, Lata got her first big break in the Hindi film "Aap Ke Sewa Main" but it failed to give her any recognition. In those days, the Bollywood music industry was dominated by heavier voices like Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum and Zohrabai Ambalewali.

In fact, in the beginning it was very difficult for the young Lata to find a foothold. Well-known producer S. Mukherjee refused to engage her for his film "Shaheed", saying her voice was too thin.

However, the film's music composer Ghulam Haider was impressed with this new singing talent and used her voice for the song "Dil mera toda" in "Majboor". The film was released in 1948 and opened new avenues for the struggling singer.

The very next year Lata struck gold with "Barsaat", "Andaaz", "Dulari" and "Mahal". All the songs from these four films were super-hits, particularly "Aaega aanewaala" from "Mahal", which changed Lata's fortunes forever in the industry.

Her high-pitched singing proved to be a welcome change in front of the base nasal voices of the day. Her initial style of singing was reminiscent of Noorjehan, but she soon evolved her own distinguished style. The phenomenal success of "Mahal" made Lata the most powerful woman in the film industry during that period.

After the 1962 Indo-China war, Lata sang "Aye mere watan ke logon" that moved the then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears, and he said, "Beti toone mujhe rula diya."

Penned by Pradeep, "Aye mere watan ke logon" till date continues to inspire Indians and is considered one of the most moving songs extolling patriotism.

After ruling the roost for decades, from the 80s onwards Lata started cutting down on her workload to concentrate on foreign shows.

However, some of her ardent fans like Yash Chopra still insist on her voice in their directorial ventures. Chopra convinced her to sign all the songs for his crossover love story "Veer-Zaara".

Young filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar succeeded in having her voice for his highly acclaimed film "Page 3".

Satyajit Ray and Lata are the only two people to have received both the Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian honour - and the Dada Saheb Phalke award. She is the fifth woman to receive the Bharat Ratna, the others being - Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Aruna Asaf Ali and M.S. Subbalakshmi.

"There's no singer in this universe who can intonate words the way Lataji can. From the time she sang my first film lyric in 'Silsila' to this new ghazal album, it's always an honour to have her sing to my words. Even if you don't know the meaning of a word, you know through her expression what she means. That's what a lyricist craves for," said Javed Akhtar, who was invited to write one ghazal for "Saadgi" but he offered to do several.

To have known her so closely, to have seen her at home in her simple environment bustling with the sound of family chores and the smell of food cooking in the kitchen, just makes me feel so sorry for the average Page 3 celebrity whose kitchens are as sterile as their hearts.

Not so long ago when Yash Chopra insisted on her voice in one of his recent films, the leading lady whispered in a cheery chuckle how she should call it a day.

Obviously this leading lady like a lot of our present day 'stars' are clueless about what Lata means to Hindi cinema and to us Indians who invariably open our eyes to her voice.

Lata is no longer a singer. To us, the Lata fans, she's a source of spiritual upliftment. Her presence and aura and her calm acceptance of 60 years as the voice that ruled the Hindi film industry makes her so unique.

And then there's that unspoilt and untouched quality in her that makes her mythic aura endearingly rooted. I have seen how the man on the street reacts to her presence. I have seen fans gazing at her glassy-eyed from a distance not daring to come forward to express their awe and disbelief. I have seen the superstars strike her name off their guest list because her presence just takes away from every other activity at any venue.

As my friend Sanjay Leela Bhansali keeps saying, 'When she hits the highest note in 'Ajee roothkar ab kahan jayeejega' or 'Mere pee ko pawan kis gali le chali' or any of her vast repertoire of songs in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, she instantly connects the listener to god.'

I heard her for the first time at the age of six and then had the good fortune to actually meet her, sit with her and discuss routine matters with her.

If life sucks, just put on the voice of Lata Mangeshkar.

Listen to her happier songs like 'Bangle ke peeche'. It releases happy hormones in my body better than a bar of chocolate. If you are unwell, listen to her spiritual songs like 'Allah tero naam', you'll immediately feel better. As she grows older her aura as a woman who has made her presence felt in Hindi cinema for 50 years, just grows.

At the mention of Bollywood, we ask her why the singer par excellence has reduced taking up work in the last few years while the audience are still striving to hear the 77 year old Lata. "That's because I fell that the kind of work we have done earlier, work today in comparison isn't that good. Also, after working for almost 65 years I feel I deserve a break. I sing sometimes in Hindi films, for Yashji or Rahman. But now, I sing what I feel like. Music and Lata are not separate. I won't ever stop singing. When I die, my music will go with me,"she says.