New York Times called Lataji a so called singer !! - Page 2

Originally posted by: ChotaBheem

In the first para they wrote she sang vocals for Bollywood heroines for decades

Then later they say so called singer. 

They didn't insult her and they are not writing for an Indian audience so please don't read it as if they are. Playback singer is NOT a term used in America and that is the long and short of it. They describe her career earlier in the article and quote someone referring to her as an icon. They weren't calling her a "so called singer" they called her a "so called play back singer" because in America she would not be so called. In the next sentence they define the unfamiliar term for their American audience. There is nothing insulting there.