Living legend Lata Mangeshkar, who completed a 75-year-career in music, discloses some of the lesser-known facets of her life including fighting for music royalty to working as a music director for Marathi movies under a man’s name.
Even though she is not singing as frequently as she used to, there’s hardly a day in the life of an average Indian when he doesn’t get to hear the melodious voice of Lata Mangeshkar. It either plays on television and radio, at music stores or any place that you would regularly cross. Such is the impression of her golden voice which has ruled our hearts for over seven decades. In her prolific career, Lata has seen many challenges and also contributed to the music industry, knowingly or unknowingly. In this special interview, the Nightingale of India looks back at some of her milestones. Excerpts from the interview:
In October, you completed 75 years of your career in music. Doesn’t it sound incredible?
It is heart-warming but also a feeling that numbs me sometimes. To take a moment to realise that I’ve been singing for 75 years now, I feel blessed immensely. Somebody up there has been constantly watching over me while I worked relentlessly. I had never thought about how far I’d go when my journey began. Being the eldest daughter I had responsibilities of my family after my father’s demise. So the only thing I knew was to utilise my skills in the best way possible. I made sure I gave my best to every composition. I’d never allow my music directors to have any complaints with me.
How did working with some great music composers help you evolve as a vocalist?
Throughout the journey, whoever taught me any little about music has been a guru for me. I used to observe their working styles, listen to the advices they gave, pay keen attention like a student. Every director demanded certain specificity in a certain song, and I’d very well take note of that. Anil Biswas taught me how to take intermittent breaths without rupturing the taal of the song. Then, Master Ghulam Haider made me realise the significance of the situation of the heroine that I would playback for in the track apart from giving me a major break in the Hindi film industry. Nushad Ali sahab paid attention to diction and helped in improving Urdu pronunciations. Composers like Madan Mohan, Jaidev, Salil Chowdhury, Shankar Jaikishan, Ghulam Mohammad, S D Burman, R D Burman have been of great influence too. Otherwise, I got my classical training under the guidance of Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendibazar gharana and Amanat Khan Devaswale.
The playback singers were not given due credibility for their respective songs until you made it happen in the late 40s. What’s the story behind this?
My song Aayega Aanewala was the game changer in this case. The song was accredited to Kamini- the character played by Madhubala in the film Mahal (1949). That is how it used to work then; music records were registered in the names of respective characters played on-screen. But when this track was played by the All India Radio (AIR), the phone lines got jammed due to the number of callers enquiring the name of the vocalist. Eventually, my name was revealed by AIR. After this incident, I requested actor and director Raj Kapoor that the vocalist be given the credit for his/her song. A new trend got into action with his next film Barsaat.
You’ve fought many battles over royalty. Did you continue seeking it even after your fallout with Mohammed Rafi and Raj Kapoor on the issue?
We all singers had an association. It first began in a meeting when most of us decided to take royalty from The Gramophone Company (HMV, Saregama). However, the record company passed the buck to the producers. As a result, most of the producers retained songs in their films but stopped giving them to The Gramophone Company. Ultimately, producers bore the brunt and suffered losses. Asha (Bhosle) and I used take royalty from everyone. But I demanded it for others too. In between, Rafi sahab and I also got into a spat over this issue. The situation got ugly which dismantled our association. But I continued taking royalty.
Today singers are replaced when they demand royalty. For instance, Sonu Nigam missed out on a chunk of work...
In those days there was unity among playback singers. So people would listen to us. But it is not the case today. If Sonu or Sunidhi (Chauhan) refuse to sing, there are many others out there to take their position. They won’t mind compromising work ethics to get songs.
Why did Lata Mangeshkar have to become Anand Ghan?
It all started when Bhaiji Baba called me and said he was making a Marathi movie but the music director had backed out at the last minute. I jestingly told him that I would to do the music for him. Though he was taken aback, he asked me to use a pseudonym because he didn’t want me to receive criticism, if at all it came. Fortunately, I created music for four Marathi films and all of them impressed the audience.
Why didn’t you try scoring music for Hindi films?
I was busy recording songs. I was least interested in getting those hassles of approvals from the producers or making changes according to their whims and fancies. Hrishikesh Mukherjee even asked me to do music for Anand. But I declined the offer. Nonetheless, I could not have composed music as brilliantly as Salil Chowdhury.
You sang in almost every film by Yash Raj Films until 2000. Does it bother you not to have sung in Yash Chopra’s last movie, Jab Tak Hai Jaan?
I have had family-like relations with Yashji. He used to call me didi. Even today when I call his wife Pamelaji, she greets me very well. I have sung in almost all his films. Maybe, there was no situation in Jab Tak Hai Jaan where my voice could have suited. Anyway, I wouldn’t be able to sing the kind of music they are producing today. Now everything has changed... Main shayad unke gaane gaane ke kaabil nahin hun.