Evergreen Lata Mangeshkar, News, articles etc. about the nightingale Options

[Sharmila-Sweet]

Lata’s fav’s
Prithwish Ganguly
Monday, November 17, 2008 23:59 IST

Amol Kamble / DNA






Lata Mangeshkar has compiled a five-CD-set of her favourite tunes

Lata Mangeshkar—the nightingale of India—is arguably one of the most loved and acclaimed singer. People might adore her songs but do they know who her favourite singers are? Lata has now handpicked some of her favourite tracks sung by some legendary crooners of the industry which are being compiled in a record titled Pasand Meri, Geet Sathiyon Ke.

Confirming the news Lata Mangeshkar says, “I have always liked to hear some of my colleagues like Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi and also, amongst the new generation singers, I like to listen to Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy.�

The album which is being released by Saregama is a collection of five CD’s. The collection will also have her father Master Dinanath Mangeshkar’s Nain So Nain Milaye. Lata has also chosen some other stalwarts like K.L. Saigal, Noor Jehan, Ghulam Ali, Mukesh, S.D. Burman, Jagjit Singh, Mohammed Rafi, Geeta Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Talat Mahmood.

Lata has also picked singers like Manna Dey, her sisters Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sonu Niigaam and Shankar Mahadevan as her favourites.

[Sharmila-Sweet]

Lata we love you...

Celebrities reminisce about their first encounters and the time spent working with Lata Mangeshkar, on the occasion of her 80th birthday today.

Waheeda Rahman
I didn't know Lataji well in the initial phase of my career. I had heard she was a snob, so I was wary. But one incident changed my opinion. Soon after the 1971 war, many actors and singers travelled to the border area of Bangladesh. I was put up with Nargis and Lataji was staying in the adjacent room with Mala [Sinha]. Our bathrooms didn't have water and we knew that Lataji's did. Both of us hadn't taken a bath for two days, but we were scared to ask her if we could bathe in her room.
Finally, I mustered courage to go and ask. She was extremely polite and let me in. Midway through my bath, the water stopped and I called out to Lataji to help. She quickly got the jawans to bring two buckets of water and carried them herself to the bathroom. That's when I realised that one shouldn't go by the public perception of a celebrity.
Obviously she can't be too warm and friendly with every person she meets. After we came back from there, she invited all of us, including Sunil [Dutt], for dinner at her place. Since then, we are friends, though I am not in constant touch with her. During the recording of Lamhe, I was told Lataji would be there, so I made it a point to reach the studios to meet her. I met her recently a few months back and it seemed like there has been no time gap. God bless her!
(as told to Shubha Shetty-Saha)


Gulzar
For more than half a century, a lot has been written about Lata Mangeshkar and one has hardly anything to add. Even the highest award of the land, Bharat Ratna, has been conferred on her. We have been waking up and going to sleep listening to her voice since the pre-Independence era. Since the time singers like Noorjehan left, hers is the voice that has ruled our hearts. Need I say more?
(As told to Ranjib Mazumder)


Harsh Goenka
Lataji has been like a member of our family and we respect her immensely. To me, she is Didi. I am always moved by the affection she has for our family. I recall vividly the first time I met her many years ago. It was at a souvenir shop in Geneva. I deliberately lingered on in the shop until she spoke to a salesperson, just to hear her voice. Little did I know then that it would be the beginning of a long family relationship.
Our entertainment business, HMV Saregama, has had ties with Lataji since 1946. Her life has been about exploring innumerable possibilities with music as a medium and about inspiring the common man. It is an honour for us to continue to partner with Lataji during her distinguished career as the Nightingale of India. Recently, I invited her to spend an evening with us at a small gathering. She had severe pain in her knee. Nevertheless, she came. That's Lataji; always doing things for others. Not only is she is a leading light in the film industry, but also an apostle of simplicity.
(as told to Riddhi Doshi)


Yash Chopra
We have worked together for 50 years and I am still awestruck by her talent. She is not a singer, she is a legend. She first sang for my debut film, Dhool Ka Phool. The lori she sang, Tu mere pyaar ka phool hai… still touches me.
I don't think any singer in the world could last so long. She still has the same passion in her singing that she did 69 years ago when she started. When she came to sing for my film Veer-Zara, she broke down while singing Tere liye hum hain. She remembered Madanji (Madan Mohan) who had composed the song 35 years ago and couldn't stop crying.
At this stage of her career, nothing can describe the passion and professionalism she has displayed all these years. All adjectives fall short.
Every song, about 50 of them, she has sung for me has been sung with her heart and soul. She objected to singing certain songs which she thought were not decent and I totally support her. A singer should be given that freedom. I have always allowed her to say no, not that she did many times. Why force her to do something she is uncomfortable with?
Apart from the lori in Dhool Ka Phool, my favourite is Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko from Sadhana. I hope she continues singing for many more years to come.
(as told to Shubha Shetty-Saha)


Pyarelal
Whatever we are is because of her. She is beyond praise. We wait for her birthday throughout the year, but she doesn't meet anyone on her birthday. I look up to her. She is Saraswati ka vardan for us. She is going to be 80 now, but we hope she continues to live longer.
Though she has achieved so much in life, she has never thrown her weight around. Her nature is such that she continues to help people, advise them, and talk to them with love. I send her flowers on her birthday and take her advice whenever I want to.
(as told to Chhaya Toshniwal)


DNA