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There is only one Beethoven, one Tansen and one Lata Mangeshkar. We are happy to still have her with us. Mangeshkar who celebrated her 92nd birthdayn.d birthday on September 28, remains nimble, alert, cheerful and extremely aware of what is happening in the world. In her latest interview, she spoke with Firstpost about what it means to be Lata Mangeshkar in the age of instant gratification.
Edited excerpts from an exclusive interview below:
Didi, I hope you are healthy?
Considering my age, I think I’m doing pretty well. Of course there are diseases. The body is fragile, but thankfully the mind is still intact. Most people my age are gone or in wheelchairs.
Is it because a world without you is possible?
That’s kind of you to say. But no one is irreplaceable. Many luminaries, far more gifted than I – scientists, religious and political leaders, doctors and engineers – have come and gone. The world goes on living.
But your legacy will never die. Your songs will still be heard a hundred years from now.
I’m not too sure about that. Nowadays, the attention span of young people is very limited. They don’t live in the past at all. This is the era of instant gratification. Everyone wants to live for the moment.
I doubt my legacy will mean as much to future generations as it does to people like you.
All your close friends and contemporaries in the music world are gone…
Do I miss them? Yes of course. My colleagues like Mohd Rafi saabKishoreda (Kishore Kumar), Mukesh Bro, and Mannada (Manna Dey) were a constant part of my life. I would run into them at records any day. The relationships weren’t just about work. Composers and poets like Madan Bro (Madan Mohan), Narendra Sharma, whom I called Dad, Chitragupta saab, and Majrooh Sultanpuri saab he came home regularly. And I would visit them. We were what is called family friends. Nowadays, people meet through video calls.
Who were your favorite composers?
This is a dangerous question. If I forget a name, I’m in trouble (laughing). But I really enjoyed singing for Shankar-Jaikishan, Salil Choudhary, SD Burman, RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Chitragupta and my brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar. I mention them because I have done more work with them. The other composers I worked with were just as important. I am grateful to every composer and lyricist who gave me their songs to sing. I say this from the bottom of my heart. If Raja Mehdi Ali Khan had not written “Make Yes crazy,’ and Madan Mohan hadn’t composed the tune, what would I have sung?
Speaking of ‘Make Yes Crazy,’ how do you explain its enduring popularity among all the sparkling gems in your repertoire?
I have no idea! Why do some songs become more popular than others? In the film Woh Kaun Thi, I had sung another beautifully composed one ghazal, “Jo humne dastaan apni sunayee aap kyo roye.” But ‘Make Yes Crazy‘ has proved more popular over the years. Why do people like one song more than another? (it’s hard to say why some songs compete over others).
Your popular songs are widely known. But are there any songs you love that haven’t gotten the recognition they deserve?
I don’t know about recognition. But my favorites aren’t necessarily the songs that became the most popular. I love my songs composed by my brother Hridaynath in Maya Memsaab. There is a Laxmikant-Pyarelal composition, “Yeh Raat Bhi Ja Rahi Hai.‘ I can’t remember the movie (Saw Saal Baad). I really like this song. Then there is a song that Sajjad Hussain saab composed, ‘Ae Dilruba Nazrein Mila‘ from Rustom Sohrab. that i love I also really like the songs that Pandit Ravi Shankar composed for me in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s film Anuradha. So many songs are abandoned for so many reasons.
Can you remember unreleased songs?
There was a beautiful composition by Khayyam titled “Yeh Haseen Raat.’ It was a duet with me and Yesudas. This never made it beyond the record. I think the director, Kamal Amrohi, should have shelved the film (Majnun). There is one album of compositions by Ghulam Mohammed for Pakiza that were included in the film, and another album of songs that were not included in the film. The unused songs of Pakiza they were also very beautiful. But they didn’t become popular because they weren’t in the movie. All my colleagues Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle, Mukesh and Manna Dey have loads of unreleased songs lying around somewhere.
Do you regret that so many of your songs were not used?
There was never any time for regret. We were going from one record to another. I never listened to my songs after they were recorded. So I had no way of knowing what was used and what wasn’t. In those days, if a song didn’t make it into the film, it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. I remember a beautiful Laxmikant-Pyarelal composition in the film Milan, which was cut from the film (“Aaj Dil Pe Koi Zor Chalta Nahin”). This is among my most favorite songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. I am happy that some of my unused songs composed by the great Madan Mohan were used by Yash Chopra. It was Madan bHeySanjeev Kohli’s son who is like a son to me who proposed to Yashgee that they use some of Madan bHeyunused compositions in Veer-Zara. That’s how these lovely tunes like “Terre Lieu and ‘Tum paas aa rahe ho’ were revived. Otherwise they would be forgotten.
At 92, do you miss your youth?
Main aapko sach bataaoon? (Tell you the truth?) I don’t feel my age at all. I still feel young. Problems never weigh me down. Everyone has their share of problems in life.
Even when I was young and struggling, I was happy bouncing from studio to studio bumping into other wrestlers like Kishoreda and Mukesh bHey. Those were fun times, even when I had to starve all day. There was no money in my purse. But there was only hope in my heart.
And the belief that no matter how difficult the future may seem, there is always hope for a better tomorrow.
Wasn’t there one time on such a hot and sultry day that you passed out during a recording?
It has been wrongly assumed over the years that I passed out while recording a song with Salilda (Chowdhary). Aisa kuch nahin. Of course, his songs were very complex. So were those composed by my brother Hridayat Mangeshkar. But thanks to my father’s blessing, I was always ready for any challenge in the recording studio. No. That incident where I passed out didn’t happen with Salilda. This is what happened to Naushad saab. We recorded a song on a long hot summer afternoon. You know what Mumbai is like in summer. There was no air conditioning in recording studios in those days. And even the ceiling fan was turned off during the final recording. Bas, mainly unconscious ho gayi (So I fainted).
Do you remember any particular incident while recording that has stuck with you?
I had a really fun time. I remember recording a duet with Uma Devi, who later became the comedienne Tun Tun. Uma Devi was like khati-peeti then as a singer, as later as an actress. So there we were, both of us singing into the same microphone. Then the duets were recorded on one microphone. Me, frail as a reed girl, she was quite formidable in her physical presence. They gave me a stool to stand on as I had trouble reaching the microphone. I sang my lines and then when Uma Devi moved forward to sing into the microphone and nudged me on the shoulder, I fell straight to the ground. (He laughs out loud)
Who did you most enjoy recording with?
Kishoreda. Recording with him was like a whole session of fun and games. He made me laugh so hard I could barely sing. I had to stop him. “Kishorda, before Ghana fir fat.’ It was especially problematic when we sang sad duets. Instead of tears of sorrow, my eyes would be convulsions–bhadow(crying) with laughter.
It is said that the entire recording assembly cried when you sang the Madan Mohan songHair in Hir Ranja and SD Burman’sTum Mujhse Dur Chale Jana Na’ in Ishq Par Zor Nahin?
It’s true. Everyone was crying except me. I have never been a crybaby, even when I sing the darkest songs. I have always preferred laughter to tears. God has always been merciful. They never gave me cause for tears. I think I cried the most when I lost my father and mother.
Is there a prominent composer who has never worked with you?
OP Nayyar! My sister Asha’s voice was more suited to his style of composition.
Do you have unfulfilled dreams?
I want to see this world without covid in my lifetime.
Any final thoughts?
I can’t thank the listeners enough for putting up with me for 70 years. I didn’t even realize how time passed. How was the time?. If I had the chance to experience it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Even if he doesn’t fall off his chair while singing with Uma Devi.
Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.
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