Lata Mangeshkar
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Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian
playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her contribution to the Indian music industry in a career spanning eight decades gained her honorific titles such as the "Queen of Melody", "Nightingale of India", and "Voice of the Millennium". Lata recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
,
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, and
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
. Her foreign languages included English, Indonesian, Russian, Dutch, Nepali, and Swahili. She received several accolades and honors throughout her career. In 1989, the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...
was bestowed on her by the
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...
, India's highest civilian honour; she is only the second female singer, after
M. S. Subbulakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...
, to receive this honour. France conferred on her its highest civilian award, Officer of the
National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
, in 2007. She was the recipient of three
National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
, 15
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...
, four
Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...
s, two
Filmfare Special Award The Filmfare Special Award or Special Performance Award or Special Mention or Special Jury Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. It acknowledges a special and unique performance and encoura ...
s, the
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, initially named Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement after Raj Kapoor is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. List of honourees † - Indicates t ...
and many more. In 1974, she was one of the first Indian playback singers to perform at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
in
London, UK London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...
. Her last recorded song was "Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti ki" released on 30 March 2019 as a tribute to the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
and the Nation. At one point, she appeared in the ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
,'' which listed her as the most recorded artist in history between 1948 and 1987.


Early life

Mangeshkar was born on 28 September 1929in
Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
(in the present-day Indore district of
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
), then the capital of the
princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
of
Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...
which was part of the
Central India Agency The Central India Agency was created in 1854, by amalgamating the Western Malwa Agency with other smaller political offices which formerly reported to the Governor-General of India. The agency was overseen by a political agent who maintained ...
in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
. Her father,
Deenanath Mangeshkar Deenanath Mangeshkar (; 29 December 1900 – 24 April 1942) was a well-known Marathi theatre actor, a Natya Sangeet musician and a Hindustani classical vocalist. He is also the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Meena Kh ...
was a
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
and Konkani classical singer and theatre actor. Deenanath's father was Ganesh Bhatt Navathe Hardikar (Abhisheki), a
Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Classification Along w ...
who served as a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
at the famous Mangeshi Temple in Goa. Deenanath's mother Yesubai Rane was his father's
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...
belonging to the Devadasi community of Goa, a matrilineal community of temple artists now known as Gomantak Maratha Samaj. As a Devadasi, Yesubai was a reputed musician. Deenanath's father's surname was ''Hardikar''. Deenanath had taken the surname Mangeshkar, based on the name of his ancestral village, Mangeshi in Goa. Her mother, Shevanti (later renamed Shudhamati), was a
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
woman from
Thalner Thalner is an Shirpur Tahsil's Village, the first capital of the Faruqi kings, stands on the banks of the Tapi river, in Shirpur tehsil about 46.67 km. (28 miles) north-east of Dhule in Maharashtra state, India. It was fortified and pla ...
, Bombay Presidency (now in northwest
Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
). Shevanti was Deenanath's second wife; his first wife Narmada, who had died before his marriage to Shevanti, was Shevanti's older sister. Her maternal grandfather, Seth Haridas Ramdas Lad, was from
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
, a prosperous businessman and landlord of Thalner. She learned
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
folk songs such as
garbas Garbas is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Filipów, within Suwałki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately east of Filipów, north-west of Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סו ...
of
Pavagadh Pavagadh is an ancient Triassic Period location with Enriched History from periods of Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga. In present day, Pavagadh is a municipal operated region in Panchmahal district about away from Vadodara in Gujarat state in wes ...
from her maternal grandmother. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, भाव बंधन. She was the eldest child in the family.
Meena Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the st ...
, Asha, Usha and Hridaynath, in birth order, are her siblings; all are accomplished singers and musicians. She received her first music lesson from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''
Sangeet Natak ''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi language literally means Musical Drama. As the name suggests, this form of drama combines prose as well as poetry in form of songs to convey the story. In a manner, they are very much similar to Musicals. ''Sangeet ...
'' in
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
). On her first day of school, Mangeshkar left because she was not allowed to bring her sister Asha along with her.


Singing career


Early career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
.
Master Vinayak Vinayak Damodar Karnataki (19 January 1906 – 19 August 1947) commonly referred to as Master Vinayak was an Indian actor and film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Personal life Master Vinayak was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. He mar ...
(Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them. He helped her get started in a career as a singer and actress. She sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari", which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). The Bollywood industry was yet to find its feet, so Mangeshkar had to first concentrate on acting, which she didn't like, as the lights and people ordering her around made her feel uncomfortable. She moved to
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in
Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...
from Ustad Aman Ali Khan of Bhindibazaar Gharana. She sang "Paa Lagoon Kar Jori" for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. The dance in the film was performed by Rohini Bhate, who later became a famous classical dancer. Lata and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a
bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
, "Maata Tere Charnon Mein." She was introduced to music director
Vasant Desai Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), '' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1957), Vijay Bhatt's '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Samp ...
during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946). After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. He introduced her to producer
Sashadhar Mukherjee Sashadhar Mukherjee (29 September 1909 – 3 November 1990) was an Indian filmmaker in Hindi cinema. He started his career with Bombay Talkies in the 1930s, and later established Filmistan Studio with Rai Bahadur Chunilal (father of music direc ...
, who was then working on the movie ''
Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( ,  ,   ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...
'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed her voice as "too thin". An annoyed Haider responded that in coming years producers and directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave her her first major break with the song "Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora"
lyrics
by
Nazim Panipati Nazim Panipati (1920 – 18 June 1998) was a film song lyricist and a film script writer of Indian and Pakistani film Industry during the 1940s and 1950s. He was born in 1920 in Lahore. He was a brother of filmmaker ''Mohammad Walli'' (k ...
—in the movie '' Majboor'' (1948), which became her first big breakthrough film hit. In an interview on her 84th birthday in 2013, she declared "Ghulam Haider is truly my Godfather. He was the first music director who showed complete faith in my talent." Initially, she is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer
Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...
, but she later developed her own style of singing. She brought a new signature style of singing to Indian film music, moving away from mehfil-style performances to suit both 'modern' and 'traditional' female protagonists. A
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
range voice with less volume or amplitude, she had enough weight in her voice to give definite shape to the melody of Indian film songs. Although she had limited coloratura skills in her early career, she developed better tone and pitch as she progressed in her playback career. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies were, in those days, primarily composed by Urdu poets and contained a higher proportion of
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''
Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
once made a mildly disapproving remark about her accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, she took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi. In subsequent interviews she said that Noor Jehan heard her as a child and had told her to practice a lot. The two stayed in touch with each other for many years to come. One of her first major hits was "Aayega Aanewaala," a song in the movie '' Mahal'' (1949), composed by music director
Khemchand Prakash Khemchand Prakash (12 December 1907 – 10 August 1949) was a music composer in the Hindi film industry. He had few peers in 1940s, the decade for Indian film music which started with Saigal very active on the scene and ended with Lata Mangeshkar ...
and lip-synced on screen by actress
Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
. This was a defining moment for her, and a catalyst for the recognition of playback singers in India. Before this, playback singers were seen as the vocal equivalent of a stuntman and remained invisible and uncredited. This song was such a big hit, that Radio Goa revealed her identity and she became a star in her own right. This opened the door for other playback singers to achieve the recognition they deserved.


1950s

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as ''
Tarana ''Tarana'' is a type of composition in Hindustani classical vocal music in which certain words (e.g. "odani", "todani", "tadeem" and "yalali") based on Persian and Arabic phonemes are rendered at a medium (''madhya laya'') or fast (''drut laya'' ...
'' (1951) and ''Heer'' (1956)),
Shankar Jaikishan Shankar may refer to: People *Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist * S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar *Sanka ...
,
Naushad Ali Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...
,
S. D. Burman Sachin Dev Burman (1 October 1906 – 31 October 1975) was an Indian music director and singer. A member of the Tripura royal family, he started his career with Bengali films in 1937. He later began composing for Hindi movies and became one o ...
,
Sardul Singh Kwatra Sardul Singh Kwatra was an Indian film director and music composer. He composed music for Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life Kwatra was born in 1928 to a Sikh family in Lahore in British Punjab. He was very fond of music since his childho ...
, Amarnath, Husanlal, and Bhagatram (in films like ''
Bari Behen ''Bari Behen'' is a 1949 Hindi drama film directed, written and produced by D. D. Kashyap, starring Suraiya, Rehman, Ullhas and Pran.Meena Bazaar Meenā Bāzār or Mina Bazaar ( ur, , hi, मीना बाज़ार, bn, মীনা বাজার) is a special bazaar to sell items to raise money for charity and non-profit organizations. It also refers to a number of modern-day ...
'' (1950), ''
Aadhi Raat ''Aadhi Raat'' is Bollywood Hindi film of 1950, directed by S. K. Ojha and starring Ashok Kumar, Nargis, Jeevan, Cuckoo, Kuldip Kaur, Neelam and Tiwari. The music was composed by Husnlal Bhagatram, while Geeta Dutt, Lata Mangeshkar and Meena Kap ...
'' (1950), ''Chhoti Bhabi'' (1950), '' Afsana'' (1951), ''Aansoo'' (1953), and '' Adl-e-Jehangir'' (1955)), C. Ramchandra,
Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
,
Salil Chowdhury Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1925 – 5 September 1995) was an Indian music director, songwriter, lyricist, writer and poet who predominantly composed for Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam films. He composed music for films in 13 languages. This in ...
,
Datta Naik Datta Naik (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987), also credited as N. Datta, was an Indian film music director in Hindi films. Born in the then Portuguese colony of Goa, Naik, started his career as an assistant to the legendary music di ...
,
Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, ...
,
Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...
, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai,
Sudhir Phadke Sudhir Phadke (, 25 July 1919 – 29 July 2002) was an Indian singer-composer. He was regarded as an icon of the Marathi film industry and Marathi ''Sugam Sangeet'' (light music) for five decades. Apart from Marathi, Phadke sang and composed son ...
,
Hansraj Behl Hansraj Behl (19 November 1916 – 20 May 1984) was an Indian music composer, who composed music both for Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life and education Born in Ambala, British Punjab, Hansraj received his early education in music from ...
, Madan Mohan, and
Usha Khanna Usha Khanna (born 7 October 1941) is an Indian music director in Hindi cinema. She is the third female music director to enter the Hindi film industry, after Jaddan Bai and Saraswati Devi and is one of the most commercially successful music di ...
. She sang "Sri Lanka, Ma Priyadara Jaya Bhumi", a song in Sinhala, for the 1955 Sri Lankan film ''
Seda Sulang Seda Sulang ( si, සැඩසුළං), is a 1955 Sri Lankan romantic musical film directed and produced by Thambiraja Somasekaran for Ceylon Films Limited. The film starring Florida Jayalath and Prem Jayanth in lead roles whereas Dommie Jayaw ...
''. Lata Didi recorded her first Telugu song ''Nidhurapora Thammudaa'' in 1955 Telugu film ''Santhanam'' for music director Susarla Dakshinamurthi. She made her debut in Tamil playback singing with ''Vanaradham'' in 1956 (''Uran Khotala'' dubbed in Tamil) with the Tamil song ''Enthan Kannalan'' for ''
Nimmi Nawab Bano (18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), better known by her stage name Nimmi, was an Indian screen actress who achieved stardom in the 1950s and early 1960s in Hindi films. She was one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Hin ...
'' in the dubbed version composed by Naushad. She sang many
raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
-based songs for
Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...
in movies such as '' Deedar'' (1951), ''
Baiju Bawra Baiju Bawra (Lit. "Baiju the Insane", born as Baijnath Mishra) was a dhrupad musician from medieval India. Nearly all the information on Baiju Bawra comes from legends, and lacks historical authenticity. According to the most popular legends, he ...
'' (1952), ''
Amar Amar may refer to: People Given name * Amar (British singer) (born 1982), British Indian singer born Amar Dhanjal * Amar (Lebanese singer) (born 1986), born Amar Mahmoud Al Tahech * Amar Bose (1929–2013), Founder of Bose Corporation * Amar Gup ...
'' (1954), ''
Uran Khatola An uran khatola ( Hindustani: उड़न खटोला, اُڑن کهٹولا) is a flying vehicle in the traditional folktales of North India and Pakistan.
'' (1955) and ''
Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village wom ...
'' (1957). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for the composer Naushad. The duo,
Shankar–Jaikishan Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...
, chose Lata for '' Barsaat'' (1949), '' Aah'' (1953), ''
Shree 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...
'' (1955) and '' Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer S. D. Burman chose her as the leading female singer for his musical scores in '' Sazaa'' (1951), ''
House No. 44 ''House No. 44'' is a 1955 Hindi film directed by M. K. Burman and produced by Dev Anand for his banner Navketan Films. The movie stars Dev Anand and Kalpana Kartik in a lead role. The film is also noted for its popular songs with music by S. D. ...
'' (1955), and ''
Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidd ...
'' (1955). However a rift developed between her and Burman in 1957, and she did not sing his compositions again until 1962. She won a
Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award cere ...
for Salil Chowdhury's composition "Aaja Re Pardesi" from ''
Madhumati ''Madhumati'' is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language paranormal romance film directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Vyjayanthimala and Dilip Kumar in lead roles, with Pran and John ...
'' (1958). Her association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Albela (1951), Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo (1952), Anarkali (1953), ''Pehli Jhhalak'' (1954), ''Azad'' (1955), '' Aasha'' (1957), and Amardeep (1958). For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like ''Baagi'' (1953), ''
Railway Platform A railway platform is an area alongside a railway track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms. The world's longest station platform is at Hubbali ...
'' (1955), '' Pocketmaar'' (1956), ''
Mr. Lambu ''Mr. Lambu'' is a 1956 Indian Hindi-language Bollywood movie. The plot revolves around the once popular genre of Rakhi relations, a bond between brother and sister. It stars Suraiya, one of the most popular actresses and singers of the Indian s ...
'' (1956), ''
Dekh Kabira Roya Dekh Kabira Roya is a 1957 romantic comedy film, directed by Amiya Chakravarty (director), Amiya Chakravarty. The tag line in the title says 'The truth is stranger than fiction. Comedy is exaggeration of truth'. Plot summary This Bollywood clas ...
'' (1957), '' Adalat'' (1958), ''
Jailor A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...
'' (1958), ''Mohar'' (1959), and ''Chacha Zindabad'' (1959). Her song ''Aye Maalik Tere Bande Hum'' which was the original composition of Vasant Desai and used in the film ''
Do Aankhen Barah Haath ''Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' () is a 1957 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by V. Shantaram, who also starred. It is considered to be one of the classics of Hindi cinema and is based on humanistic psychology. It won a Silver Bear at the ...
'' on 1957, was adapted by a Pakistani school as the school anthem.


1960s

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''
Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went ...
'' (1960), composed by Naushad and lip-synced by Madhubala, still remains famous. The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh", from ''
Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' () is a 1960 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film, produced by S. A. Bagar. It was written and directed by Kishore Sahu. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Meena Kumari and Nadira (actress), Nadira as leads. The film te ...
'' (1960), was composed by
Shankar–Jaikishan Shankar–Jaikishan (also known as S-J), were an Indian composer duo of the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949 to 1971. They are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry. After Jaiki ...
and lip-synced by
Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
. In 1961, she recorded two popular
bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant,
Jaidev Jaidev (3 August 1918 – 6 January 1987; born Jaidev Verma) was a music composer in Hindi films, most known for his work in films: '' Hum Dono'' (1961), '' Reshma Aur Shera'' (1971), ''Prem Parbat'' (1973), ''Gharaonda'' (1977) and '' Gaman ...
. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from '' Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar. On 27 January 1963, against the backdrop of the
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
, she sang the patriotic song " Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, People of My Country") in the presence of
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
, then the Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by
Kavi Pradeep Kavi Pradeep (born Ramchandra Narayanji Dwivedi; 6 February 1915 – 11 December 1998), was an Indian poet and songwriter who is best known for his patriotic song "''Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo"'' written as a tribute to the soldiers who had died d ...
, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears. In 1963, she returned to collaborate with S. D. Burman. She had sung in
R. D. Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
's first film, ''Chhote Nawab'' (1961), and later in his films such as ''
Bhoot Bungla ''Bhoot Bungla'' () is a 1965 Indian Hindi-language horror comedy film directed by Mehmood, who stars in the film alongside Tanuja and Nazir Hussain. Music for this film was composed by R.D. Burman. Plot Fifty years ago, Kundanlal was murde ...
'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967), and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
) and "Piya Tose" from ''
Guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Ex ...
'' (1965), "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''
Jewel Thief ''Jewel Thief'' is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language spy thriller heist film directed by Vijay Anand. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Vyjayantimala and features four bond girl-like actresses portrayed by Tanuja, Helen, Faryal and Anju Mahen ...
'' (1967), and "Kitni Akeli Kitni Tanhaa" from '' Talash''. During the 1960s, she continued her association with Madan Mohan, which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from '' Anpadh'' (1962), " Lag Jaa Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''
Woh Kaun Thi? ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' () is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by Raj Khosla, starring Sadhana, Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra. Though the screenplay was written by Dhruva Chatterjee, parts were later rewritten, wherein Manoj K ...
'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''
Mera Saaya ''Mera Saaya'' () is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Raj Khosla. The music is by Madan Mohan and lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Sadhana. This is director Raj Khosla's third film with Sadha ...
'' (1966) and "Teri Aankho Ke Siva" from ''
Chirag ''Chirag'' (Hindi: चिराग; English: Light) is a 1969 Indian Bollywood film directed by Raj Khosla. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh in lead roles. Apart from other plus points, it has the famous song "Teri Aankhon Ke Siwa" sun ...
'' (1969), and she had a continuing association with the maestros Shankar Jaikishan, who got her to sing in various genres in the 1960s. The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of her association with
Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...
, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career. Starting in 1963,
Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...
's association with Lata Mangeshkar grew stronger over the years. She sang over 700 songs for the composer duo over a period of 35 years, many of which became huge hits. She sang for ''
Parasmani ''Parasmani'' ("Philosopher's stone" that converts iron into gold) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language film. The film is a musical fantasy drama shot partly in Black and White and partly in colour. It was directed by Babubhai Mistri, who is known a ...
'' (1963), '' Mr. X in Bombay'' (1964), ''
Aaye Din Bahar Ke ''Aaye Din Bahar Ke'' () is a 1966 Indian Hindi-language film produced by J. Om Prakash. The film stars Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, Sulochana Devi, Balraj Sahni, Nazima and Rajindernath It became a box office hit and stood 7th in box office colle ...
'' (1966), ''
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
'' (1967), '' Anita'' (1967), ''
Shagird Shagird may refer to: * Shagird (1967 film), an Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film * Shagird (2011 film) ''Shagird'' () is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia starring Nana Patekar as Hanumant Singh ...
'' (1968), ''
Mere Hamdam Mere Dost ''Mere Hamdam Mere Dost'' is a 1968 film starring Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Rehman, Mumtaz and Om Prakash. The music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The film is directed by Amar Kumar and produced by Kewal Kum ...
'' (1968), ''
Intaquam ''Intaqam'' () is a 1969 Bollywood thriller film directed by R. K. Nayyar. It starred Sanjay Khan and Sadhana in the lead, supported by Ashok Kumar, Rehman, Jeevan, Rajendra Nath, Helen and Anju Mahendru. The film also features the iconic a ...
'' (1969), ''
Do Raaste ''Do Raaste'' (translation: ''Two Paths'') is a 1969 Indian Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla. It stars Rajesh Khanna as the dutiful son and Mumtaz as his love interest. Balraj Sahni and Kamini Kaushal play the eldest son and his wife. Prem Ch ...
'' (1969) and ''
Jeene Ki Raah ''Jeene Ki Raah'' () is a 1969 Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by L. V. Prasad under the Prasad Productions Pvt. Ltd. banner. The film stars Jeetendra, Tanuja and Sanjeev Kumar and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. It is a ...
'', for which she got her third
Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
. She also sang several playback songs for
Marathi films Marathi cinema is an Indian film industry of Marathi-language motion pictures. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Based in old Mumbai, it is the oldest film industry of Indian cinema. The first Marathi film to be released in India was '' ...
, composed by Marathi music directors including
Hridaynath Mangeshkar Hridaynath Mangeshkar (Marathi pronunciation: ɾud̪əjnaːt̪ʰ məŋɡeːʃkəɾ is an Indian music director. He is the only son of musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and younger brother of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. He is popularly kno ...
, Vasant Prabhu,
Srinivas Khale Shrinivas Vinayak Khale (30 April 1926 – 2 September 2011), fondly addressed as "Khale Kaka", was an Indian composer/music director from Maharashtra, India. Career Shrinivas initially studied at the Music College (now the Faculty of P ...
,
Sudhir Phadke Sudhir Phadke (, 25 July 1919 – 29 July 2002) was an Indian singer-composer. He was regarded as an icon of the Marathi film industry and Marathi ''Sugam Sangeet'' (light music) for five decades. Apart from Marathi, Phadke sang and composed son ...
and herself, under the pseudonym ''Anandghan''. During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
songs composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar. She made her
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
debut in 1967 for the film ''
Kranthiveera Sangolli Rayanna ''Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna'' is a 1967 Indian Kannada film, directed by B. T. Athani and produced by Neminatha Gat. The film stars V. S. Patil, Kamini Kadam, Dada Salavi, and Rajashekar in lead roles. The film had a musical score by Lakshma ...
'' by recording two songs for the music director Lakshman Berlekar. The song "Bellane Belagayithu" was well received and appreciated. In the 1960s, she recorded duets with
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
,
Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...
, Mahendra Kapoor and
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
. For a brief period during the 1960s, she was not on good terms with Mohammed Rafi over the issue of royalty payments to singers. She wanted Rafi to back her in demanding a half-share from the five percent song royalty that the film's producer conceded to select composers. But Rafi took a diametrically opposite view, and believed that a playback singer's claim on the filmmaker ended with the payment of the agreed fee for the song, leading to tensions between the two. After an argument during the recording of the song ''"''Tasveer Teri Dil Mein''"'', from Maya (1961), the two refused to sing with each other. The music director Shankar Jaikishan later negotiated a reconciliation between the two.


1970s

In 1972,
Meena Kumari Meena Kumari (born Mahjabeen Bano; 1 August 1933 – 31 March 1972) was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as ''The Tragedy Queen'', she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari is widely considered one of ...
's last film, ''
Pakeezah ''Pakeezah'' (; ) is a 1972 Indian Hindustani language, Hindustani-language Musical film, musical romantic drama film that was written, directed, and produced by Kamal Amrohi. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, and Raaj Kumar. It tells ...
'', was released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne", sung by Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''
Prem Pujari ''Prem Pujari'' is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced, directed and written by Dev Anand for Navketan Films, his directorial debut. The movie stars Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Shatrughan Sinha, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri a ...
'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''
Sharmeelee ''Sharmeelee'' is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language romantic film produced by Subodh Mukherjee and directed by Samir Ganguly. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Raakhee, Narendra Nath, Nazir Hussain, Iftekhar, S N Banerjee, Anita Guha, Asit Sen. Raakh ...
'' (1971) and "Piya Bina" from '' Abhimaan'' (1973) and for Madan Mohan's last films, including '' Dastak'' (1970), ''
Heer Raanjha ''Heer Raanjha'' is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Chetan Anand and produced by his son Ketan Anand. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh, Pran, Prithviraj Kapoor, Ajit, Jayant, Sonia Sahni, Kamini ...
'' (1970), '' Dil Ki Rahen'' (1973), '' Hindustan Ki Kasam'' (1973), '' Hanste Zakhm'' (1973), '' Mausam'' (1975) and ''
Laila Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla ...
'' (1976). Many of her notable songs in the 1970s were composed by
Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...
and
Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
. Many of her songs composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal in the 1970s were written by the lyricist Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with
Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
in the films ''
Amar Prem ''Amar Prem'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta. It is a remake of the Bengali film '' Nishi Padma'' (1970), directed by Arabinda Mukherjee, who wrote screenplay for both the films based on the Bengali s ...
'' (1972), '' Caravan'' (1971), ''
Kati Patang ''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It was a box office success. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations ...
'' (1971), and ''
Aandhi ''Aandhi'' () is a 1975 Indian political drama film starring Sanjeev Kumar and Suchitra Sen, and directed by Gulzar. At the time it was alleged that the film was based on the life of the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her relationship ...
'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists
Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...
, Anand Bakshi, and
Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
. In 1973, she won the
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from soundtracks within the Indian film industr ...
for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film '' Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film '' Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by
Vayalar Ramavarma Vayalar Ramavarma (March 25, 1928 – October 27, 1975), also known as Vayalar, was an Indian poet and lyricist of Malayalam language. He was known for his poems which include ''Sargasangeetham'', ''Mulankaadu'', ''Padamudrakal'', ''Aayisha'' a ...
. In 1975, she again won the National Award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''
Kora Kagaz ''Kora Kagaz'' ( translation: Blank Paper) is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced by Sanath Kothari and directed by Anil Ganguly. The film stars Vijay Anand, Jaya Bhaduri, A.K. Hangal, Achala Sachdev and Deven Verma. The film's ...
'', composed by
Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...
. From the 1970s onward, she also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. She transformed the way Indian music concerts were perceived in the West. Her first concert overseas was at the
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, in 1974. (Despite some sources claiming that she was the first Indian to do so, according to the Hall's own records, the first Indian to perform there was the late
Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...
, on 21 October 1969.) Until that time, film music concerts were song-and-dance affairs held in community halls and colleges, rarely taken seriously. Mangeshkar demanded to sing in mainstream halls only, which was an honour that until then was bestowed only upon classical musicians. She also released an album of
Mirabai Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...
's
bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
s, "Chala Vaahi Des", composed by her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Ranchi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 1970s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (
Koli Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...
-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of "abhangs" of Sant Tukaram composed by
Shrinivas Khale Shrinivas Vinayak Khale (30 April 1926 – 2 September 2011), fondly addressed as "Khale Kaka", was an Indian composer/music director from Maharashtra, India. Career Shrinivas initially studied at the Music College (now the Faculty of P ...
. In the 1978
Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...
-directed ''
Satyam Shivam Sundaram ''Satyam Shivam Sundaram'' () is a 1978 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Jainendra Jain, starring Shashi Kapoor and Zeenat Aman. The film's original soundtrack was composed by Laxmik ...
'', she sang the main theme song "Satyam Shivam Sundaram," among the chart-toppers of the year. The film's story is inspired by her, according to Kapoor's daughter Ritu Nanda in her book ''Raj Kapoor''. The book quotes Kapoor as saying, "I visualised the story of a man falling for a woman with an ordinary countenance but a golden voice and wanted to cast Lata Mangeshkar in the role." In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included
Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
, son of
Sachin Dev Burman Sachin may refer to: * Sachin (given name), an Indian given name, including a list of people with the name ** Sachin (actor) (born 1957), Indian actor and filmmaker ** Sachin Tendulkar (born 1973), Indian cricketer Films * ''Sachein ''Sachein' ...
,
Rajesh Roshan Rajesh Roshan Lal Nagrath (born 24 May 1955) is an Indian Hindi cinema music director and composer. He is the son of music director Roshan and singer Ira Roshan. Personal life Rajesh Roshan has a Punjabi Hindu father and Bengali Brahmin m ...
, son of Roshan,
Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...
, son of Sardar Malik, and
Anand–Milind Anand and Milind Srivastava are a duo of Indian film music composers. Born to composer Chitragupt, they have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films. The brothers debuted in 1984 with ''Ab Ayega Mazaa'' and had their major breakthrough with ' ...
, sons of
Chitragupta Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden picture') is a Hindu deity assigned with the task of keeping complete records of the actions of human beings and punishing or rewarding them according to their ...
. She also sang many songs in the Assamese language and developed a very good relationship with the Assamese musician
Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...
. She sang many songs under his direction; the song "Dil Hoom Hoom Kare" from ''
Rudaali ''Rudaali'' (pronounced "roo-dah-lee"; ) is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kalpana Lajmi, written by Lajmi and Gulzar and based on a 1979 short story of the same name by Bengali author Mahasweta Devi. Set in a small villag ...
'' (1993) made the highest record sales that year.


1980s

From the 1980s onward, Mangeshkar worked with music directors such as Shiv-Hari in '' Silsila'' (1981), ''
Faasle ''Faasle'' is a 1985 Bollywood film produced and directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Rohan Kapoor, Farah, Raj Kiran, Sushma Seth and Aloknath. The film is the debut film for Rohan Kapoor, s ...
'' (1985), '' Vijay'' (1988), and '' Chandni'' (1989) and Ram Laxman in'' Ustadi Ustad Se'' (1981), ''
Bezubaan ''Bezubaan'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Bapu (director), Bapu and produced by Pranlal Mehta. The film stars Shashi Kapoor, Reena Roy, Raj Kiran (actor), Raj Kiran and Naseeruddin Shah. It is a remake of the Tamil film '' ...
'' (1982), ''
Woh Jo Hasina ''Woh Jo Hasina'' is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Deepak Bahry, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Ranjeeta Kaur, Pran, Kader Khan, Prema Narayan, Rajendranath, Satyen Kappoo, Madan Puri and Chander. Cast *Mithun Chakraborty *Ranj ...
'' (1983), ''Ye Kesa Farz'' (1985), and ''
Maine Pyar Kiya ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' () is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film written and directed by Sooraj Barjatya. Produced by Rajshri Productions, the film stars Salman Khan and Bhagyashree. It marked the debuts of Barjatya and Bhagya ...
'' (1989). She sang in other movies, such as '' Karz'' (1980), ''
Ek Duuje Ke Liye ''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander. A remake of Balachander's Telugu film ''Maro Charitra'', it stars Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri as a pair of lovers from different families who ...
'' (1981), '' Silsila'' (1981), ''
Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language musical romantic drama directed by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra Jain and Kamna Chandra. The film tells the story of a man's (Rishi Kapoor) love towards a woman, who is a higher sta ...
'' (1982), ''
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
'' (1983), ''
Pyar Jhukta Nahin ''Pyar Jhukta Nahin'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Vijay Sadanah, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Padmini Kolhapure, Danny Denzongpa, Asrani, and Bindu (actress), Bindu. Laxmikant–Pyarelal were nominated for Filmfare Award ...
'' (1985), ''
Ram Teri Ganga Maili ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor in lead roles. Music director Ravindra Jain received a Filmfare Award for this film. The film ge ...
'' (1985), ''
Nagina Nagina is a town and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History Nagina is the word for ''"Jewel"'' (See Negin), it was named by Syed's who received this place as jagir by the Mughals. During the British ...
'' (1986), and ''Ram Lakhan'' (1989). Her song "Zu Zu Zu Yashoda" from '' Sanjog'' (1985) was a chartbuster. In the late 1980s, she made a comeback to
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
films with two back-to-back renditions of composer
Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
's songs "Aaraaro Aaraaro" and "Valai Osai", for the films '' Anand'' (1987) and '' Sathya'' (1988), respectively. Lata Didi Recorded her second Telugu Song "Thella Cheeraku" for Director
K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...
1988 film
Aakhari Poratam ''Aakhari Poratam'' () is a 1988 Indian Telugu-language action film produced by C. Ashwini Dutt under the Vyjayanthi Movies banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Nagarjuna, Sridevi with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Based on the ...
. In the 1980s, the composer duo
Laxmikant–Pyarelal Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Patil Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma (born 1940). He is known by the nickname “Pyromaniac” due to his flaming style of music. Laxmikan ...
had Lata sing their biggest hits—"Sheesha Ho Ya Dil Ho" in '' Asha'' (1980), "Tu Kitne Baras Ka" in '' Karz'' (1980), "Kitna Aasan Hai" in '' Dostana'' (1980), "Hum Ko Bhi Gham" in '' Aas Paas'' (1980), "Mere Naseeb Mein" in '' Naseeb'' (1980), "Zindagi Ki Na Toote" in ''
Kranti ''Kranti'' () is a 1981 Indian historical drama film, produced and directed by Manoj Kumar, with the story and screenplay written by Salim–Javed. It stars an ensemble cast, consisting of Dilip Kumar in the title role along with Manoj Kumar, ...
'' (1981), "Solah Baras Ki" in ''
Ek Duuje Ke Liye ''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander. A remake of Balachander's Telugu film ''Maro Charitra'', it stars Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri as a pair of lovers from different families who ...
'' (1981), "Ye Galiyan Ye Chaubara" in ''
Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language musical romantic drama directed by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra Jain and Kamna Chandra. The film tells the story of a man's (Rishi Kapoor) love towards a woman, who is a higher sta ...
'' (1982), "Likhnewale Ne Likh Dale" in ''
Arpan ''Arpan'' () is a 1983 Hindi-language drama (film and television), drama film, produced and directed by J. Om Prakash under the Filmyug Pvt. Ltd. banner. It stars Jeetendra, Raj Babbar, Reena Roy and Parveen Babi and Laxmikant–Pyarelal comp ...
'' (1983), "Din Maheene Saal" in ''
Avtaar ''Avtaar'' is a 1983 drama film starring Rajesh Khanna and Shabana Azmi. It was directed by Mohan Kumar, and the music was by Laxmikant Pyarelal, and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. ''Avtaar'' was a commercial hit, and was critically acclaimed. T ...
'' (1983), "Pyar Karnewale" and "Nindiya Se Jagi" in ''
Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...
'' (1983), "Zu Zu Zu Yashoda" in '' Sanjog'' (1985), "Zindagi Har Qadam" in ''
Meri Jung ''Meri Jung'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film produced by N. N. Sippy and directed by Subhash Ghai. The film stars Nutan, Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Seshadri, Amrish Puri, Javed Jaffrey (in his debut film), A. K. Hangal, Iftekh ...
'' (1985), "Baith Mere Paas" in ''
Yaadon Ki Kasam ''Yaadon Ki Kasam'' is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Vinod Dewan, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Zeenat Aman, Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Madan Puri and Viju Khote Summary Ravi Kapoor (Mithun Chakraborty) and Chandni (Zeenat ...
'' (1985), "Ungli Mein Anghoti" in ''
Ram Avtar Ram Avtar was a character actor turned comedian in Hindi cinema. He is best known for his roles in Nasir Hussain's films, especially '' Teesri Manzil'' (1967) and ''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'' (1973). These roles ranged from tickled train passenger in t ...
'' (1988) and "O Ramji Tere Lakhan Ne" in ''
Ram Lakhan ''Ram Lakhan'' is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language masala film directed by Subhash Ghai and written by Anwar Khan with screenplay by Ram Kelkar. ''Ram Lakhan'' stars an ensemble cast of Raakhee, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Madhuri ...
'' (1989). Some
Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
compositions for Lata in these years include "Aaja Sar-e-Bazaar" in '' Alibaba Aur 40 Chor'' (1980), "Bindiya Tarase" in ''
Phir Wohi Raat ''Phir Wahi Raat'' () is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language horror film starring Rajesh Khanna as a psychologist doctor opposite Kim, then girlfriend of Danny. The film music and scores composed by R. D. Burman. This is the first and the only film d ...
'' (1981), "Thodi Si Zameen" in '' Sitara'' (1981), "Kya Yahi Pyar Hai" in ''
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...
'' (1981), "Dekho Maine Dekha" in '' Love Story'' (1981), "Tune O Rangeele" in ''
Kudrat ''Kudrat'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi-language drama film, written and directed by Chetan Anand. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini, supported by Raaj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh and Vinod Khanna. This is the second movie of the Rajesh Kh ...
'' (1981), "Jaane Kaise Kab" in ''
Shakti In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and r ...
'' (1982), "Jab Hum Jawan Honge" in ''
Betaab ''Betaab'' (''Restless'') is a 1983 Indian romance film written by Javed Akhtar, directed by Rahul Rawail and produced by Bikram Sing Dahal. The film stars Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh in their debut roles along with Shammi Kapoor. The music ...
'' (1983), which became instantly popular, "Humein Aur Jeene" in ''
Agar Tum Na Hote ''Agar Tum Na Hote'' () is a 1983 Indian Bollywood drama film directed by Lekh Tandon and starring Rajesh Khanna, Rekha and Raj Babbar in leading roles. Lekh Tandon received the Best Director Award for this film in Filmfans Association of Indi ...
'' (1983), "Tujhse Naraaz Nahin" in '' Masoom'' (1983), "Kahin Na Ja" and "Jeevan Ke Din" in ''
Bade Dil Wala ''Bade Dilwala'' (English translation - ''Big Hearted'') is a 1983 Hindi-language action crime drama film directed by Bhappi Sonie and starring Rishi Kapoor, Tina Munim, Pran, Aruna Irani, Madan Puri, Amjad Khan, Jagdeep and Sarika. The movie ...
'' (1983), "Jaane Kya Baat" in '' Sunny'' (1984), "Bhuri Bhuri Aankhon" in '' Arjun'' (1985), "Sagar Kinare" in '' Sagar'' (1985), "Din Pyar Ke Aayenge" in '' Savere Wali Gaadi'' (1986). "Kya Bhala Hai Kya", "Khamosh Sa Afsana" and "Seeli Hawa Chhoo" in '' Libaas'' (1988). Rajesh Roshan's collaboration with Dev Anand in ''
Lootmaar ''Lootmaar'' () is a 1980 Hindi mystery film produced and directed by Dev Anand. The film stars Dev Anand, Tina Munim, Mehmood, Nirupa Roy, Prem Chopra, Ranjeet, Shakti Kapoor, Kader Khan, Amjad Khan, Simple Kapadia, Shreeram Lagoo and Rakhe ...
'' and '' Man Pasand'' resulted in songs such as "Paas Ho Tum Magar Qareeb" and "Sumansudha Rajni Chandha" respectively. Lata had duets with Rafi such as "Mujhe Chhoo Rahi Hain" in '' Swayamwar'' (1980), "Kabhi Kabhi Bezubaan" in ''
Johny I Love You Johny I Love You is a 1982 Indian Hindi romance drama film directed by Rakesh Kumar. The movie stars Sanjay Dutt, Rati Agnihotri, Amrish Puri and Suresh Oberoi in lead roles. Plot Suraj Singh leaves his past life and lives in a remote hill t ...
'' (1982), "Tujh Sang Preet" in ''
Kaamchor ''Kaamchor'' is a 1982 Bollywood drama movie. Produced by Rakesh Roshan, the film was directed by K. Viswanath, a remake of his Telugu film ''Subhodayam'' (1980). The film stars Rakesh Roshan, Jaya Prada, Tanuja, Sujit Kumar, Suresh Oberoi, Shr ...
'' (1982), "Angrezi Mein Khete Hai" in ''
Khud-Daar ''Khud-Daar'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Ravi Tandon. The music is by Rajesh Roshan and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Parveen Babi, Vinod Mehra, Prem Chopra, M ...
'' (1982), "Ankhiyo Hi Ankhiyo Mein" in ''
Nishaan Harr Nishaan (हरि/ਹਰਿ) or Nishaan Sahib is an official copyrighted symbol of the Ravidassia religion. The Harr nishan is found atop the Ravidassias Bhawans or on the flag, every year the Harr Nishaan is changed on the auspicious day ...
'' (1983), "Dushman Na Kare" in ''
Aakhir Kyon? ''Aakhir Kyon?'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language film produced and directed by J. Om Prakash. It stars Rajesh Khanna, Smita Patil, Rakesh Roshan and Tina Munim. The movie was declared a hit on its release. Plot Nisha (Smita Patil) is an or ...
'' (1985) and "Wada Na Tod" in ''
Dil Tujhko Diya ''Dil Tujhko Diya'' (दिल तुझको दिया, "The heart given to you") is a 1987 Indian Bollywood film directed and produced by Rakesh Kumar. It stars Kumar Gaurav and Rati Agnihotri in pivotal roles. Cast * Kumar Gaurav as Vi ...
'' (1987), later featured in the soundtrack of the 2004 film '' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''.
Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...
composed some songs for Lata, such as "Dooriyan Sab Mita Do" in ''
Saboot Saboot () is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language horror/thriller film directed by Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay. It stars Navin Nischol, Kajal Kiran, Vidya Sinha, Vinod Mehra, Trilok Kapoor, Om Shivpuri and Prem Chopra. Plot Seth Dharamdas (Trilok K ...
'' (1980), "Baithe Baithe Aaj Aayi" in '' Patita'' (1980), "Jaane Kyun Mujhe" in ''
Agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus, a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of law ** Meeting o ...
'' (1980), "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" in '' Jyoti'' (1981), "Dard Ki Ragini" in '' Pyaas'' (1982), and "Naino Mein Sapna" (duet with Kishore Kumar) in '' Himmatwala'' (1983). Mohammed Zahur Khayyam continued to work with her during the 80s and composed songs such as "Hazaar Rahein Mud" (duet with Kishore Kumar) in ''
Thodisi Bewafai ''Thodisi Bewafaii'' () is a 1980 Hindi movie written and directed by Esmayeel Shroff. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shabana Azmi and Padmini Kohlapure. The music is by Khayyam.The film was a commercial hit and in some cities celebrated as a g ...
'' (1980), "Simti Huyi" from '' Chambal Ki Kasam'' (1980), "Na Jane Kya Hua" in '' Dard'' (1981), "Chandni Raat Mein" in ''
Dil-e-Nadaan ''Dil-e-Nadaan'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Prada and Smita Patil. It is a remake of Sridhar's 1978 Tamil film ''Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirath ...
'' (1982), "Dikhayi Diye" in '' Bazaar'' (1982), "Chand Ke Paas" in ''
Dil-e-Nadaan ''Dil-e-Nadaan'' () is a 1982 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Prada and Smita Patil. It is a remake of Sridhar's 1978 Tamil film ''Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirath ...
'' (1982), "Bhar Lein Tumhe" and "Aaja Nindiya Aaja" from '' Lorie'' (1984) and "Kiran Kiran Mein Shokhiyan" in ''
Ek Naya Rishta Ek Naya Rishta () is a 1988 Indian drama film. The film was produced and directed by Vinod Pande, starring Rekha, Raj Kiran, Mazhar Khan and Om Shivpuri among others. The film is a modern take on relationships, business, independence, interdepe ...
'' (1988). During the 80s, Lata sang hits such as "Sun Sahiba Sun" in ''
Ram Teri Ganga Maili ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili'' () is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars Mandakini and Rajiv Kapoor in lead roles. Music director Ravindra Jain received a Filmfare Award for this film. The film ge ...
'' (1985) for Ravindra Jain, "Chand Apna Safar" in '' Shama'' (1981), "Shayad Meri Shaadi" and "Zindagi Pyar Ka" in ''
Souten ''Souten'' () is a 1983 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Saawan Kumar Tak, starring Rajesh Khanna, Tina Munim, Padmini Kolhapure, Prem Chopra and Pran. It was written by Kamleshwar, with music by Usha Khanna. The song "Shayad M ...
'' (1983), "Hum Bhool Gaye Re" in '' Souten Ki Beti'' (1989) for Usha Khanna. Hridaynath Mangeshkar had "Kale Kale Gehre Saye" in ''
Chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
'' (1981), "Ye Ankhen Dekh Kar", and "Kuchh Log Mohabbat Ko" in '' Dhanwan'' (1981), "Mujhe Tum Yaad Karna" in ''
Mashaal ''Mashaal'' () is a 1984 Bollywood action film. Produced and directed by Yash Chopra, it starred Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman, Anil Kapoor and Rati Agnihotri. The role played by Anil Kapoor was first offered to Amitabh Bachchan and then to Kama ...
'' (1984), Assamese song "Jonakore Rati" (1986) with music and lyrics by
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...
, "Jaane Do Mujhe" in '' Shahenshah'' (1989) for Amar-Utpal, "Sajan Mera Us Paar" in ''
Ganga Jamuna Saraswati Ganga Jamuna Saraswati is 1988 Hindi film directed by Manmohan Desai, financed by Harakh Chand Nahata, produced by S. Ramanathan and starring Amitabh Bachchan as Ganga, Meenakshi Sheshadri as Jamuna, and Jaya Prada as Saraswati. Supporting ...
'' (1988) and "Mere Pyar Ki Umar" in '' Waaris'' (1989) for Uttam Jagdish. In June 1985, the United Way of Greater Toronto invited her to perform at
Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
. At the request of
Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...
, Lata sang her song "
You Needed Me "You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number one hit single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. ...
". 12,000 attended the concert, which raised $150,000 for the charity.


1990s

During the 1990s, Mangeshkar recorded with music directors including
Anand–Milind Anand and Milind Srivastava are a duo of Indian film music composers. Born to composer Chitragupt, they have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films. The brothers debuted in 1984 with ''Ab Ayega Mazaa'' and had their major breakthrough with ' ...
, Nadeem-Shravan,
Jatin–Lalit Jatin–Lalit are an Indian film music director duo consisting of Jatin Pandit and his brother Lalit Pandit. They have written the widely popular scores for films such as '' Yaara Dildara'', '' Khiladi'', ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'', ''Kabhi Ha ...
, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen,
Uttam Singh Uttam Singh (born 25 May 1948) is an Indian music director and a well-known violinist. He has also worked as a music arranger, programmer and recordist for many Bollywood films. He worked as a music assistant for Ilaiyaraaja in numerous Tamil fi ...
,
Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...
,
Aadesh Shrivastava Aadesh Shrivastava (4 September 1964 – 5 September 2015) was a music composer and singer of Indian music. Initially, he had worked as a drummer to music composers including R. D. Burman, Rajesh Roshan before working independently as a music d ...
and
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
. She recorded some non-film songs, including
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
s with
Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian c ...
. She has also sung with
Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...
,
Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, inc ...
,
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
,
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer * Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent * Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch * Udit Patel (born ...
, Hariharan,
Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...
,
Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz (born as Sayeed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna (Name Given By Legendary Music Composer Akshaya Mohanty, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood ...
,
Abhijeet Bhattacharya Abhijeet Bhattacharya (born 30 October 1958), better known as Abhijeet, is a Bollywood playback singer. Abhijeet has sung 6034 songs in over 1000 films. Personal life Abhijeet was born to a Kanpur-based Bengali businessman turned editor Dhir ...
,
Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod is an Indian music director and playback singer. He has performed a number of songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Bhojpuri and Kannada films. Personal life Rathod is the sec ...
,
Vinod Rathod Vinod Rathod (born 12 September 1962) is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings in Bollywood films. Rathod is the son of late classical musician, Pandit Chaturbhuj Rathod. Music career His career started when Usha Khanna after listeni ...
,
Gurdas Maan Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over 3 ...
and
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Govern ...
. She also collaborated to Bahasa song with
Rhoma Irama Raden Haji Oma Irama, better known as Rhoma Irama (born December 11, 1946), is an Indonesian dangdut singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sundanese descent. Starting from the late 1960s, he began his musical career as Rhoma Irama as a part of ...
, the genre is called
Dangdut Dangdut () is a genre of Indonesian folk music that is partly derived and fused from Hindustani, Arabic and to lesser extent, Malay and local folk music. Dangdut is a most popular musical genre in Indonesia and a very popular in other Malay w ...
. In 1990 she launched her own production house for
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
movies which produced the
Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
-directed movie '' Lekin...''. She won her third
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from soundtracks within the Indian film industr ...
for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridaynath. In 1991,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n dangdut singer,
Rhoma Irama Raden Haji Oma Irama, better known as Rhoma Irama (born December 11, 1946), is an Indonesian dangdut singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sundanese descent. Starting from the late 1960s, he began his musical career as Rhoma Irama as a part of ...
invited Mangeshkar to collaborate on several of his songs, album title "''Album Khusus Soneta Volume 1 - Ratu Dangdut Dunia Lata Mangeshkar''" the songs are entitled ''Mawar Merah'', ''Orang Asing'', ''Datang Untuk Pergi,'' ''Di Tepi Pantai'', ''Musim Cinta'' and ''Wahai Pesona''. Irama also called Mangeshkar as Ratu Dangdut Dunia (World Dangdut Queen). She has sung for almost all the
Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...
films and films from his production house
Yash Raj Films Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
at that time, including '' Chandni'' (1989), ''
Lamhe ''Lamhe'' (lit. ''Moments'') is a 1991 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Honey Irani and Rahi Masoom Raza. The film stars Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in lead roles, along with Waheeda Rehman and Anupam Kher ...
'' (1991), ''
Darr ''Darr: A Violent Love Story'' ( ''Fear'') is a 1993 Indian romantic psychological thriller film directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan with Anupam ...
'' (1993), ''
Yeh Dillagi ''Yeh Dillagi'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy-drama film directed by Naresh Malhotra and produced by Yash Chopra for his production company Yash Raj Films. Based on the 1954 American film '' Sabrina'', its story revolves on ...
'' (1994), '' Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''
Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...
'' (1997) and later in ''
Mohabbatein ''Mohabbatein'' () is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film that was written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Chopra of Yash Raj Films. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aishwarya Rai, and ne ...
'' (2000), ''
Mujhse Dosti Karoge! ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romance comedy film directed by Kunal Kohli and produced by Yash Chopra for his banner, Yash Raj Films. The film stars Rani Mukherji, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor ...
'' (2002) and ''
Veer-Zaara ''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (K ...
'' (2004). During 1990 she recorded with
Raamlaxman Vijay Patil (16 September 1942 – 22 May 2021) better known as Raamlaxman, was an Indian composer, pianist, musician and accordionist. Raamlaxman is most famous for his work with Rajshri Productions of Hindi films. He composed music for their ...
in ''
Patthar Ke Phool ''Patthar Ke Phool'' () is an Indian 1991 Hindi-language action film directed by Anant Balani, produced by G. P. Sippy, written by Salim Khan, and edited by Deepak Sehgal. It stars Salman Khan as a police officer opposite debutant Raveena Tan ...
'' (1991), '' 100 Days'' (1991), ''Mehboob Mere Mehboob'' (1992), ''Saatwan Aasman'' (1992), '' I Love You'' (1992), ''
Dil Ki Baazi ''Dil Ki Baazi'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi drama film directed by Anil Ganguly. It stars Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Jhulka, Avinash Wadhavan, Farheen in lead roles. Plot Ajay (Avinash Wadhawan) is a rich, spoilt brat who falls in love with Asha (Fa ...
'' (1993), ''Antim Nyay'' (1993), ''The Melody of Love'' (1993), '' The Law ''(1994), '' Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994), '' Megha'' (1996), ''
Lav Kush : ''For the TV Show by Ramanand Sagar watch Luv Kush'' ''Lav Kush'' is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language Hindu mythological film, produced by Dilip Kanikaria under the Devyank Arts banner and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Jeetendra, Jay ...
'' (1997), ''Manchala'' (1999), and ''
Dulhan Banoo Main Teri ''Dulhan Banoo Mein Teri'' is a 1999 Indian film. It was produced and directed by B. Subhash. The film stars Faraaz Khan and Deepti Bhatnagar in lead roles. Synopsis Deepak Raj ( Faraaz Khan), son of a London-based NRI Kuldeep Rai (Dalip T ...
'' (1999). From 1998 to 2014,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
recorded a few songs with her, including "Jiya Jale" in '' Dil Se..'' (1998), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" in '' Pukar'' (2000), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" in ''
Zubeidaa ''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Rah ...
'' (2000), "So Gaye Hain" in ''
Zubeidaa ''Zubeidaa'' is a 2001 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Khalid Mohammed. It stars Karisma Kapoor, Rekha, Manoj Bajpayee, Surekha Sikri, Rajit Kapoor, Lillete Dubey, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, and Shakti Kapoor. A.R. Rah ...
'', "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" in ''
One 2 Ka 4 ''One 2 Ka 4'' is a 2001 Indian Hindi language action drama film directed by Shashilal K. Nair. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Jackie Shroff. The score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman. This film is now own ...
'' (2001), "O Paalanhaare" in ''
Lagaan ''Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India'' () is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film was produced by Aamir Khan, who stars alongside debutant Gracy Singh and British actors Rachel Sh ...
'' (2001), "Lukka Chuppi" in ''
Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkar ...
'' (2006) and ''Laadli'' in ''
Raunaq ''Raunaq'' is a 1944 Bollywood film directed by Dwarka Khosla and starring Chandraprabha, Noor Mohammad Charlie (billed as Charlie), Chandra Mohan, Motilal and Subarnalata Subarnalata. It was released in 1944 Events Below, the events ...
'' (2014). She made an on-screen appearance in the film '' Pukar'' singing "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa." In 1994, she released ''Shraddanjali – My Tribute to the Immortals''. The special feature of the album is that Lata offers her tributes to immortal singers of the time by rendering a few of their songs in her own voice. There are songs of
K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...
,
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
,
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
,
Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
, Punkaj Mallick,
Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...
,
Zohrabai Zohrabai Agrewali (1868–1913), also known mononymous person, mononymously as Zohrabai, was one of the most noted and influential singers of Hindustani Classical Music from the early 1900s. Along with Gauhar Jan, she marks the dying phase of ...
, Amirbai, Parul Ghosh and Kanan Devi. She sang both
Rahul Dev Burman Rahul Dev Burman (27 June 1939 – 4 January 1994) was an Indian music director who is considered one of the most influential composers of India. From the 1960s to the 1990s, Burman composed musical scores for 331 films. Burman did major work w ...
's first and last songs. In 1994, she sang "Kuch Na Kaho" for Rahul Dev Burman in '' 1942: A Love Story''. In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a
perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...
brand named after her, was launched. She was also awarded
Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement The Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement is given to someone who is at the verge of retiring from films and it is to commemorate his/her career at the limelight. List of Honourees The respected people are listed below:- See also * Zee ...
the same year In 1999, she was nominated as a member of
Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
. However, she did not attend Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson
Najma Heptullah Najma Akbar Ali Heptulla (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian politician. She is the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia since 2017. She was a six time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and D ...
,
Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
and
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...
. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.


2000s

In 2001, Mangeshkar was awarded the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...
, India's highest civilian honour. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Kashmir earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer
Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
, for the film '' Lajja''; she had earlier recorded
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
and
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Her song "Wada Na Tod" was included in the film '' Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and in its soundtrack. Her other notable songs of this decade were from ''
Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham ''Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...'' (Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sadness), also known by the initialism ''K3G'', is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language family-drama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by Yash Johar. The film stars ...
'' (2001) and ''
Veer-Zaara ''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (K ...
'' (2004). After 14 years, she recorded a song for composer Nadeem-Shravan; "Kaise Piya Se" for Bewafaa (2005). She recorded with Shamir Tandon "Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Pe" for ''
Page 3 Page 3, or Page Three, was a British newspaper convention of publishing a large image of a topless female glamour model (known as a Page 3 girl) on the third page of mainstream red-top tabloids. '' The Sun'' introduced the feature, publishi ...
'' (2005) and "Daata Sun Le" for ''
Jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
'' (2009). On 21 June 2007, she released the album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight
ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...
-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.


2010s

On 12 April 2011, Mangeshkar released the album ''Sarhadein: Music Beyond Boundaries'', which contains the duet "Tera Milna Bahut Acha Lage" by her and Mehdi Hassan (written by Pakistan's Farhad Shahzad). The album features
Usha Mangeshkar Usha Mangeshkar (born 15 December 1935) is an Indian singer who has recorded many Marathi, Manipuri, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Assamese songs. Personal life Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer. She is the fou ...
,
Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...
, Hariharan,
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Govern ...
,
Rekha Bhardwaj Rekha Bhardwaj (born 24 January 1964) is an Indian singer and live performer. She has received two Filmfare and one National Awards. In addition to Hindi, she has also sung in Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi and Malayalam languages. Personal li ...
and another Pakistani singer, Ghulam Ali, with compositions by Mayuresh Pai and others. Shamir Tandon recorded a song with her ("Tere Hasne Sai Mujheko") for the film '' Satrangee Parachute'' (2011). After a hiatus she came back to playback singing and recorded at her own studio the song "Jeena kya hai, jaana maine" for '' Dunno Y2... Life Is a Moment'' (2015), the sequel to Kapil Sharma's queer love story '' Dunno Y... Na Jaane Kyun'' (2010) for which also she had lent her voice to one song. On 28 November 2012, she launched her own music label, LM Music, with an album of
bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
s, ''Swami Samarth Maha Mantra'', composed by Mayuresh Pai. She sang with her younger sister Usha on the album. In 2014, she recorded a Bengali album, ''Shurodhwani'', including poetry by Salil Chowdhury, also composed by Pai. Lata Mangeshkar also recorded "Laadli" song with A.R. Rahman for his music album
Raunaq (Album) ''Raunaq: Conversation of Music and Poetry'' is a 2014 studio album composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics penned by Kapil Sibal. The album is described as a conversation of music and poetry that takes one on a journey of varied emotions. Selecte ...
(2014). On 30 March 2019, Mangeshkar released the song "Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki", composed by Mayuresh Pai, as a tribute to the Indian army and nation.


Bengali career

Mangeshkar has sung 185 songs in Bengali, making her debut in 1956 with the hit song "Aakash Prodeep Jwole", composed by Satinath Mukhopadhyay. The same year, she recorded "Rongila Banshite", composed by
Bhupen Hazarika Bhupen Hazarika () (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, filmmaker and politician from Assam, widely known as ''Sudha Kontho'' (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His ...
, which was also a hit. In the late 1950s, she recorded a string of hits such as "Jaare Ude Jare Pakhi", "Na Jeona", and "Ogo Aar Kichu To Noy", all composed by Salil Chowdhury, and which were respectively adapted into Hindi as "Ja Re Ud Ja Re Panchi" and "Tasveer Tere Dil Mein" in ''
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
'', and "O Sajna" in '' Parakh''. In 1960, she recorded "Akash Pradip Jole". Later in the 1960s, she sang hits like "Ekbar Biday De Ma Ghure Ashi," "
Saat Bhai Champa Saat Bhai Champa or Sat Bhai Chompa is a popular folk tale in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. The story was first officially published by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder in the book Thakurmar Jhuli in 1907. The intr ...
," "Ke Pratham Kache Esechi," "Nijhum Sandhyay," "Chanchal Mon Anmona," "Asharh Srabon," "Bolchi Tomar Kaney," and "Aaj Mon Cheyeche" by composers like
Sudhin Dasgupta Sudhin Dasgupta ( bn, সুধীন দাশগুপ্ত; 9 October 1929 – 10 January 1982) was a prolific Bengali music director, lyricist, and singer. He worked in various other Indian languages, such as Hindi, Assamese and Oriya ...
, Hemant Kumar and Salil Chowdhury.


Collaboration with other singers

From the 1940s to the 1970s, Mangeshkar sang duets with
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
,
Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...
,
Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum (Hindi: शमशाद बेगम, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and r ...
,
Usha Mangeshkar Usha Mangeshkar (born 15 December 1935) is an Indian singer who has recorded many Marathi, Manipuri, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Assamese songs. Personal life Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer. She is the fou ...
,
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
,
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
,
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
,
Talat Mahmood Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the popular male Indian film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in act ...
,
Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (May 1, 1919 − October 24, 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an internationally acclaimed and celebrated Indian playback singer, music director, and a musician. As a classical vocalist, he belonged to the Bhen ...
,
Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...
,
Hemant Kumar Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...
,
G. M. Durrani Ghulam Mustafa Durrani (1919 – 8 September 1988; sometimes known as G. M. Durrani) was an Indian radio drama artist, playback singer, actor and music director. He was a radio drama artist and full-time singer of Lahore station, Delhi statio ...
, and Mahendra Kapoor. In 1964, she sang "Chanda Se Hoga" with P. B. Sreenivas from '' Main Bhi Ladki Hoon''. Mukesh died in 1976. The 1980s saw the deaths of
Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...
and
Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly (); 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He ...
. After their demise, she continued to sing with Shailendra Singh,
Shabbir Kumar Shabbir Kumar (born 26 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer, notable for his work in Hindi cinema. Known for his sweet, resonating vocal texture,Shabbir Kumar is an ardent fan of Mhd Rafi .He had Sung for Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun Cha ...
,
Nitin Mukesh Nitin Mukesh Mathur is an Indian playback singer known for his work as a playback singer in Hindi films as well as Bhajans. He has toured internationally, including to the United States in 1993, and a world tour in 2006 with his show ''Kal K ...
(Mukesh's son),
Manhar Udhas Manhar Udhas is a Hindi and Gujarati language singer and Bollywood playback singer. Early life Manhar Udhas is the eldest son of Keshubhai Udhas and Jituben Udhas, and the elder brother of singers Pankaj Udhas and Nirmal Udhas. He completed his ...
,
Amit Kumar Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian playback singer, actor, music composer. Kumar launched his own music production company, named Kumar Brothers Music. He predominantly worked in Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s, inc ...
(Kishore Kumar's son),
Mohammed Aziz Mohammed Aziz (born as Sayeed Mohammed Aziz-Un-Nabi; 2 July 1954 – 27 November 2018), also known as Munna (Name Given By Legendary Music Composer Akshaya Mohanty, was an Indian multilingual playback singer who primarily sang for the Bollywood ...
,
Suresh Wadkar Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...
,
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
, and
Vinod Rathod Vinod Rathod (born 12 September 1962) is an Indian playback singer who primarily sings in Bollywood films. Rathod is the son of late classical musician, Pandit Chaturbhuj Rathod. Music career His career started when Usha Khanna after listeni ...
. In the 1990s, she began singing duets with
Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod is an Indian music director and playback singer. He has performed a number of songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Bhojpuri and Kannada films. Personal life Rathod is the sec ...
, Hariharan,
Pankaj Udhas Pankaj Udhas (born 17 May 1951) is an Indian ghazal and playback singer. He started his career with a release of a ghazal album titled ''Aahat'' in 1980 and subsequently recorded many hits like ''Mukarar'' in 1981, ''Tarrannum'' in 1982, ''Mehf ...
, Abhijeet,
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer * Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent * Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch * Udit Patel (born ...
, and
Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...
. Her most notable work of the 90s was '' Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,'' with songs such as "Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye", "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyaar Sajna", "Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam", and "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna". In the 2000s, her duets were performed mainly with
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer * Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent * Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch * Udit Patel (born ...
and
Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Govern ...
. 2005-06 were the years of her last well-known songs: "Kaise Piya Se" from '' Bewafa'' (2005); "Shayad Yehi To Pyaar Hai" from '' Lucky: No Time for Love'' (2005) with
Adnan Sami Adnan Sami Khan (born 15 August 1971) is an Indian singer, musician, music composer and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music, including for Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil movies. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India's fourth hi ...
; and "Lukka Chhupi" in ''
Rang De Basanti ''Rang De Basanti'' () is a 2006 Indian drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D'Silva. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddharth, R. Madhavan, Atul Kulkar ...
'' (2006 film) with
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
. She sang "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" from '' Pukar'' (2000). Other notable songs of this decade were from ''
Veer-Zaara ''Veer-Zaara'' () is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Yash Chopra, who co-produced it with his son Aditya Chopra. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta as the eponymous star-crossed lovers: Veer Pratap Singh (K ...
'' (2004), sung with Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam,
Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian c ...
,
Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod is an Indian music director and playback singer. He has performed a number of songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Bhojpuri and Kannada films. Personal life Rathod is the sec ...
, and
Gurdas Mann Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over ...
. One of her latest songs was "Jeena Hai Kya" from ''Dunno Y2'' (2015).


Non-singing career


Music direction

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for the Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in the 1960s, she composed music for following
Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...
movies under the pseudonym of Anand Ghan. * 1950 – ''Ram Ram Pavhana'' * 1963 – ''Maratha Tituka Melvava'' * 1963 – ''Mohityanchi Manjula'' * 1965 – ''Sadhi Manase'' * 1969 – ''Tambadi Mati'' She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.


Production

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films: * 1953 – ''Vaadal'' (Marathi) * 1953 – ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra * 1955 – ''Kanchan Ganga'' (Hindi) * 1990 – '' Lekin...'' (Hindi)


Illness and death

On 8 January 2022, Mangeshkar tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
with mild symptoms and was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital's intensive care unit in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. She remained in the ICU with signs of "marginal improvement" in her health. The doctors treating her had taken her off the
ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...
on 28 January after her health "improved marginally"; however, she was back on the ventilator on 5 February, after her health deteriorated, and was undergoing "aggressive therapy". Mangeshkar died from
multiple organ dysfunction syndrome Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ (anatomy), organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring medicine, medical intervention to achieve homeostasis. Although Irwin and Rippe cautioned in 2005 that the use of "multiple ...
on 6 February 2022, at the age of 92. She had undergone 28 days of constant treatment for
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and COVID-19. The
Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
announced a two-day period of national mourning and that the
national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...
would fly at
half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salu ...
from 6 to 7 February throughout India out of respect for her. President
Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...
, Vice President
Venkaiah Naidu Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the 13th vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first Indian vice president born in independent India. He has also served as the minister of Hous ...
, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
, several Union Ministers and Chief Ministers, many members of the
Indian Music Industry The Indian Music Industry (IMI) is a trust that represents the recording industry distributors in India. It was founded on February 28, 1936, as Indian Phonographic Industry (IPI). It is the 2nd oldest music industry organization in the world th ...
,
Indian film industry The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
, celebrities, fans, and
netizens The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.
expressed their condolences. Indian Cricket Team players wore black arm band to mourn the loss of Mangeshkar in India vs. West Indies first ODI. Prime Minister Of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Pakistan,
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
, Prime Minister of Bangladesh,
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...
, Prime Minister of Nepal,
Sher Bahadur Deuba Sher Bahadur Deuba ( ne, शेरबहादुर देउवा, ; born 13 June 1946) is a Nepali politician and former prime minister of Nepal. He has also been serving as the president of the Nepali Congress since 2016. Deuba has served ...
, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka,
Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...
, former President of Afghanistan,
Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
, and Pakistani Minister
Fawad Chaudhry Fawad Ahmed Hussain Chaudhry (born 7 April 1970) is a Pakistani politician and a senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who was Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, in office since 14 April 2021 to 10 April 2022. Previously ...
expressed their grief on her death. Mangeshkar's last rites (performed by her brother,
Hridaynath Mangeshkar Hridaynath Mangeshkar (Marathi pronunciation: ɾud̪əjnaːt̪ʰ məŋɡeːʃkəɾ is an Indian music director. He is the only son of musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and younger brother of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. He is popularly kno ...
) and cremation were held, with full state honours, at Mumbai's
Shivaji Park Shivaji Park, officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park, is a public park situated in Dadar, Mumbai. It is the largest park in the island city. Similar but bigger in size to Azad Maidan and August Kranti Maidan (formerly Gowalia Tank Ground ...
on the same day. Prime Minister
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...
, Governor
Bhagat Singh Koshyari Bhagat Singh Koshyari (born 17 June 1942) is an Indian politician serving as the 22nd and current Governor of Maharashtra from 5 September 2019. An RSS veteran, Koshyari served as National Vice-President of BJP and party's 1st State president ...
, Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to ...
paid their last respects and placed floral tributes. Mangeshkar's sisters
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
and
Usha Mangeshkar Usha Mangeshkar (born 15 December 1935) is an Indian singer who has recorded many Marathi, Manipuri, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Nepali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati and Assamese songs. Personal life Usha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer. She is the fou ...
,
Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (Marathi pronunciation: ेवेंद्र फडणवीस born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician serving as the 9th and current Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 30 June 2022. He served as ...
,
Raj Thackeray Raj Shrikant Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: aːd͡ʒ ʈʰaːkɾeː born Swaraj Shrikant Thackeray; 14 June 1968) is an Indian politician and the founding chairperson of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), a regional political party. Raj wa ...
, Sharad Pawar, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Shraddha Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar, Anuradha Paudwal, and several dignitaries and family members were also in attendance. In February 2022, an digital billboard, electronic billboard in Times Square, Indians in the New York City metropolitan area#Culture, Manhattan, sponsored by the Binder Indian Cultural Center, featured a tribute to Mangeshkar. Another tribute to Mangeshkar by popular singers (Arnab Chakrabarty, Niharika Nath and Mandira Karmakar) was published in an Arizona US newspaper. Lata Mangeshkar died the next day after Vasant Panchami (a festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswati who represents music, knowledge, and the rest of the arts). "This is special as many considered her to be an avatar of Saraswati and the personification of music," according to actress Rani Mukerji. On 10 February 2022, Mangeshkar's ashes were immersed in the Godavari River at Ramkund, Nashik by her sister Usha and nephew Adinath Mangeshkar.


Awards and recognition

Mangeshkar won several awards and honours, including the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...
(2001), India's highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Zee Cine Awards, Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievements (1999),
Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...
(1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Legion of Honour (2007), ANR National Award (2009), three
National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
and 15
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...
. She also won four
Filmfare Best Female Playback Award The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song. Although the award ce ...
s. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded the
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, initially named Raj Kapoor Award for Lifetime Achievement after Raj Kapoor is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. List of honourees † - Indicates t ...
in 1993 and Filmfare Special Awards in 1994 and 2004. In 1984, the State Government of
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
instituted the Lata Mangeshkar Award in her honour. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a similar award in 1992. In 2009, she was awarded the title of Officer of the French Legion of Honour, France's highest order. In 2012, she was ranked number 10 in Outlook (Indian magazine), Outlook India's poll of the Greatest Indian since independence. Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan said "''kambakht, kabhi besuri na hoti''" ("[she] is never off-key"). Actor
Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from ...
once commented, "''Lata Mangeshkar ki awaaz kudrat ki takhleek ka ek karishma hain''", meaning "Lata Mangeshkar's voice is a miracle from God". Lata Mangeshkar was included in the 'In Memoriam' segment at the 2022 British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTA). She also received honorary doctorates from the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1989, Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Shivaji University in Kolhapur.


Controversy

In 1974, ''The Guinness Book of Records'' listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "more than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammad Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated her name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that she had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987. The entry was discontinued by Guinness editions in 1991 without explanation, while several sources continued to claim that she recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948 and 1974) was disputed and claimed to have been exaggerated by several others, stating that the number of songs sung by her in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
films to 1991 was found to be 5025. Mangeshkar stated that she did not keep a record of the number of songs she recorded, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information. In 2011, the entry was revived by ''Guinness'' crediting the record to her sister
Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian  playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...
as the most recorded artist in music history, "for recording up to 11,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs and in over 20 Indian languages since 1947". Since 2016, current record in this category belongs to P. Susheela, for recording at least 17,695 songs in 6 languages, not counting some lost early recordings.


References


Further reading

* * * * * A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. * * A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mangeshkar, Lata Lata Mangeshkar, 1929 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Indian composers 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women musicians 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century women composers 21st-century Indian composers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women musicians 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century women composers Bengali-language singers Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners Bhojpuri cinema Bollywood playback singers Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in India English-language singers from India Filmfare Awards winners Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award winners Goan people Gujarati people Gujarati-language singers Hindi-language singers Indian performers of Islamic music Indian women classical singers Indian women playback singers Kannada playback singers Malayalam playback singers Mangeshkar family, Lata Marathi people Marathi playback singers Marathi-language singers Music of Bengal Musicians from Indore Nepali-language singers from India Punjabi-language singers Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Screen Awards winners Singers from Madhya Pradesh Tamil playback singers Tamil-language singers Telugu playback singers Women musicians from Madhya Pradesh Zee Cine Awards winners