‘I DON’T LIKE SINGING FOR FILMS NOW’
A legend speaks: Lata Mangeshkar at 88
It was way back in 1942 that she sang for the first time — a Marathi song, Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai, in the Marathi film, Pahili Mangalaagaur. Ever since, the ‘Nightingale of India’, Lata Mangeshkar, who turns 88 today, has been the voice of innumerable stars and has become a true-blue legend.
“It feels very good. There were a lot of obstacles and troubles. I remember doing the recordings day and night. The initial days were very difficult, but now, of course, everything is okay. Even now, I have a desire to sing more. If I get to sing something good, I will definitely do that,” she says.
The singer says that since her childhood, she has “never been excited about birthdays.” She adds, “When we were kids, on our birthdays, someone would get me a frock and my mother used to do aarti. Then, later on, due to circumstances, celebrating birthdays was out of the question.”
Any special birthday gift or special memories? “My mother’s and father’s blessings have always been the most special gifts that I received. The fact that my father taught me music will always be priceless,” says the singer, who hasn’t done playback for a Bollywood film in four years.
“I haven’t sung in films but I’ve sung non-film songs. Most of [those] songs have been devotional songs, including bhajans etc. I like them a lot. Honestly, I don’t really like singing for films nowadays,” says Mangeshkar, adding that she is “very happy” with the way her life has been. “I’m happy that in a way, I could pay back a part of the debt I had on me [by taking care of the family],” she says.
Mangeshkar has only one special wish: “Not just on my birthday but otherwise, too, my wish is that I want to sing something again.”
My mother’s and father’s blessings have always been the most special gifts. The fact that my father taught me music will always be priceless LATA MANGESHKAR, SINGER