Lata Mangeshkar,Mumbai-Maharashtra

Lata Mangeshkar ( born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian Marathi playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be the most celebrated singer in independent India and one of its most influential artists. Her voice was one of the unifying elements of the peoples of South Asia across borders. 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”.

Mangeshkar recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi, Hindi and Bengali. She received several accolades and honors throughout her career. In 1989, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her by the Government of India. In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, one of only three singers to receive India’s highest civilian honour. In 2007, France made her an Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the country’s highest civilian award.

She was the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, before declining further ones, two Filmfare Special Awards, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award amongst others. In 1974, she became the first Indian playback singer to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

She appeared in the Guinness World Records as the most recorded artist in history before being replaced by her sister, Asha Bhosle.

Collaboration with other singers
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Mangeshkar sang duets with Asha Bhosle, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Usha Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Manna Dey, Geeta Dutt, Hemant Kumar, G. M. Durrani, 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 and Kishore Kumar. After their demise, she continued to sing with Shailendra Singh, Shabbir Kumar, Nitin Mukesh (Mukesh’s son), Manhar Udhas, Amit Kumar (Kishore Kumar’s son), Mohammed Aziz, Suresh Wadkar, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, and Vinod Rathod.

In the 1990s, she began singing duets with Roop Kumar Rathod, Hariharan, Pankaj Udhas, Abhijeet, Udit Narayan, and Kumar Sanu. 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 and Sonu Nigam. 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; and “Lukka Chhupi” in Rang De Basanti (2006 film) with A. R. Rahman. She sang “Ek Tu Hi Bharosa” from Pukar (2000). Other notable songs of this decade were from Veer-Zaara (2004), sung with Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh, Roop Kumar Rathod, and Gurdas Mann. One of her latest songs was “Jeena Hai Kya” from Dunno Y2 (2015).

Born Hema Mangeshkar
28 September 1929
Indore, Indore State, British India (present-day Madhya Pradesh, India)

Died 6 February 2022 (aged 92)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India