The 94th birth anniversary of the legendary playback singer of the Indian subcontinent Lata Mangeshkar is being celebrated on Thursday.
Born on September 28, 1929 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh of India, she started her career in 1942 as an actress in Marathi and Hindi Films.
Her first song as a playback singer was ‘NaachuYaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari’ for a Marathi film Kiti Hasaal with composer Sadashivrao Nevrekar. The song was dropped from the film before release. Her first Hindi song happened the next year in 1943, with ‘Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu’ in the movie ‘Gajaabhaau’.
Lata Mangeshkar achieved her first recognition in the song ‘Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora’ in the 1948 movie Majboor.
Lata Mangeshkar sang for over a thousand Hindi films and has sang in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali.
She has received numerous awards and honours for her illustrious career as a playback singer, including ‘Padma Bhushan’, ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’, ‘Padma Vibhushan’, ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’, ‘NTR National Award’ and ANR National Award.
Lata Mangeshkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s Highest Civilian Award in 2001. She won three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards. She has also won the Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer four times. She was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
