Did you know this producer once dismissed Lata Mangeshkar's voice?
Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar passed away on Sunday at the age of 92. Beginning her career in film music during her early teens, Mangeshkar dominated the industry for around eight decades. But did you know the voice that gave us numerous evergreen tracks was once dismissed as "too thin" by a producer? Here are some more lesser-known facts about the "Queen of Melody."
She was rejected to voice numbers in 'Shaheed'
After a young Mangeshkar moved to Bombay to learn music and try her hands at Hindi cinema, she was about to sing in the 1948 flick Shaheed. But its producer Sashadhar Mukherjee rejected her, tagging her voice to be "too thin." Still, the Satyam Shivam Sundaram singer debuted in the mainstream the same year with Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora (Majboor).
Was Mangeshkar the most-recorded artist in history?
The Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera crooner is known to have recorded as many as 30,000 songs in her long career. The Guinness Book of Records mentioned her as the most-recorded artist in history, between 1948 and 1974, but this was contested by Mohammad Rafi. The book later mentioned Rafi's claim and Mangeshkar's record for years until temporarily discontinuing the entry in 1991.
Madan Mohan was Mangeshkar's favorite music composer
Over the decades, Mangeshkar worked with many music composers—from golden-age composers like SD Burman, Naushad, and Kalyanji-Anandji to current ones like AR Rahman and Anu Malik. But when asked about her favorite composer, the Lag Jaa Gale singer once chose Madan Mohan. She had called their relationship to be that "of a brother and a sister," listing Woh Chup Rahe as her favorite collaboration.
She came to BCCI's rescue post 1983 World Cup win
A true nationwide icon, Mangeshkar was the reason the 14-member Indian men's cricket team, which won us our maiden Cricket World Cup in 1983, received respectable cash rewards. During those times, the BCCI didn't have enough funds to bestow prizes upon its players. Mangeshkar had performed pro-bono at a concert to help the BCCI raise money to reward the national heroes after their historic win.
