Lata Mangeshkar passed away on Sunday at the age of 92. She had been admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on January 8, after she was diagnosed with Covid and pneumonia.
Known as ‘Suron ki Devi’, Lata had an illustrious career spanning over seven decades, starting from her first break in the 1948 film, ‘Majboor’, with the song ‘Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora’, with lyrics by Nazim Panipati. She was discovered by music director, Ghulam Haider, whom she has referred to as her Godfather. One of her first major hits was the song ‘Aega Aega’ from the mystery film, ‘Mahal’ (1951), starring Madhubala and Ashok Kumar.
After that, her career skyrocketed with her giving back-to-back hits, for several decades, with every possible singer, of every decade, from Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Manna Dey, to S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Yesudas, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Sonu Nigam.
She has sung for every leading lady, from Madhubala and Waheeda Rehman to Madhuri Dixit and Kajol, which is an unspoken indicator that her voice was absolutely ageless.
From Anil Kapoor to Akshay Kumar, several members from the film industry paid tribute to the legendary singer.
Taking to Twitter, Akshay wrote, “Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hain, Gar Yaad Rahe…and how can one forget such a voice! Deeply saddened by the passing away of Lata Mangeshkar ji, my sincere condolences and prayers. Om Shanti.”
Anil Kapoor feels blessed to have known Lata Mangeshkar. “Heartbroken, but blessed to have known; loved this incredible soul…Lataji holds a place in our hearts that will never be taken by anyone else. That’s how profoundly she has impacted our lives with her music. May she rest in peace; light up the heavens with her brightness,” he tweeted.
According to Manoj Bajpayee, with Lata Mangeshkar’s demise, “golden era of music” has also ended.
“A golden era of the music world has truly ended!! Lata Ji you will be missed by millions of us & the generations coming after us!! Rest in peace!! #RIPLATAJI,” he grieved.
Sharing a picture of Lata Mangeshkar, Zoya Akhtar described the singer as “immortal.”
Actor Kangana Ranaut, too, mourned the demise of Lata Mangeshkar. “What a loss. India’s most beautiful voice is gone,” she wrote on Instagram Story.
Music maestro AR Rahman took to his Instagram handle and shared a photo of him with Laja ji. In her remembrance, he captioned the photo as, “Love, respect and prayers.”
Popular playback singer Shaan also shared an Insta post which had a couple of photos of him with the late legend and wrote, “She was Heaven Sent to us so we would know what the Voice of God sounds like .. voice of Maa Saraswati .. Voice of Divinity .. Thanks to my Father, I’ve had the good fortune of getting her affections and blessings through all these years ..”
Paying tribute to India’s nightingale, music composer Shankar Mahadevan took to Twitter and wrote, “@mangeshkarlata will remain forever ! Bless us didi.” – ANI
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