NEWSMAKERS
Thank you for the music
RESHMA S KULKARNI
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Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar chats about the making of her latest biography and music today.
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PHOTOS: P.V. SIVAKUMAR and K. GAJENDRAN
It is rarely that the Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar chooses to showcase the tapestry of her life. A private person who prefers to let her magical voice do the talking, Lata didi has gone public via her latest biography Lata Mangeshkar…In Her Own Voice: Conversations with Nasreen Munni Kabir. No wonder, the launch of the book, last week in Mumbai, was a much-awaited affair; with Lata didi at her candid best.
“I’ve not been comfortable with the idea of an autobiography; though many close ones, including Jaya Bachchan, have been urging me to do so. I’m a person of few words and find it difficult to pen my innermost thoughts for posterity. However, when Nasreen approached me for this book, I found the idea appealing because it simply required me to chat with a friend, an easier and enjoyable task,” revealed Lata.
Conversational tactic
Having known Munni for the last two decades, “I could converse, as opposed to just talk! Most of our interviews were conducted telephonically, since she resides in London and me in Mumbai. Our tele-cons would begin with Munni asking “Didi, good day or bad day (for a chat)?” On days when my mood would not be up to the mark, I could freely tell her ‘bad day’ and we’d talk another day! This wonderful rapport made it easier for me to hark back six decades and come up with numerous vignettes — some well-known, some not known at all — to adorn this compilation.”
Lata was all praise for Nasreen’s involvement in the project. “I’m impressed with the in-depth research that Munni did for this project. She went into the nitty-gritty of everything; be it a song I sung, a person I interacted with, a location that I would reminisce about... Her thorough research made her questions unique and non-jaded, thus allowing me to answer them with passion and interest.”
Prodded about what exactly this book will be about, Lata didi said “I wouldn’t want to give everything away; for, I’m sure it’ll be more joyous for people to read the book. But in a nutshell, I’ve talked about my childhood days, my experiences in the industry and also about my personal hobbies and pursuits.”
Lata’s eyes crinkle with mirth as she admits “While the entire project has been special for allowing me a kaleidoscopic glimpse at my own life, it was an especially fond experience, revisiting my childhood through this book. Readers may find it difficult to believe but I was an extremely naughty child; forever being pulled up for climbing guava trees and rolling across the streets perched on huge tyres!
“I also cherish memories of my interactions with my late father and guru Shri Deenanath Mangeshkar; listening to whose compositions even today makes me feel anchored!” smiled Lataji, who was equally in awe of Ustad Amir Khan and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
Speaking of musical talent, she was vocal about her views on music, especially Bollywood and classical music. “I won’t say today’s music is bad; for there is no bad music. But technology is playing a bigger role than sur in today’s music; it’ll be nice if the ratio balances out. But, times are changing and it is inevitable that people change with the times. We no longer have talents like Salil Chowdhury or S.D. Burman but those like A R Rahman still give solace to the heart. As for Indian classical music, I feel sad about the depleting interest in this genre, which has been India’s pride in the past. Singers and connoisseurs of Hindustani classical music are dwindling. Efforts need to be made to revive interest and education in this rich genre of music,” she averred while saying that she’d be happy to do something for the cause if time and her age permit but she is satisfied about giving back to society via her hospital at Pune. “India has given me a lot of name, fame and love and I feel happy to return an iota of it all via the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital at Pune, where we conduct approximately 33 per cent of surgeries free-of-cost.”
For a good show
When quizzed about her staying away from playback singing and music reality shows she remarked, “With due respect to the young singers, I do not subscribe to the format of these shows that require a singer to jump and dance while singing! It’s scientifically proven that such boisterous activity tires the singer and adversely affects his/her vocal performance. When I give live concerts, even the few steps up to the podium tire me out and I need to relax myself before I can deliver a good performance. So I stay away from such shows. As for films, age has compelled me to become choosy, but I’m not averse to rendering a good number even today. But producers don’t seem much interested in signing me on; considering how few of them approach me!” she chortled, adding that her days are now busy with riyaaz, spending time with the family and watching IPL! “I’m a great fan of cricket. While I can never forget the excitement generated by Test matches earlier; I do catch nuggets of the IPL matches when I feel like!”
On a final note, asked if she wishes to be reborn as Lata Mangeshkar, she remarked, “I have got everything I could have ever wished for in this life itself. Nothing remains to be savoured and I thus harbour no desire to be reborn at all!”
Authorspeak
Nasreen Munni Kabir is a Hyderabad-born, U.K.-based documentary filmmaker and author and recipient of the first Asian Women’s Achievement Award for her contribution to promoting Indian cinema in the U.K. Having documented Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in the past, Kabir has also written books on subjects like Guru Dutt and “Mughal-E-Azam”. She is now working on a book on Raj Kapoor’s “Awaara”.
Speaking about the making of the book, Nasreen said “It has been a memorable experience. Knowing a person as well as I know Lata didi, it becomes easy to write about her but at another level it is also difficult because one has to stay alert not to gloss over facts that I know which readers may not.
Of course, it helped immensely that didi has a razor-sharp memory and is very particular about checking and rechecking facts so that no errors (especially those at others’ cost) are committed. But what made it more on-my-toes for me was that I had to adopt a very clever line of questioning to spawn facts that didi may not have chosen to reveal in the past. The challenge was to offer something hitherto unknown and I’m happy that didi trusted me enough to confide personal anecdotes, vignettes about her ties with actors like Nutan, Waheeda Rahman and Dilip Kumar (for whom she wished she could playback) and has also come clean about facts like why she chose not to sing for composer O.P. Nayyar.
All in all, I’ve had a wonderful time writing this book and hope that readers enjoy reading it as much; for, luminaries like Lata Mangeshkar descend only once in ages!”
