There is a halo of youthfulness around her. In her body language.
       Her sense of humour. The timbre of impishness in her voice, which
       lends itself so naturally to a Tabu (Hu Tu Tu) or a Manisha Koirala
       (Kachche Dhaage) even today.

       At 69, Lata Mangeshkar continues to exude the magic that has
       made her a legend.

       The telephone rings persistently... people are calling to congratulate her on her latest achievement. The
       Padma Vibhushan. She laughs off the suggestion that she should have actually got a Bharat Ratna, the
       rare ratna that she is. "How does it matter?" she asks. "I am happy with what I've got."

       We remind her that her golden silence has fomented so many myths about her. "Yes, but whenever I've
       opened my mouth, it has led to a huge uproar, hasn't it?" she laughs, as she accepts yet another
       congratulatory call.

       As she speaks in Marathi to an admirer, we think of the number of awards and rewards she has won over
       the years. And her decision not to accept any more awards. "No, I haven't said no to any of the newer
       awards," she clarifies. "Last year I won the Zee Cine Award for a song in Dil To Pagal Hai." But what she
       relishes best, she adds, is the doctorates she keeps getting, like the one from New York University.

       On the professional front, Lata has gradually eased herself out of the rat-race of playback singing,
       though she does sing an occasional number when a friend or an old associate like Yash Chopra requests
       her to.

       Of late, she has been travelling a lot, spending much time out of Mumbai. First on a highly successful
       concert tour of the US and Canada last October, then long visits to Pune, Kolhapur and Nasik. In Nasik
       she was honoured at a huge public commemoration.

       In this interview to Premiere, Lata Mangeshkar talks about awards, today's music scene, and recalls some
       cherished moments in her career.

       Don't you think you deserved the Bharat Ratna?
       (Laughs) I am happy with what I have got. I'm proud to be an Indian and whatever award the government
       confers on me is an honour. It needn't be the Bharat Ratna. They must have thought seriously before
       deciding on how to honour me. Besides, the Bharat Ratna won't make me a ratna (laughs). First, the
       Padma Bhushan and now the Padma Vibhushan. I feel honoured. It's the government's way of
       acknowledging my devotion to music over the years. I firmly believe that one only gets what one deserves.

       You know, my father was a very good astrologer. Whatever he predicted would come true. Just before his
       death he went to our ancestral village in Goa and told everyone there that he had only a short time left in
       this world and that his daughter, meaning me, would become very famous. Apparently, he also said that
       no one in the family could foresee the kind of fame I would attain. I was told about this only recently. So,
       you see, everything was destined.
 

       What do awards mean to you?

       They're tangible evidence of my contribution to music. I am thankful
       to all those who are responsible for whatever I am today.
 

       You had stopped accepting popular awards since the mid-Sixties, hadn't you?
       Yes, but I haven't said no to the awards instituted recently. Last year I won the Zee Award for my song
       Arrey re arrey (Dil To Pagal Hai). It was a nice song. The problem is, I have won too many awards, so
       many that there's no room for them in my house. You know how small my house is. I've stored all the
       trophies at my studio in Kolhapur. There are about 250 trophies and 150 gold discs. My sister Usha says
       she's tired of counting them (laughs). But do you know what I consider a real honour? The doctorates
       that the universities confer on me, like the ones I received from New York University and Pune University.
       I got one from Kolhapur University too.

       Do you feel more people are now appreciating songs with a classical base?
       My classical renditions with my brother were always received warmly at concerts, especially in the concert
       we had in the US and Canada recently. At Heathrow Airport in London I met a couple who had been to
       my concert in Chicago. They said the classical renditions were the highlight of the show. My brother and I
       devoted at least fifteen minutes at every concert to classical singing. For me that was the high point of
       each concert.

       What about the golden oldies? Do they still clamour for them at your concerts?
       There was a big demand for the Jiya jale number from Dil Se at all my concerts. So I made it the
       penultimate item at every concert, just before my usual farewell number, Ai mere watan ke logon. This time I
       tried to avoid the overfamiliar evergreen numbers like Inhi logon ne and Aayega aanewala. I tried to sing
       numbers which I hadn't sung before, like Uthaye ja unke sitam. I narrated an anecdote about each song
       before singing it.

       The general impression is that your 1998 concerts were the best ever.
       I won't say that they were my best. The one at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974 was equally
       memorable for me. It was my first concert abroad. I hadn't had the time for it earlier. I used to be too busy
       with recordings. Besides, to be honest, I wasn't too keen on performing abroad. I had heard that my
       colleagues from the film industry used to sing in cinema halls and other makeshift auditoria abroad. So
       when I was invited to sing abroad for the first time, the only demand I made was for a decent venue. And
       I got the Royal Albert Hall!

       How did you feel celebrating your 69th birthday on stage in Chicago on September 28?
       (Laughs shyly) I had been informed beforehand that I'd have to cut a cake on stage. But I forgot all about
       it. Suddenly, when my birthday was announced at midnight, all the musicians and members of the audience
       jointly sang `Happy Birthday', and people clapped and wished me a long life. I felt terribly self-conscious
       and nervous. Public adulation always unnerves me. A Sardar in the audience shouted, `Tussi kudi Punjab di
       ho!' I said I'm from Punjab, Gujarat and the whole of India and Pakistan.

      Looking back, what pleases you more: adulation or a manifestation of your phenomenal success?
       Let me tell you what pleases me the most. My sister Asha's success. I am happy to see her so successful,
       after so many years of singing. I started working in my early teens. She too began singing at a very early
       age. She has had to undergo tremendous hardship. Of course, our whole family has faced hard times, but
       Asha suffered more. She got married very early and had a rough time. It is remarkable the way she has
       revived and rediscovered herself. It is no small achievement. It makes me very happy.
 

       Any regrets?
       None at all. These days I am only troubled by my health. In the last
       ten years it has deteriorated. I wish my health hadn't let me down.
       My spirit is young, and I could have done a lot more good work.
       Who knows, I might have composed music for films. But now I
       don't even want to think about such things. I
 
 

       only want peace of mind. I believe whatever happens, happens for the best. I've got more than my share
       of happiness. No human being gets everything in life. At a certain stage in life, I might have regretted
       what I didn't get, but today, I'm beyond all that. I have no regrets whatsoever. I never had any complaints
       against God. Now I don't have any against human beings.

       What do you feel is the future of film music?
       The kind of songs one hears these days isn't very encouraging. But then, change is inevitable. Look
       around us. The environment, food habits, lifestyle, everything has changed. And it's inevitable that music
       should also change. So many great composers have come and gone. The stalwarts who are still around
       have no place in today's scheme of things. What goes up must come down. It is the law of nature.

       Who among the present lot of composers do you think is capable of carrying film music forward?
       That's a tough question. Considering the kind of films that are being made these days, there's too much
       pressure on the composers to deliver. It's not that producers didn't dictate terms to composers earlier.
       They did, but they had great faith in their music directors. There would be discussions to enhance
       creativity. Some of the composers of today are good too. But today they are subservient to the needs of
       the situation. To song picturisation. Sometimes bad songs become hits because of good picturisation. It is
       no longer possible to evaluate the merits of an individual song. Trends change overnight too. The youth of
       today prefer westernised music. And the composers are influenced by this reality.

       Do you miss working with composers who were creatively in tune with you, like Madan Mohan,
       Sachin Dev Burman and Roshan?
       Of course I do. But such tuning isn't possible in today's situation, and with today's composers. I'm so
       much older and more experienced than all of them. However, I must admit that even today there are music
       directors who think, and who are creative, though very few. I have stopped worrying about what
       happens to the songs I sing. I just sing and get away, don't follow their fate like I used to do earlier.
       Whenever a well-composed, well-rendered song failed, I would get very upset. But now I have become
       more professional (laughs). I used to be so involved with my songs that at times the challenge posed by
       an individual song could make me tense. Some composers would be very demanding.

       Like...?
       (Promptly) Sajjad Husain. Sajjad Saab's songs would often make me very apprehensive. I'd wonder if I'd
       be able to sing them the way he wanted me to. There were other composers whose compositions I didn't
       fear singing at all because of my rapport with them. Like Madan (Mohan) Bhaiyya. Not that Sajjad Saab
       took me to task, but he would compose such complex numbers and would be so particular about the way
       they were rendered, that I would become very conscious. His knowledge of classical music was awesome. I
       remember, once he told a singer to lower the gandhar. Perplexed, the singer wanted to know what
       gandhar was. Sajjad Saab was livid. He was a very good human being, but would brook no imperfection.

       Who were the other composers who challenged your talent?
       Salil Chaudhary. I shared a great rapport with him. He knew which of his creations suited me. I was never
       scared of singing his tunes. Instead, I would be very keen to sing his songs. I love his music. I haven't met
       a composer quite like him. Look at the tunes he thought up! And the sources of his composition! He used
       to write fluently in Bengali. His poems in Bengali were superb. You know, he used to write his own lyrics
       for some of the Bengali songs he composed for me. His grasp of the North-Eastern folk music was
       tremendous. Being a Communist he was an agnostic. So we never agreed on his views on God. Lekin woh
       kamaal ke music director the.

       Which other composer would you place in this kamaal ki category?
       (Promptly) Madan Mohan, of course. He had a unique style. And Shankar-Jaikishan. Jaikishan was very
       talented. Very creative. Even Shankarji's songs were a treat. They did borrow from the West whenever
       they felt like it. But it was Salilda who was deeply influenced by Western music. He used to listen to
       Western symphonies and incorporate them in his compositions. And he could tell which symphony had
       been incorporated into which song.

       What about R.D. Burman?
       RD was very talented too. Like his father, he had his own style.

       O.P. Nayyar once said that RD gave his best songs to you and the rest to Asha Bhosle. Do you
       agree with that?
       (Laughs loudly) I wouldn't know about that. He must have had his reasons. RD used to interact a lot with
       me. He used to call me Didi, and loved me like a sister. He used to pour his heart out to me. He did
       compose in a special style for me. He knew instinctively which song suited Asha and which suited me.
       Come to think of it, all the composers must have known which song suited which singer. I loved the
       songs Laxmikant-Pyarelal composed for me too. They were also special. For about 10-12 years they
       composed some really great numbers.

       Subhash K. Jha
 
 
 
 
 

Lata Mangeshkar : A living legend...