WHEN LATA MANGESHKAR passed away on February 6, she left behind a rich legacy and an avalanche of memories.
Noted playback singer Kavita Krishnamurthy considers Lata Mangeshkar her ‘guru’ and lucky mascot. Speaking exclusively to THE WEEK, she took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about Lata’s persona, art and craft.
Kavita was only 16 when she recorded her first film song with Lata for the Bengali movie Shriman Prithviraj. Her second song was “Aayega aane wala” for the film Kadambari, in which the character played by Shabana Azmi is shown singing Lata’s famous number from Mahal (1949).
Kavita gained popularity with her song “Tumse milkar na jaane kyun” from the film Pyar Jhukta Nahin (1985). Although the song was recorded in Kavita’s voice, it was to be sung later by Lata for the final album. But as luck would have it, Lata heard the song rendered by Kavita and decided against singing it, saying, “Kavita has done a fine job. There is no need for me to redo it.”
Recollecting her first encounter with the celebrated singer, Kavita said, “I recorded my first song for Shriman Prithviraj at Rajkamal Studio. On the day of the recording, music director Hemant da (Hemant Kumar) taught me the four lines I was to sing. I had no idea I would be singing with Lata ji. We were waiting in the studio and Lata ji, clad in a white sari, walked in. I was stunned and speechless.
“She did a quick rehearsal. There were two microphones in the singer’s booth and when we started singing, I completely forgot my lines. I heard Hemant da call out to me on the intercom. He asked me what had happened. When we prepared to go for the last take, Lata ji turned towards me and smiled. She had sensed what had happened to me. I sang the four lines and when I came out of the studio, Lata ji was in her white Mercedes Benz. She stopped, rolled down the glass and asked if I needed a drop, which I politely refused. She smiled and left. I still remember that graceful moment.”
Kavita turned lucky a second time when the song “Kahe ko byahi bides” from the Rekha starrer Maang Bharo Sajna, was retained in her voice.
Kavita started her singing career by dubbing songs for Lata and her younger sister, Asha Bhosle. “In 1977, I started dubbing Lata ji’s songs for Laxmikant-Pyarelal, whenever Lata ji could not record a particular song for some reason,” she said. “The first time they called me to dub a song, they had told me that Lata ji would be singing the song for the final album. However, they urgently needed a female voice to record the song to be used for shooting with Hema Malini.
“I considered it a great opportunity and a learning experience to work with such great music directors. At Mehboob Studio, there were top musicians in the hall. And I had to sing the entire song in one go as a small mistake would mean we had to record the whole thing all over again. I sang and the recording, I presume, was sent to Lata ji and she recorded the song for the final album,” said Kavita.
A curious and eager Kavita waited for the final album. “When the song finally came out, I listened keenly and marvelled at how Lata ji had sung a particular word or line,” she said. “Her singing was seamless, while I had struggled to sing some words and lines. In those six or seven years I saw my own mistakes and also how polished her singing was. Lata ji had to sync the words while singing as the actor would have already shot the scenes with several close-up scenes. Lata ji, obviously aced it all.”
After many years, Kavita saw Lata on stage for the first time at the Filmfare awards. “I had got two passes from Hema Malini’s mother (Jaya Chakravarthy), who is very close to me. The auditorium was teeming with big stars like Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, Waheeda Rehman, Vyjayanthimala, and all the leading music composers and directors. But when Lata ji came up on stage with Kishore da and sang “Accha toh hum chalte hain”, I thought she was the most beautiful person I had seen. Her attire, simplicity and grace left an impression on my mind,” said Kavita.
Attending Lata’s concerts was a big learning experience. In one such concert titled “Mortal Men and Immortal Melodies” held at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai, in 2005, Kavita, Hariharan and Penaz Masani were to sing in the first half, followed by second half performances by Lata and Noorjehan from Pakistan among other senior artistes. “I was watching Lata ji, who was oblivious to the outside world,” she said. “She stood before the microphone with her eyes shut. She sang, occasionally glancing at the script on the music stand, but hardly looking at the audience. It was like watching her sing in a recording studio. This image is still etched in my mind.”
Kavita recalled an instance when Lata had gone back to the studio to redo a song. “Lata ji, Pam Chopra and I had recorded a song for the Yash Chopra film Darr (1993). All three of us had to sing some lines solo and some in chorus. It was a time when technology gave us the liberty to sing our portions separately. So, we recorded the chorus part. Then, Lata ji recorded her portions and left.
“A month later, when we met again at a recording studio, Lata ji told me that she had gone back to the studio to redo her part. I told her I would have come, too, if we had to redo the song. She smiled and said that my lines were fine. Even after five decades of her singing career, Lata ji still felt committed to singing every line with perfection.”
According to Kavita, Lata had a unique technique of singing to the microphone, to make the rendition powerful and precise. “In front of the mike, Lata ji’s voice was very powerful. It went right into the mike. But when you stood next to her, you could hardly hear her sing as she seemed to be singing very softly. It was not a booming voice. But when you heard it in the recording cabin and on the speakers, the output was impeccable and powerful. She knew the best microphone singing technique, knew how each of the words she sang would sound in the recording room,” said Kavita.
In 1999, Kavita married violin maestro L. Subramaniam and the couple travelled to Mumbai for a concert held in the memory of Lata’s father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar. “I was to sing two of Lata ji’s songs and I was nervous. I walked into the green room and requested her to switch off the speaker and not to listen to my singing. She smiled and held my hand and told me not to be nervous. That day, she sat in the side wings to hear me sing,” said Kavita, revealing the legendary singer’s sensitive side.
Just before a major concert, ‘Meena Kumari to Madhuri Dixit’ was held in Mumbai, Kavita had called Lata from Bengaluru. “She told me that she was feeling very nervous and asked me to pray for her,” said Kavita. “I told her not to worry. But her humility left me speechless.”
Kavita, who has won several honours including Padma Shri, said she treasured Lata’s compliment the most. “She once told me she liked my singing in the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999).
Lata had the unique distinction of having sung in 36 languages. Kavita, who has sung in 16 languages, believes that Lata’s performances in different languages were nothing short of a miracle. “Songs by Lata ji, Hemant da and Manna da used to be released during puja,” she said. “When Lata ji sang in Bengali, she sounded like a 16-year-old Bengali girl. She had perfect diction and emotion. Even today, her Bengali songs are a rage and dominate reality shows in Bengal. Her songs in Marathi are unbelievable.
“It was my daily homework to sing them. She was mellifluous and made one believe that it was easy to sing the song. But when you actually started learning each line, you would understand how she manoeuvred from one note to another without complicating things. I believe one of the strongest points of Lata ji’s singing was meend (the technique of sliding from one note to another). She performed a miracle each time.”
That perhaps explains why Lata cancelled her recording sometimes. “If she was not 100 per cent fit, she would not come to the recording studio as she did not want to give her second best. Such was her dedication,” said Kavita.
Melodies of life: Kavita Krishnamurthy and L. Subramaniam with Lata Mangeshkar.
Elaborating on Lata’s approach, Kavita said the stalwart understood the emotion and the thought behind each composition. “She would understand the meaning of the lyrics, listen to how the music director was interpreting it and sing it in such a way that it exceeded everyone’s expectation,” she said. “She was careful not to put Lata in every song. When you listened to her, you could identify it as a song by Madan Mohan, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman or Salil Chowdhury. The music director’s signature style would be kept intact. This is something no singer can replicate.”
Lata is a role model for professional singers, and Kavita said she admired the way Lata kept her professional and personal life separate.
“A caption defined Lata ji as a voice in a million and the voice of a billion. I feel she was Mother India, as she has been the Voice of India, witnessing the country go through different phases,” she said. “She set a fine example of how a singer should conduct herself. She carried herself with dignity and had a shy and sweet smile. She attended very few public functions, and was a woman of few words. Nevertheless, she was loved by all. Though she was very reserved, she pursued a lot of interests. She had a deep understanding of cricket, she was fantastic with photography and painting,” said Kavita.
While most singers swear by Lata’s sheer range and versatility, they also believe that each of her songs makes for an institution. Said Kavita, “Once I was watching Lata ji record a song “Pal bhar mein ye kya ho gaya” from the film Swami (1977), and she did a perfect job in the very first take. Earlier, we had to sing our songs at a stretch without making a single mistake as retakes were expensive and we did not have the luxury of recording the song in parts.”
Kavita spoke about the time when all the studios in Andheri recorded the songs only at night to avoid ambient noise. “They waited for the busy neighbourhood to fall silent. Lata ji once told me that she had to walk back and forth from the microphones while singing to give the fading or the echo effect as technology was limited. Today we have reverb machines for that. Once while moving back and forth from the microphone, her co-singer Kishore da, who had a naughty streak, pushed her in jest and they all burst out laughing. I feel that was the golden era of playback singing,” said Kavita.
The last time Kavita spoke to Lata was in mid-2020 to request her participation in Subramaniam’s project ‘Bharat Symphony—Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. The project features the London Symphony Orchestra and legendary musicians from India and abroad. “When I called Lata ji, she told me that Subramaniam was like a younger brother to her,” she said. “She said she would not be able to record as she was unwell. I told her not to worry and that we would meet her once the Covid situation improved. Her last words to me were like a blessing. She told me, ‘You are a nice girl and always be happy’.”
Subramaniam, too, had experienced a generous amount of Lata’s affection. In the past few months, Lata used to share with him on WhatsApp many of her songs, paintings and photographs. “My husband is a staunch believer of Lord Ganesha,” said Kavita. “After Lata ji’s demise, we looked for her last message on his phone. It was a Ganapati stuti sung by her.”