The many battles Lata Mangeshkar fought before becoming India’s greatest artiste

“Those days playback singers didn’t get any mention or credit in films. No one knew who the singers were when they saw the films. I fought to change that. Raj Kapoor was the first director to add my name in the titles for Barsaat (1949). That’s how I got my first credit as a singer” — Lata Mangeshkar


Given her divine unparalleled voice, that could regale the Gods, it’s hard to believe that Lata Mangeshkar had her set of obstacles. She too had to get past multiple hurdles before scaling the highest peaks of success.

Lata was the eldest daughter of Pt.

Deenanath Mangeshkar

, a renowned Marathi theatre actor, Natya Sangeet musician and a Hindustani classical vocalist. At 5, she corrected one of her father’s students and the family soon discovered, they had a singer in the house, while they trained people outside. That incident made Deenanath train his little daughter from the very next day as he recognised her potential. His untimely demise in 1942, left the family in financial crisis. Lata, then barely 13, started working in films as a child actor to make ends meet. However, she never liked acting and pursued singing religiously.


“I always knew I could sing well. Every time I told my father that I will get a ‘once more’ on a particular song on stage, I would get it. He knew I was a good singer, too. His passing away was tough on us but I never doubted myself a bit.”


It was her self belief that didn’t deter her spirit when she was rejected in a 1940s film called ‘Shaheed’ as a playback singer. This was the time when Lata had just moved from Pune to Mumbai. “Shaheed was being made, whose music was by

Ghulam Haider Sahab

. He had heard me and wanted me to record the song. He took me to Filmistan and introduced me to producer

Sashadhar Mukherjee

, who was making the film. He rejected my voice and told Ghulam sahab, “her voice is too thin. It’s not a heroine’s voice.” Ghulam sahab believed in me and told him that one day people will queue up to get my dates.”

Lata kept trying and recorded a few songs after that but her big breakthrough came in the form of ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from Mahal (1949). The song catapulted the singer to stardom and took her way ahead in the race.

The singer made inroads into a male dominated industry in her early years and her impeccable talent didn’t make her journey easier. “I had to fight several battles. Mahal was a hit, but my name did not feature on the album or the film. Those days playback singers didn’t get any mention or credit in films. No one knew who the singers were when they saw the films. I fought to change that. Why can’t we be acknowledged? Raj Kapoor was the first director to add my name in the titles for Barsaat (1949). That’s how I got my first credit as a singer.”

That wasn’t all. The singer also fought to ensure singers got royalty. The legendary Dilip Kumar, who Lata considered as her brother later on, had initially doubted her Hindi and Urdu pronunciations, her mother tongue being Marathi. He too was astounded by her grip over Urdu and other languages after she took his perception of her as a challenge.