Dharmendra shared that he got ready not once but thrice to go to Didi’s last rites on Sunday, but every time he pulled himself back. The passing away of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar has left a void in the hearts of millions of people. As condolence messages and tributes poured in for the veteran singer, several celebrities and eminent personalities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended her funeral on Sunday, February 6. While Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, and others paid their last respect, veteran actor Dharmendra could not attend Lata Mangeshkar’s last rites.
“I was very uncomfortable and uneasy,” he said while speaking to ETimes. Dharmendra shared that he got ready not once but thrice to go to Didi’s last rites on Sunday, but every time he pulled himself back. The actor was not mentally prepared to see her leaving. He expressed that he was “feeling very uncomfortable and uneasy” after hearing the news of Lata Mangeshkar’s demise.
Dharam Ji mentioned that Lata di used to send him gifts on different occasions and also quite a few motivating forwards. The singer always urged him to “remain strong”. He recalled that once he had written a slightly gloomy post on Twitter and she immediately called up to ask if he was doing fine and spoke to him for 30 minutes to cheer him up. “Often, we would chat for 25-30 minutes even until recently. She adored me,” he added.
Citing another example to spell out how much Lata di adored him, Dharmendra remembered that he had first met her at an award function, and he wore a beige coloured shirt. The actor stated that he could have forgotten but Lata di remembered it. “I was surprised beyond words. Such a memory,” he concluded.
The legendary singer, known as the Nightingale of India, left for her heavenly abode on the morning of February 6. Last month, Lata Mangeshkar was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital, and she tested positive for the COVID-19 and days later was diagnosed with pneumonia. 28 days later, she breathed her last due to multiple organs failure.
