Actress Sharmila Tagore not only lip-synced to several songs by Lata Mangeshkar in her career, her husband Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi shared a special bond with the legendary singer. In an exclusive conversation with News18, Sharmila reminds us of Mangeshkar’s legacy and shares some unknown anecdotes from her life.
“My husband Tiger (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) was a great fan of Lataji and both of us were very fond her. We had some common friends also. Not many are aware that she was a huge wildlife enthusiast and she used to click wonderful photographs and was a cricket lover. Since my husband shared the same passion for wildlife and was a cricketer, Lataji admired him a lot. She loved cars a lot. She kept herself engaged with many other things apart from singing. She would often go to the forests as she liked being on her own.
Lataji had a very calm demeanour and was really soft spoken. Tiger’s favourites were Talat Mehmood and Lataji. She would keep singing Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho and Tiger would play the flute. Despite being such a huge personality, she was never inaccessible. The entire family would always make you feel welcome.
The last time I interacted with her was when they nominated me to receive the Dinanath Mangeshkar Award in 2020. Unfortunately it had to be postponed due to Covid. I will regret not getting the award from her.
Lataji sang many beautiful songs for me like Kora Kagaz, Chanda Hai Tu, Bada Natkhat Hai, Ruke Ruke Se Qadam, Raina Beeti Jaye and many more, she got a lot of variety and emotions in all the songs. I remember Shakti Samantaji had taken me to one of her recording and I saw how effortlessly she was recording the song but at the same time I was aware of the amount of preparation and riyaaz she would do for each song. Despite singing so many songs in her career, she never took any song for granted. Her voice has always been evergreen. Just before her there was Shamshad Begum and Noor Jehan so she had to take over from them. There was a lot of Muslim influence in music those days as lyricists would use a lot of Urdu words, so she had to work on her pronunciation and she did. Her voice will always remain with the people.
If you look at her legacy, she sang for Shobhna Samarthji, her daughter Tanuja and granddaughter Kajol. She sang for me and even for my daughter Soha Ali Khan (Rang De Basanti). In fact my granddaughter, Inaaya Naumi Kemmu listens to Chanda Hai Tu. She has been a part of every Indian’s everyday life. Lataji has touched the heart of every Indian. repertoire and legacy can never be replicated.
Apart from playback singing, she also sang many patriotic songs including Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon which was dedicated to the Indian soldiers who died during the India-China war in 1962. She sang the song on Republic Day (26 January) 1963 in the presence of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and former Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It was on this occasion that Nehruji called her the Nightingale of India.
She loved music and songs, and had a great sense of poetry. The entire nation is going to mourn the passing away of a true legend. Her voice will live with us forever.”
