Lata Mangeshkar died on Sunday morning following a multiple organ failure. The singer, who was 92, has left behind a career that no other playback singer can ever attempt to replicate. Having started her singing career as a teenager, Lata has sung over 30,000 in her career. The singer lent her voice to some of the biggest leading actresses in Bollywood and also sang songs for films from other languages.
Given that her biggest musical contribution was to Bollywood, it broke fans’ hearts when the singer signed fewer projects after 2000. While she continued to give some of the biggest hits of the decade, including So Gaye Hain for Zubeidaa, Humko Humise Chura Lo for Mohabbatein, O Paalanhaare for Lagaan, the title track of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, the album of Veer Zara and Luka Chuppi for Rang De Basanti.
LIVE Updates: Lata Mangeshkar Passes Away at 92; India Mourns Demise of its Nightingale
However, following these songs, she took a massive back step from Bollywood. While she continued to record songs but her focus was no longer on Bollywood films. While the singer hadn’t delved into the reason behind the step, her sister Meena Mangeshkar had revealed in 2019 that she did not like the kind of music that Bollywood was creating in the late 2010s.
“No one knows (why she stopped singing for Bollywood movies), but about 10 days back, she recorded a song for a Marathi movie. She doesn’t sing much now, especially for films. She takes up a song only if the lyrics and music are good. Music is her life. But she doesn’t enjoy today’s film songs much due to the lyrics and heavy-duty beats,” she told the publication on Sep 28, 2019.
Following her demise, several celebrities, politicians, and sports stars expressed their grief and condolences on social media platforms. Bollywood actors including Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, Mrunal Thakur, Arjun Rampal, Shahid Kapoor, and Ranveer Singh among others also called Lata’s death an ‘end of an era’.
