Some of the greatest filmmakers in Hindi cinema were lifelong admirers of late Lata Mangeshkar’s voice. Among them was the legendary V. Shantaram, for whose classics, ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje’, ‘Do Aankhen Barah Haath’ and ‘Pinjra’, the Goddess of Melody delivered some of the finest songs of her career.Not many know that Shantaram had once extracted a heartfelt promise from Lataji: that if she ever chose to compose music for Hindi cinema, it would only be for his films.
When Lata Mangeshkar turned music director
Lataji did turn music director, but in Marathi cinema, beginning with Dinkar Patil’s ‘Ram Ram Pahuna’ in 1950. She later adopted the pseudonym Anandaghan to compose for other Marathi films, including ‘Mohityanchi Manjula’, ‘Maratha Tituka Melvava’, ‘Sadhi Manse’, and ‘Tambdi Mati’.
Lata Mangeshkar never composed music for Hindi flms
The Nightingale never composed for Hindi films, entirely by choice. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was keen to have her score the music of ‘Anand’, but Lataji declined politely, having already promised Shantaram that her debut as a Hindi film composer would be reserved for him alone.Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who openly idolises Lataji, once shared how she and her entire family, including her illustrious brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar, deeply appreciated the music of ‘Bajirao Mastani’.Bhansali recalls with emotion, “My greatest compliment for the music of ‘Bajirao Mastani’ came from my idol Lataji. She told me that the ‘latpat latpat’ opening of ‘Pinga’ was inspired by her song in Shantaram’s ‘Amar Bhoopali’.”He admits this influence with humility. “Lataji said she loved my songs and the way I filmed them. Then she lovingly added, ‘Aapne mera latpat latpat utha liya.’ And she was right. The opening of ‘Pinga’ is indeed from Shantaramji’s ‘Amar Bhoopali’.”A self-confessed devotee of V. Shantaram, Bhansali acknowledges that the filmmaker’s musical universe, from ‘Do Aankhen Barah Haath’ and ‘Navrang’ to ‘Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje’, significantly shaped the visual and musical grammar of his own cinema. “Shantaramji has always been one of my strongest inspirations.”
