Do you know Dilip Kumar's remark had made Lata Mangeshkar learn Urdu?
Highlights
- Lata Mangeshkar first met Dilip Kumar on a train where she used to sing
- When Dilip Kumar asked 'Who is she?', he was told she is a Marathi
- The actor's remark 'Maharashtrians are hardly well-versed in Urdu' made Lataji learn the language
Lata Mangeshkar's demise has left a void in the hearts of the people. At the age of 92, the legendary singer was very active on social media and kept sharing precious memories from yesteryears. Lataji, who started her career at the age of 13, had always kept her personal life private and has been fierce about her opinions. During an interview once, when Lata Mangeshkar was asked what would she like to be in the next life, she said, "It is better if there is no next birth. If I get the next life, I would never want to be Lata Mangeshkar. Only I know the troubles of being Lata Mangeshkar."
Today, at the age of 92, when Lata Mangeshkar said goodbye to the world, her voice is reverberating in our ears again and again. There can never be another Lata Mangeshkar. Her death is an end of an era. She outlived legends and her voice will live forever in our hearts just like she sang "Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai Gar Yaad Rahe"
Lata Mangeshkar's first meeting with Dilip Kumar-
Lata Mangeshkar sang the first song in 1942 for the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal, but the song was never released. After this, she faced many rejections. After the death of her father, an anecdote narrated by Lata Mangeshkar herself, she used to go to the local train to sing. In an interview, Lata Mangeshkar revealed, "I started working at the age of 13 and played the role of the heroine's sister in a film. That's how my journey in showbiz started. We were five brothers and sisters and I had to bear the responsibility after my father's death. Our house in Pune was also sold and we had to live in a rented house."
According to Lata Mangeshkar, after coming to Mumbai, she had to travel by local train and that's where she had also met Dilip Kumar. She said, "At that time all the struggling actors were there, Anil Bishwas (music director) was also with us. He introduced me to Dilip Kumar and said that this girl sings very well. Dilip sahab asked, 'Who is she?' and Biswas informed she is Marathi."
Dilip Kumar kept listening to everything and suddenly said - 'She is Marathi, so how will she have a good pronunciation of Urdu?' Kumar jokingly remarked that Maharashtrians are not well versed in Urdu. This made Lata Mangeshkar do the unthinkable. She said, "I decided to come home and study Urdu. I had a brother Shafiq, so I started learning the Urdu language from him. From there I started studying Urdu, then studied Hindi and learned everything owith time."
