Lata Mangeshkar, one of India’s most influential singers, known as the “nightingale of Bollywood”, has died in Mumbai aged 92, with two days of national mourning declared in her honour.
Mangeshkar died on Sunday as a result of complications from Covid-19, which she had contracted a month ago, leading to multiple organ failure, according to doctors.
In a career spanning 73 years, almost the whole lifespan of post-independence India, she became the singing voice for hundreds of Bollywood actors, defining music and melody in the Hindi film industry for generations, despite rarely appearing on screen herself.
The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, led tributes to the cultural icon, whose versatile voice had been the soundtrack to more than 1,000 Bollywood films from the 1950s through to the 2000s and had been a beloved fixture of India’s airwaves.
“She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled,” said Modi. “The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people.”
President Ram Nath Kovind said the news was “heartbreaking” and described Mangeshkar as “an exceptional human being, full of warmth”. The former prime minister Manmohan Singh said: “India has lost a great daughter.”
Lata-ji’s demise is heart-breaking for me, as it is for millions the world over. In her vast range of songs, rendering the essence and beauty of India, generations found expression of their inner-most emotions. A Bharat Ratna, Lata-ji’s accomplishments will remain incomparable. pic.twitter.com/rUNQq1RnAp
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 6, 2022
Mangeshkar was admitted to hospital in January after being diagnosed with Covid-19. She had been on a ventilator and died from complications as a result of the virus, said Dr Pratit Samdani, who was treating her at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital.
In a tribute to her stature in India, Mangeshkar was given a state funeral with full honours in Mumbai on Sunday, attended by Modi who laid flowers on her coffin, as well as Bollywood giants Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Two days of national mourning were declared, with the national flag flying at half mast, and the Indian cricket team played with black armbands as a mark of respect.
Mangeshkar was born in 1929 in the city of Indore, the eldest of five children. She started her musical training early under the tutelage of her father, Deenanath, who was a classical musician, singing in his theatrical productions when she was just five. She spent much of her childhood on the road, as her father toured the country with his theatre group. But her father’s death when she was 13 forced her to take on the role of breadwinner to support her younger siblings, and the family eventually moved to Mumbai in 1945.
There she pursued a brief career on screen but was never comfortable in front of the camera, and eventually began recording tracks to be mimed by other actors. Her break as a playback singer came in 1949 with the film Mahal and from the 1950s onwards, her high-pitched but broad-ranging soprano voice soon became a staple of some of the most famous Bollywood films, where the songs she sang would often become more memorable than the storylines.
She became known as the “queen of melody” and composers would often write music with Mangeshkar in mind while producers vied to sign her up for their films. Her most well-known tracks include Pyaar Kiya toh Darna Kya and Chalte Chalte.
The Indian composer AR Rahman, who wrote songs for Mangeshkar, said: “Somebody like Lata Ji isn’t just an icon, she’s a part of India’s music and poetry. This void will remain for ever.”
Together with her younger sister, Asha Bhosle – now 88 and a superstar in her own right – Mangeshkar dominated Bollywood music for more than half a century, and is considered by many to be the Indian film industry’s greatest playback singer. She also recorded devotional and classical albums, composed her own music for several films and performed for every Indian prime minister during her career. She also toured across the world and in 1974 was the first Indian to play at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Though she was a school dropout, Mangeshkar was fluent in several languages. Her oeuvre spanned about 27,000 songs in dozens of languages including English, Russian, Dutch and Swahili, and she was renowned for her live performances. She was also known for her quirks, such as never singing with her shoes on and always writing out each song by hand before recording it.
Lata Didi’s songs brought out a variety of emotions. She closely witnessed the transitions of the Indian film world for decades. Beyond films, she was always passionate about India’s growth. She always wanted to see a strong and developed India. pic.twitter.com/N0chZbBcX6
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022
Mangeshkar never married, saying that she had devoted her life to music. She was also not shy about taking a stand when it came to raising her prices or asking for a share of the royalties earned on her songs, and turned down awards on the grounds that they should be awarded to younger talent.
She had continued working well into her 80s, and her longevity saw her lend her voice to teenage actors who were 50 years her junior. Her final recording was in 2019 when she released the song Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki in tribute to the Indian army.
Mangeshkar received several of India’s highest accolades honouring her work, including in 1989 the Dadasaheb Phalke award, India’s highest award in the field of cinema, and in 2001 she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour. She was awarded the French Legion of Honour in 2009.