Latha Mangeshkar, the name itself known by every Indian. She is in millions of hearts for her contribution to Indian cinema over the decades. Latha Ji has given voice to too many actresses and sang thousands of songs in multiple languages. However, the actress turned to 87 today and here are the few interesting facts about the great singer.

Latha Mangeshkar was born on September 28, 1929, in a Marathi family who was living in Indore. She is a daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who is a noted classical singer cum actor. Her mother Shevanti is a housewife.

Latha is the eldest child in her family and she has three younger sisters – Asha Bhosle the popular Indian singer, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. After the death of her father in 1942, Latha is taking care of her family and he led the responsibilities of her family. She has a passion for singing that leads to the singer to that profession.

In 1942, she made her singing debut with Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Bhaari of Kiti Hasaal Marathi movie which was directed by Vasant Joglekar. Unfortunately, the song was skipped from the final edit of the film. Meanwhile, she had offered a small role Navyug Chitrapat’s Marathi film Pahili Mangalaagaur and in that film, she sang a song natali Chaitraachi Navalaai.

Latha learnt music lessons from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and later she started training under Amanat Khan Devaswale because of her first teacher transferred to newly formed Pakistan. Lathaji faced so many problems when she entered into Film Industry. The top notch singers like Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum ruled the cine industry at the time of her entry. But she gained more popularity with her immense singing skills and great voice.

Latha Mangeshkar Filmography

Latha Ji got her first major break with the song Dil Mera Toda from the film Majboor which was released in 1948. During 1950’s Latah ji made her mark in Bollywood industry as a good singer and her career took an upward swing. In between 1950’s to 1960’s she associated with many top singers and music composers like SD Burman, Naushad Ali, Salil Chowdhury and Madan Mohan. She sang for movies like Baiju Bawra (1952), Shree 420 (1955) and Devdas (1955).

Awards and Rewards

In 1958, she won a film fare award in best female playback singer category for the song Aaja Re Pardesi from the film Madhumati. She had a gap with SD Burman in 1950’s and the duo didn’t associate with each other until 1962.

In 1973, she won national Film Award for the song Beeti na Bitai from Parichay.

Latha Mangeshkar received many award and honours like Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, dada Saheb Phalke, NTR National Award, Bharat Ratna and Film Fare Life Time Achievement Award.

Most Embarrassing Moment

Latha Mangeshkar sang Aiye Mere Watan Ke Logon to dedicate this for soldiers who had died in Indo-China war. In 1963, on republic day she sang the song and everyone got into tears including former prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

We wish Lataji a very Happy Birthday and all the best for future.