Bollywood
Lata Mangeshkar, the ageless voice of India, passes away at 92

Lata Mangeshkar, India’s most loved singer who had once moved Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears, leaves behind a teary-eyed nation of admirers who grew up listening to her immutable voice give wings to the words of poets and the screen careers of legions of heroines.
India’s Melody Queen, who also composed music for Marathi films and was a producer as well, and had the distinction of being conferred with the highest civilian honours of India and France, passed away on Sunday morning at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, where she had been admitted because of Covid-related complications on January 11.
Lata Didi, as she was known among her family and followers, was 92 and is survived by her siblings — playback singer and composer Meena Khadilkar, popular singer and restaurateur Asha Bhosale, singer Usha Mangeshkar, and music director Hridayanath Mangeshkar.
She never married, but was close to the late Raj Singh Dungarpur, the aristocratic former cricketer and President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 1996 to 1999.
One of India’s most loved voices, Lata Mangeshkar was the recipient of three National Film Awards, seven Filmfare awards, and of course, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989. She was conferred the Bharat Ratna in 2001, becoming the second singer after M.S. Subbulakshmi to be so honoured, and the French awarded her the Officer of the Legion of Honour.
In 1974, Lata Mangeshkar became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, London. She had indeed come a long, long way since the time when the first song that she recorded for a film — ‘Kiti Hasaal’ in 1942 — was dropped in the final cut.
Born in what was then the princely state of Indore on September 28, 1929, to the classical singer, Marathi theatre actor and writer of musical plays Deenanath Mangeshkar and his wife Shevanti (Shudhamati), Lata Mangeshkar was originally named Hema by her parents, but they later changed it to Lata after the character Latika from one of her father’s musical plays.
Lata Mangeshkar’s association with the performing arts began when she was five and started appearing in her father’s musical plays, and it continued even after her father’s premature death in 1942, thanks to his good friend, the actor and director Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), who took the family under his wings.
It was Master Vinayak who took Lata Mangeshkar to Mumbai, paved her way into the world of Marathi cinema, got her to take Hindustani classical music lessons from Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the Bhendi Bazaar Gharana, and introduced her to Vasant Desai, V. Shantaram’s favourite music composer.
But it was not until Master Vinayak’s death in 1948 that the struggling singer-actor found the person whom she considered to be her “godfather” — the music composer Ghulam Haider, who gave Lata Mangeshkar her first big break with the song ‘Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora’ in the movie ‘Majboor’ (1948). It was her first big break.
Haider took his protege to Shashadhar Mukherjee, the Filmistan boss now better known as Kajol and Rani Mukherjee’s grandfather, for his film, ‘Shaheed’ (1948), but he turned her down because he found her voice to be “too thin”.
Lata Mangeshkar proved him oh-so wrong just a year later when her song ‘Aayega Aanewaala’, filmed on the gorgeous Madhubala in Kamal Amrohi’s debut directorial, ‘Mahal’ (1949), became an ageless hit.
And in one of life’s delicious ironies, Mukherjee’s grand-daughter lip-synced the ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ song, ‘Mere Khwabon Mein’, which was sung by none other than Lata Mangeshkar, as well as the other numbers picturised on her and Shah Rukh Khan.
Since ‘Mahal’, Lata Mangeshkar was courted by just about every music director of note — from Anil Biswas to S.D. Burman (and his son Rahul Dev, whose first and last song she sang), Naushad (who had asked her to sing like the then reigning nightingale, Noorjehan), Madan Mohan, Shankar-Jaikishan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal (for whom she’s said to have sung 700 songs in 35 years), and Kalyanji-Anandji.
And she worked with every contemporary composer of note — from Anand-Milind, sons of Chitragupt, with whom she had also worked, and Anu Malik, Sardar Malik’s son, to Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman. It is said she worked with music directors from 13 states in her star-studded career.
After Noorjehan moved to Pakistan, Lata Mangeshkar became the go-to playback singer for every film producer and music composer. She did not disappoint them.
Lata Mangeshkar lent her voice to an endless succession of chart-topping numbers in Hindi cinema, from ‘Allah Tero Naam’ and ‘Rangeela Re’ to the ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’ title track, to ‘Lukka Chuppi’ in ‘Rang De Basanti’, apart from songs in Marathi (she also composed the music for several Marathi films in her ‘Anandghan’ avatar), Bengali, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Sinhala.
In 1974, the Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artiste in human history, stating that she had recorded “not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages” between 1948 and 1974. The claim was contested by her long-time rival, Mohammad Rafi, who claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs.
After Rafi’s death, the Guinness Book in its 1984 edition listed Lata Mangeshkar in its entry for ‘Most Recordings’, but it also recorded Rafi’s claim. Later editions of the Guinness Book said Lata Mangeshkar had sung no less than 30,000 songs from 1948 to 1987.
For 73 years, from 1943 to 2015, when she recorded her last song for a film (the Indo-Norwegian production, ‘Dunno Y2…Life Is A Moment’, which was all about gay love), Lata Mangeshkar commanded a fan following and an inimitable reputation with not many parallels in the Indian performing arts.
The late Yash Chopra, who was one of Lata Mangeshkar’s favourite directors, said in an article he had penned for BBC.com on the occasion of the singer’s 75th birthday (not longer after she had sung the famous ‘Veer Zaara’ song, ‘Tere Liye Hum Hain Jiye’, with Roop Kumar Rathod): “I see God’s blessing in her voice.” We are blessed to have that voice live with us forever.
Bollywood
Delnaaz Irani explains why audience loyalty has shifted in today’s TV landscape

Mumbai, June 24: Actress Delnaaz Irani opened up about the evolving nature of the small screen and why audience loyalty isn’t what it used to be.
Speaking to media, she shared valuable insights into how the rise of OTT platforms, changing viewing habits, and the abundance of content have transformed the way audiences engage with television today. Irani, known for her extensive body of work on television, spoke about how the industry has evolved over the years. Addressing the common perception that TV shows no longer enjoy the long runs they once did, the actress maintained that the quality of content hasn’t necessarily declined.
She emphasized that each show has its own journey and that content creators are still putting in dedicated effort to bring meaningful stories to viewers. However, she acknowledged that the media landscape has undergone a massive transformation. Comparing it to the ‘90s and early 2000s, Delnaaz pointed out that the television industry back then operated with fewer channels and limited platforms.
“Every show has its own journey. Content creators are working hard, and good content is still being made. But the media landscape has changed drastically. Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, we didn’t have this many channels or platforms. Today, OTT has taken over in a big way. There’s so much variety that audience loyalty is scattered. The TRP game has shifted. It’s not about quality alone—luck and timing play a big role.”
Delnaaz Irani also reflected on her experience with the beloved historical comedy “Akbar Birbal.” She called it one of the most special projects of her career, having been part of the popular TV series for nearly three years. The Kal Ho Naa Ho actress expressed a deep sense of pride in revisiting the same role for the stage version, calling it a full-circle moment.
Speaking about the challenges of live comedy, Delnaaz shared that the stage has always been home for her. With her acting roots grounded in theatre, she finds performing comedy in front of a live audience not just effortless but immensely enjoyable. “Comedy has always come naturally to me. I started my journey from the stage; that’s where my acting roots are. The stage was my school, my training ground. So, for me, doing comedy on stage doesn’t feel like work—it feels like play, like I’m just having fun.”
Bollywood
Pankaj Tripathi talks about how growing up in Bihar influenced his craft

Mumbai, June 24: Acclaimed star Pankaj Tripathi has opened up about how his growing up days in Bihar influenced his craft in acting.
Talking about how growing up in Bihar has influenced his craft, Pankaj told IANS: “Of course it has. That will happen. We are nothing. We are puppets of our experience. So my experience, everyone’s experience, not mine, where I was born, where I grew up, my experience is in my work.”
Pankaj added: “Even if I was in corporate, or in any other field, I would still be there because I am in acting, I am in art, and in this, our art form, performing art, is very close to human emotion and nature.”
“If we leave singing, everyone has an instrument, if we leave singing. In the art form of acting, the instrument is your experience, your body, your emotions.Through that we create something. Yes. So the experience we have, we recall that memory and put it in scenes and films.”
The actor currently awaits the release of “Metro…In Dino,” which delves into the complex and modern relationships, the upcoming film promises an exploration of love, heartbreak, and human connection.
The film stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Pankaj Tripathi, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher and Neena Gupta. Directed by Anurag Basu, the film will be in cinemas on July 4.
The film is a spiritual sequel to the 2007 film “Life in a… Metro” directed by Basu. Partly inspired by Billy Wilder’s romantic comedy film The Apartment, it features an ensemble cast of Dharmendra, Nafisa Ali, Shilpa Shetty, Kay Kay Menon, Shiney Ahuja, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kangana Ranaut, and Sharman Joshi in lead roles.
It narrates the lives of nine people living in Mumbai and deals with topics such as extramarital affairs, sanctity of marriage, commitment phobia, and love.
Bollywood
Shekhar Kapur explores the deep connection between creativity and mental health

Mumbai, June 23: Veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur shared his thoughts on the relationship between creativity, mental health, and the nature of artistic genius.
Taking to Instagram, Kapur reflected on Vincent van Gogh’s iconic painting Starry Night, calling it “the world’s most valued painting,” and marveling at how it was created during one of the most turbulent phases in the artist’s life. In his post, he revealed that Gogh painted Starry Night while admitted to a mental asylum, a time marked by severe emotional struggles. He further reflected on the fact that while he can return to his “normal” self after storytelling, many legendary artists like Van Gogh struggled with mental illness, sometimes unable to make that switch.
Calling for a broader understanding of mental health, Shekhar Kapur challenged conventional definitions of normalcy and illness. Sharing photos of Vincent’s paintings, the Mr. India director wrote, “This is the world’s most valued painting. Starry Nights was painted by Van Gogh while he was in the mental asylum and at the height of his ‘mental illness.’ Van Gough’s bold, expressive brush created swirling patterns in the night sky. Physicians have long tried to solve the equations of fluid dynamics. Fluid dynamics represents the true nature of the universe. And according to them, apparently Van Gogh painted a true representation of fluid dynamics!” (sic)
“How does an artist reputed to be suffering from schizophrenia manage to capture the true nature of our universe?? Quite apart from examining the relationship between art and science, what I wonder about a lot is the relationship between schizophrenia and creativity. When I write a story, I am transformed into the world of my characters. To help me transport my readers/listeners to that world, I need to believe in that world myself. I need to transport myself to that world. I need to become my characters…. Am I then experiencing a schizoid state? When I am transported into different worlds, believing I am somewhere else and somebody else?”
His post further read, “Fortunately I am able to switch those characters off. And return to my normal state (whatever normal might be) … and yet artists like Van Gogh, who painted some of the greatest poets/artists in the world, have suffered from mental illness. not being able to switch back to normal (whatever normal might be)”
Shekhar Kapur ended his post adding, “In that case we need to redefine mental illnesses… we need to redefine what normal is… if all creativity happens beyond the normal… in a state that so many artists, dancers, musicians, and actors define as the ‘zone’ they tap into… Where is this zone? What do we tap into when we tell stories we believe in? When do we paint the nature of the universe as we see it? Is it a schizophrenic act? #Art #Schizophrenic #Schizophrenia.”
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