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

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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

Delhi HC adjourns Salman Khan’s plea against release of ‘Kala Hiran’ till July 1

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New Delhi, June 19: The Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s plea seeking to restrain the release of the proposed film “Kala Hiran”, without granting any interim relief at this stage.

A vacation Bench of Justice Madhu Jain directed that a complete copy of the plaint and accompanying documents be supplied to the respondent filmmaker and listed the matter for hearing on July 1.

During the hearing, Salman Khan’s counsel, advocate Nizam Pasha, submitted that the film is purportedly based on the actor’s life and has been produced without his consent.

While pressing for interim relief, Pasha also informed the high court that the poster and trailer of the film had already been released, though the release date of the movie is yet to be announced.

Opposing the plea for urgent relief, counsel appearing for the filmmakers submitted that they had not been served the complete set of documents in the case.

“On Wednesday, they served me only a copy of the application, not the plaint,” the counsel argued, adding that the filmmakers were receiving death threats over the project and that an FIR had already been lodged.

After hearing the parties, the Delhi High Court directed Salman Khan to furnish the complete set of documents, including the plaint, to the respondent and fixed the matter for arguments on July 1. Shortly thereafter, the actor’s counsel mentioned the matter again and contended that the filmmakers had already been served, seeking an earlier hearing date.

However, Justice Jain observed that the matter had already been listed in July and declined to advance the hearing.

The dispute reached the Delhi High Court days after Salman Khan’s legal team issued a notice to the makers of “Kala Hiran: The Battle for Legacy”, asking them to halt the release of the film and remove all promotional material, including posters and publicity content.

Directed by Bharat S. Shrinet and produced by Amit Jani, the film is inspired by the blackbuck poaching case involving Salman Khan and also portrays his alleged rivalry with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The makers have described it as a blend of courtroom drama and crime thriller mounted on an international scale.

The controversy surrounding the film has intensified in recent days, with producer Jani alleging that he has been receiving death threats ahead of the movie’s release. On June 18, Jani claimed that a Pakistani terrorist had threatened him with a drone and grenade attack over the film and said that he had informed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Rajasthan Police, and CRPF officials. Subsequently, Jani alleged that he received a second death threat within 24 hours.

In a complaint lodged with police in Jodhpur, he claimed that an unidentified caller, identifying himself as a Salman Khan fan, threatened to kill him within three days. The producer urged authorities to immediately register a case and arrest the accused.

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AICWA demands high-level investigation into actor Sanchita Ugale’s suicide

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Mumbai, June 15: The sudden demise of actress Sanchita Ugale has left the entire television industry in a state of shock.

All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) President Suresh Shyamlal Gupta has now urged the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, to order a high-level inquiry into the death of Sanchita Ugale.

AICWA has requested an in-depth investigation into every possible angle of the case to ensure justice to the deceased and his family.

An official statement shared by the Association read, “Her untimely departure has left her family shattered and the entire Indian film industry mourning the loss of a young talent whose memories will live on forever.”

“Every life is precious. The truth behind this tragic incident must come out, and the family of Sanchita Ugale deserves nothing less than a fair, impartial, and thorough investigation. AICWA urges the authorities to leave no stone unturned and to ensure that all aspects of this case are examined with complete transparency,” they further shared

AICWA has further urged the Government of Maharashtra and the concerned authorities to establish a dedicated committee to examine the increasing number of deaths and mental health-related crises being reported within the entertainment industry.

Additionally, they have also asked to review the safety, well-being, and support systems available to the artists.

“In recent years, the Indian entertainment industry has witnessed several deaths and alleged suicide cases. In many instances, questions raised by family members, colleagues, and the public have remained unanswered. Therefore, it is essential that investigators examine all available evidence, circumstances, and possible angles in this case with complete transparency,” the statement further read.

According to police reports, Sanchita Ugale died by suicide at her residence in Sai Santoshi Building, in Nalasopara East, Mumbai. The unfortunate incident took place on June 14 between 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm.

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Ajay Devgn’s ‘Dhamaal 4’ gets a release date, movie to hit theatres on July 10, 2026

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Mumbai, June 10: The makers of ‘Dhamaal 4’ have officially announced the theatrical release date of the much-awaited comedy entertainer.

Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn on Wednesday, shared a brand-new poster from the film, revealing that the latest installment of the popular ‘Dhamaal’ franchise will arrive in cinemas on July 10, 2026.

Earlier on Tuesday Ajay had shared another poster that featured Ajay Devgn himself and veteran actor Sanjay Mishra hanging precariously from a rocky cliff as they appear to be on a treasure hunt.

Sharing the poster on, Ajay wrote, “Inn dono ka hai ek hi goal, to get their hands on gold.”

Directed by Indra Kumar, Dhamaal 4 will bring back the franchise’s signature blend of slapstick humour, treasure hunts and larger-than-life comic situations.

The film stars Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaaferi and Sanjay Mishra in key roles.

The ensemble cast also includes Esha Gupta, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Anjali Anand, Upendra Limaye, Vijay Patkar and Ravi Kishan.

For the uninitiated, Dhamaal franchise began with the 2007 hit Dhamaal, followed by Double Dhamaal in 2011 and Total Dhamaal in 2019.

Produced by Ajay Devgn, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ashok Thakeria, Indra Kumar, Anand Pandit and Kumar Mangat Pathak, Dhamaal 4 is presented by T-Series in association with Devgn Films, Maruti International and Panorama Studios.

Earlier, Riteish Deshmukh had also unveiled a quirky new character poster from the upcoming comedy entertainer. The poster showed Riteish hanging precariously from a cliff edge in the middle of a dense jungle while a frightened Anjali Anand is seen struggling to hold on to him. Adding to the chaos, a monkey is seen swinging nearby and a snake is wrapped around his leg.

Sharing the poster, Riteish wrote, “Get ready to join the most unplanned and unstoppable treasure hunt ever”.

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