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The Nightingale will live forever in her 50,000 songs in 14 languages

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As the flames leapt up to consume the mortal remains of Lata Mangeshkar, Gulzar’s words set to R.D. Burman’s music, which the Nightingale immortalised with her ageless voice — “Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai …” — kept swirling in the hearts and minds of her followers around the world.

There couldn’t have been more appropriate words to encapsulate the truth that only a few souls are able to stir the consciousness of generations, transcending all boundaries. Lata Mangeshkar was one of those rare souls.

The Nightingale’s radiant image seemed to shine above the political and tinsel stars who had converged at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park to pay their final respects to the departed soul. More than her smile, that famous twinkle in her eye seemed to assure Lataji’s countless fans that she was very much there.

And how can she ever go away? Each of her more than 50,000 songs in 14 languages will ensure her immortality.

As much as her voice is mesmerising, equally her carefully draped saree and tightly held hair with a small round ‘bindi’ in the middle of her forehead will remain etched in the memory of every Indian. She looked very much like a goddess in ‘avatar’. It wasn’t without a reason that generations has regarded Lataji as Goddess Saraswati incarnate.

Lata Didi, as the nation fondly calls her, has forever set the standards that perhaps may never be matched. Singing will never be like hers, although clones are in thousands.

Songs for every mood, every age, all seasons, festivals, celebrations, all occasions of happiness or sadness. From spiritually uplifting bhajans to soothing romantic numbers, to racy, pacy tracks, she did them all in her 73-year career as the voice of the nation.

Not a day or hour goes by when her songs are not being aired, sung by talent hunt participants, or remixed by sound engineers. remixed is not being aired or even hummed. Even for the upcoming generation, her songs are the lessons to be learnt and in musical talent shows aired on TV channels or FM radio, it is mostly her songs that are sung.

Lataji continues to live in her songs. She has been immortalised in her songs, and each time a song by her is sung, Lataji will come alive.

All her songs are iconic; each is unique in its own style. There is no one that is the best, because all are the best. Her voice gave that magical touch to Hindi movies that have always been mostly about song and dance.

Lataji is every singer’s dream, and for the masses her songs are emotions that they have grown with. Listening to her songs on the radio and TV, seeing them picturised in movies, singing them in school and college competitions, or in ‘antaksharis’, and dancing to them in wedding sangeet ceremonies, we have lived Lataji’s songs for decades. They have been a part of the growing-up years of all Indians. Lata Mangeshkar has always been there, the quintessential diet of our emotions.

“Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai … chehra ye badal jayege … meri awaaz hi pechaan hai … ghar yaad rahe” (My voice will be my identity even if the way I look changes). Gulzar sahab seemed to have written these words, which Lataji sang with Bhupinder Singh in ‘Kinara’ in 1977, inspired by her life.

Lata Didi, as the world will always remember her as, her voice and her face radiating magnanimity will never fade away.

Bollywood

Aadinath Kothare recalls school days with Ranbir Kapoor, reveals interesting Kapoor family connection

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Actor Aadinath Kothare has opened up about his school-day memories with Ranbir Kapoor.

In an exclusive quote shared with media, he recalled how the two would play cricket together as they lived in the same building. He also shared an interesting connection between their families, revealing that his father had once played Neetu Singh’s brother on screen. Recalling his school days with Ranbir, Aadinath shared, “Ranbir was my senior in school. We used to stay in the same building and play cricket together. I remember Vinoy Gandhi introducing me to Ranbir in school once.”

The actor also spoke about a connection that has come full circle with his casting in “Ramayana.” Kothare mentioned, “My father was a child actor in his younger days, and he had played Neetu Singh’s brother in Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani. What a coincidence that I am playing Ranbir’s brother in Ramayana.”

In Namit Malhotra’s “Ramayana”, Aadinath Kothare plays the role of Bharat, Lord Ram’s devoted younger brother.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, “Ramayana: Part 1” is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, traditionally attributed to sage Valmiki. The film is the first instalment of a two-part cinematic adaptation and chronicles the life of Lord Ram, from his childhood to his 14-year exile. The film features an ensemble cast led by Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, and Yash as Ravana. The cast also includes Ravi Dubey, Anupam Kher, Kajal Aggarwal, Rakul Preet Singh, Vivek Oberoi, Kunal Kapoor, Aadinath Kothare, Arun Govil, Indira Krishnan, and Lara Dutta, among others.

Produced by Namit Malhotra and Yash, the film has been written by Nitesh Tiwari and Shridhar Raghavan. It was released in theatres on 5 November.

Speaking about Aadinath’s acting journey, he made his first screen appearance as a child actor in his father’s film Majha Chakula (1994). He later made his adult acting debut with “Ved Lavi Jeeva.”

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When a priest told Sanjay Dutt that he was a king in his past life

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When Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt appeared on season 5 of the popular chat show, ‘Koffee With Karan’ with Sushmita Sen, he narrated an unusual incident when he learned about his past life.

The ‘Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.’ actor shared that he was told that he was a king in his past life, who was betrayed by his wife. Heartbroken, he eventually starved himself to death in the jungle.

He added that a friend of his suggested that they should visit a village.

Speaking to host Karan Johar, Sanjay shared, “It is a small village, and over there you give your thumb impression, and they find your leaf. So I got my leaf, and he went into my past life, saying that I was a king in the Ashoka dynasty. My wife had an affair with my minister, and she sent me away to war to get killed, but I killed a lot of people, and I came back, and I found out, and I killed her, and I killed him. I was a Shiv Bhakt. So I went into the forest, and I starved myself to death.”

Sanjay added that it is because of the past karma that he was born in a good family; however, he added that he also believes it is because of all the killings he did that he also has to face some hurdles in this life.

“That’s why I was born in a good family. And that’s why I live the way I live. That’s why I have this career. But all the killings I did in the past life. I had to pay for it, so it’s payback time this janam. So it’s crazy,” Sanjay added.

Talking about his career trajectory, Sanjay made his acting debut with ‘Rocky’ in 1981 and went on to become a part of many prominent movies such as ‘Khalnayak (1993)’, ‘Vaastav: The ‘Reality (1999)’, ‘Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)’, and ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006)’, to name just a few.

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Saif Ali Khan gets back to work, shares shirtless workout video: ‘First the mind, then the body’

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Actor Saif Ali Khan has resumed his fitness routine, giving a glimpse of his workout session through a new video.

The actor shared the clip on Instagram in which he is seen shirtless while exercising. In the video, the ‘Omkara’ actor is seen flaunting his well-toned physique and muscles as he performs a series of exercises and a few yoga asanas. Going shirtless for the workout session, Saif appears focused on bringing both his mind and body back on track.

Alongside the video, Saif spoke about getting back on track, highlighting the importance of mental and physical well-being as he looks forward to the New Year. “Time to get back to work!.. First the mind.. then the body .. back on track for a happy new year,” he wrote.

A few days ago, Saif, who is an avid social media user, shared another interesting video on his Instagram account. The ‘Hum Tum’ actor posted a clip in which he was seen opening a champagne bottle using a meat cleaver after failing to find a bottle opener. In the video, Saif first placed his glasses on top of his head before swiftly opening the bottle in one smooth motion. He then handed the champagne bottle to one of his helpers.

Sharing the clip, he captioned it, “Nawabi hacks #23, when you can’t find an opener, you try the meat cleaver!! Please do not try this at home…(sic).”

Meanwhile, Saif recently made headlines following his appearance with wife Kareena Kapoor Khan on Karan Johar’s popular chat show ‘Koffee With Karan’. During the episode, Karan asked the couple to call someone famous. However, Saif expressed his desire to call his wine dealer instead. When the ‘Jab We Met’ actress pointed out that the wine dealer was not a celebrity, the actor quipped, “Well, he is a celebrity to me.”

During the conversation, Saif also opened up about how the attack at his residence last year had affected his younger son, Jeh. Recalling an emotional moment, the actor revealed that Jeh had handed him his plastic sword and asked him to use it if a similar incident happened again.

“Jeh gave me his plastic sword and said, ‘Next time that thief comes, use this.’ For a couple of months after that, he kind of kept the plastic sword with me… So, the whole thing happened in front of him, the fight and all and he thinks I am a great protector. He thinks I am Iron Man,” Saif recalled.

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