Heaping praises on the ‘Queen of Melody’ Lata Mangeshkar, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan shared an anecdote, revealing how his father Harivansh Rai Bachchan used to describe the former.
Host of the quiz-based reality show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ season 15, Amitabh started the episode by saying: “I, Amitabh Tej Bachchan, present yet another knowledgeable, rewarding and grand episode of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. Ladies and gentlemen, all our episodes this week are an ode to mothers. I make my obeisance to them.”
In the episode 36 of the show, Amitabh welcomed Deepak Sahajwani from Surat, Gujarat, on the hot seat.
For Rs 5,000, the contestant was asked an audio question. The song ‘Piya Tose Naina Laage’ was played. The question was: Identify the singer of this song.
The options given were- Anuradha Paudwal, Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt, and Alka Yagnik.
The correct answer was Lata Mangeshkar.
The ‘Don’ actor went on to say: “This song is from the film 'Guide'. The music composer is Sachin Dev Burman or S. D. Burman. The lyricist was Shailendra.”
The contestant said: “She's my mom's favourite singer.”
Amitabh said:”Amazing artiste. I'm not sure whether the current generation has listened to this song or not. Lata ji sang it beautifully. The moment the song starts, you know it's Lata ji.”
Contestant shared: “Sir, I still remember, when I was at home, music was the bonding element in our family. My mother loved listening to songs. Lata Mangeshkar was her favourite singer. Every time I hear Lata ji’s songs, I am reminded of my mother.”
To this, the ‘Khakee’ fame actor said: “I once asked my father what he loved about her the most. My father said, ‘Her voice is like flowing honey’. Honey flows in one continuous line.”
“One time, I had to talk about her, on one of the shows, and I said, ‘Our neighbouring countries, often say this when praising us, our country has everything you do, barring two things, the Taj Mahal and Lata Mangeshkar,” he added.
On September 28, it was the 94th birth anniversary of Lata Mangeshkar.
She is one of the most celebrated singers, and her contribution to the Indian music industry in a career spanning eight decades gained her titles like 'Queen of Melody', and 'Voice of the Millennium'. She has recorded songs in over 36 Indian languages.
