Lata Mangeshkar

Born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on September 28, 1929, to a talented classical singer and theatre actor Dinanath Mangeshkar and Shudhmati (also known as Mai), Lata was the first of five very talented children. Her other siblings are - Hridaynath, Asha, Usha and Meena; who are all involved with the Marathi and Hindi Music Industry with varying degrees of success.

The family moved to Maharashtra because of Dinanath's theatrical career. Lata started performing at the age of 5 in her father's plays. She was impressed by her father's singing and the music of the KL Saigal from a very young age. Her father nurtured her talent in singing. Lata's father died when she was only 13 years old and she started acting in films to bear the burden of his house. She made her first appearance in Pahili Mangalagaur in 1942. In the later years, she was seen acting in many films like Maajhe Baal in 1944, Chimukla Sansar in 1943, Gajabhau in 1944, Badi Maa in 1945, Jeevan Yatra 1946 and Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1952.

The year 1947 was the turning point of her life. The popular singer of her time Noor Jahan and many directors left the country after partition of India opening the doorstep of success for Lata Mangeskar. She won the favor of her audience and status in the then flim industry by singing for films like Aap ke Sewa Main in 1947 and Aayega Aanewaala in 1949 after independence.

By 1950s', Lata Mangeskar established herself as a popular singer in films. She worked with some of the great music directors of that time namely Anil Biswas and Shankar-Jaikishan. She sang in films like Ek Thi Ladki, Maha, Badi Bahen and Barsaat to make them successful. She worked with nearly all the major music directors and ruled the Hindi film industry in the next three decades as the unchallenged musical queen of film songs. She worked with some of the renowned music directors like R.D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, S.D. Burman, , Naushad, and C. Ramchandra and Madan Mohan and more. Some of her memorable songs that rule the heart of his fans are from films such as Ram Teri Ganga Maili, 1986, Lekin in 1990, Junglee in 1961, Jab Jab Phool Khile in 1965 to name a few.

The Government of India awarded her with Bharat Ratna in 2001, the highest civilian honor given to any Indian citizen.

Satyajit Ray Shabana Azmi Abhishek Bachchan Deepa Mehta Mahesh Bhatt Yash Chopra Raj Kapoor Aishwarya Rai Mira Nair Amitabh Bachchan Shah Rukh Khan Mammootty Javed Akhtar A.R. Rahman Gulzar Asha Bhonsle Remo Fernandes M.S. Subbulakshmi Dr. Bhupen Hazarika