Mumbai: In her illustrious singing career spanning seven decades, Lata Mangeshkar sang in 36 languages and worked with the best Indian composers and music directors.
Strangely, she never sang for the incomparable OP Nayyar, one of the most melodious music composers of Hindi cinema.
But why this anomaly?
Lata, who was asked this question several times over the years, had no qualms saying that Nayyar felt his compositions didn’t suit her voice.
“He (Nayyar) would say Lata is the No. 1 singer, but her style is not suited to my compositions… That’s why he preferred Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle,” Lata said in one of her TV interviews a decade and a half ago.
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Nayyar himself faced this query.
“I found Lata’s voice too thin, too shrill, which did not suit my compositions,” explained Nayyar, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 81.
“I needed a more vivacious, richer, healthier voice of, say, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle,” he added.
Nayyar had even claimed that he was the only music director who succeeded in Bollywood without Lata’s voice.
