Lata Mangeshkar turns 85, B-Town wishes good health

Mumbai: As Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar turned 85 today, several film celebrities including sister Asha Bhosle, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, singer Shreya Ghosal wished her and thanked her for giving several memorable songs. “Your voice is the thread that connects the human spirit to the almighty. Happy Birthday, many many happy returns of the day. Love, respect and may you live many more years,” Bachchan posted. Asha posted some black and white pictures of their childhood, where the two sisters could be seen sharing light moments. [caption id=“attachment_1734235” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Facebook[/caption] “Birthday Greetings to Lata Didi,” she wrote along with the photographs. Dream Girl Hema said, “Please accept my pranams (greetings) and all best wishes on your birthday Lataji.” Playback singer Shreya, who considers Mangeshkar her idol, said she continues to be inspired by the veteran crooner’s songs. “My heartfelt wishes to the Nightingale of India, Lataji on her 85th birthday. Your songs inspire my life every passing day. Always grateful,” she posted. Music composer Salim Merchant, singer Shaan, filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, ‘Teri Deewani’ hitmaker Kailash Kher also took to Twitter to wish the legendary singer. Magneshkar has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has lent her voice for over 36 regional Indian languages and foreign languages. Her major work, however, remains in Hindi. Having started her classical music training from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan in 1945, she also learnt music from Amanat Khan Devaswale and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma after Amanat Ali left for Pakistan post the Partition. Though she started singing at the age of 13, Mangeshkar got her first major break in Hindi cinema by composer Ghulam Haider. He asked her to sing ‘Dil mera toda’ in 1948 film ‘Majboor’. But it was ‘Aayega Aanewaala’ from 1949 ‘Mahal’ that catapulted her to success. Composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by Madhubala, the song became a rage, announcing the arrival of Mangeshkar. Recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, Mangeshkar has sung for generations of Bollywood actresses from Madhubala to Kareena Kapoor. PTI