Condoling the death of 'melody queen' Lata Mangeshkar, iconic music composer AR Rahman on Sunday, February 6, said he was very lucky to record songs and sing along with her and learnt the importance of practice from her. Mangeshkar died in a Mumbai hospital on Sunday morning following multiple organ failure. She was 92.
"It is a very very sad day for all of us," Rahman said, adding: "Lataji was not just a singer, not just an icon, but part of the consciousness of India, Indianness, Hindustani music, Urdu and Hindi poetry. She has sung in so many languages." "She left a huge void ... It will be very difficult to fill," he said.
His late father had a picture of Mangeshkar near his bed and would wake up seeing her image and get inspired before going for recordings, Rahman said. His father RK Shekhar was a music composer.
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"So, it starts there," he said in a video posted on his YouTube channel, adding that he was so lucky to record a few songs and sing along with her and be a part of her show where, "I learnt probably one of the most important things, about performing on stage."
Mangeshkar collaborated with Rahman in songs including ‘Jiya Jale’ from the movie Dil Se and ‘Luka Chuppi’ from Rang De Basanti among others. Recalling him seeing Mangeshkar practising ahead of her show by singing 'very slowly and every lyric clearly,' the celebrity composer said, 'that one incident changed my life.' From then onwards, he would practise the songs before his shows, he said.
Even though 'we have the wealth of her songs,' not having her physically is a huge void which is very difficult to fill, he said. "I know that there are hundreds and thousands of singers who got inspired by her songs. All we can do is just celebrate and learn from this legend who has left us. God bless her soul," he said.
In a tweet, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning musician said, "Love, respect and prayers."
Love, respect and prayers @mangeshkarlata pic.twitter.com/PpJb1AdUdc
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) February 6, 2022