The month of February has brought more sadness to the Indian music industry. We have lost three stars within a fortnight and the fans are still reviving from the grief. The Queen of Melody Lata Mangeshkar passed away on 6th February and no mourning is enough to compensate for the loss of the Indian Music Legend. While the music lovers were still coping with the loss, two other musical legends, Geetashree Sandhya Mukherjee and the greatest composer of Bollywood Bappi Lahiri also passed away after 10 days. Let’s take a moment to embrace these musical stars of the industry by bringing back their reminiscence of creative influence.
Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022)
Lata Mangeshkar was one of the Indian musical legends who were widely considered for their influential musical career. With her prolific career spanning over seven fruitful decades, the artist has sung numerous tracks as a playback singer and occasional music composer. Her creative influence honed her with the titles like ‘Nightingale of India’, ‘Queen of Melody’, ‘Voice of the Millennium’, and many others.
Family
Lata Mangeshkar was born on 28th September 1929 in Gomantak Maratha Samaj brahmin family. Her father Deenanath Mangeshkar was a talented classical singer and actor belonging to Indore. Her mother Shevanti was belonging from Gujarat and was married to Deenanath after the death of her older sister. Growing up with the Marathi and Konkani musical influence, Lata developed her passion for music at a very young age and trained under the guidance of her father.
The surname Mangeshkar is referred to the Mangesh town in Goa which was Deenanath’s native place. Lata was the eldest child in the family followed by her siblings Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath who have earned a lot of respect in the industry as accomplished music artists.
Total Number Of songs Recorded
Lata was listed in The Guinness Book of Records as the most recorded playback singer in the history of not only Bollywood but the world music. It has been stated that the artist has sung over 25,000 tracks within the span of 1948 to 1974. However, the title was further acclaimed by Mohammad Rafi who claimed to sing more than 28,000 songs. In the later editions of The Guinness Book after 1984, it has been stated that Lata sang over 30,000 tracks within that span including solo, duets, chorus-backed tracks, and musical projects in 20 different languages.
First Song
Though Lata Mangeshkar has a star-studded career in Bollywood playback singing, her first song was in Marathi. The song ‘Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari’ from Vasant Joglekar’s Marathi movie ‘Kiti Hasaal’ (1942) was the first single sung by Lata.
Last Song
The last song by this legendary singer goes to the Indian Army as the singer paid her tribute through the track ‘Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti ki’. The track has been released on 30 March 2019 and it is considered the last musical project.
Movie songs
This unwavering singer has reached a height of success in playback singing which no other music artist can possibly achieve. Though she sang in multiple native languages and in regional movies, her Bollywood tracks became most popular among the mass audience. Some of her tracks like, ‘Lag Ja Gale’, ‘ Chalo Dildar Chalo’, ‘Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hain’, ‘Aaj Phir Jeeney Ki Tamanna Hai’, etc many others still buzz through the playlists of music enthusiasts. Some of the modern Bollywood tracks like ‘Tujhe Dekha Toh’, ‘O Paalanhaare’, ‘Lukachhupi’, etc are examples of her versatile nature to work with different kinds of music producers and being adaptive to every kind of style and musical evolution.
Awards
The list of awards and recognition gained by this musical legend is given below.
- Bharat Ratna in 2001
- Padma Bhushan in 1969
- Padma Vibhushan in 1999
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989
- NTR National Award in 1999
- Legion of Honour in 2007
- 3 National Film Awards
- Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 1997
- Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievements in 1999
- Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993
Other than the never-ending list of awards, the artist also earned numerous honorary titles and doctorates from various organizations and institutes like Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Indira Natya Academy, Shivaji University, and so on.
Total wealth
The net worth of Lata Mangeshkar is considered to be $16 million which is nearly 120 cores in INR. However, the amount can differ up to $50 million as the net worth of the total musical contribution is still in process.
Sandhya Mukherjee (4 October 1931 – 15 February 2022)
Geetashree Sandhya Mukhopadhyay was one of the leading playback and classical singers in Indian music who specialized in Bengali music. Her rich vocal tone amplified by emotions did not fail to tantalize the hearts of the music lovers of the country. She passed away at the age of 90 years and left a void in the Bengali Music Industry. With over eight decades of a mesmerizing musical career, this legendary singer became a role model to emerging music artists who are well established now.
Family
Sandhya Mukherjee was born in a Bengali family in Dhakuria, Kolkata on 4th October 1931. Her father Narendranath Mukherjee was a railway official happily married to her mother Hemprova Devi. Sandhya was the youngest child among six siblings.
Total Number of songs Recorded
Throughout her amazing musical career, this music artist has sung over 280 chart-busting singles while working with stalwart music directors namely Pankaj Kumar Mullick, Manobendra Mukhopadhyay, and Anil Biswas, Shyamal Gupta, and many others. However, most tracks were composed by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay as the duet became quite popular in Bengali movies.
First Song
Though the artist has gained more popularity during her Bengali music career, she started her musical journey with Hindi songs only. She sang a single from the movie ‘Taarana’ which was released in 1950. It is considered to be the first track by the singer.
Movie songs
From the beginning of her till 1966, Sandhya Mukherjee only worked on Bollywood projects and shindig tracks such as ‘Maine Jo Lee Angrayee Teri Mehfil’, ‘Maine Jo Lee Angrayee Teri Mehfil’, ‘Jungle Mangal’, and many other famous retro singles. However, her popularity become over the top with the Bengali chart-busting singles. ‘Ei path Jodi Na Sesh Hoy’ from ‘Saptapadi’ is perhaps the most iconic soundtrack that energizes all music lovers. Other than that, ‘Projapoti Mon Amar’, ‘Aha Ki Misti’, ‘Tumi To Janona’, ‘Jibone Ja Kichu Chilo’, ‘Jare Ja Phire Ja’, and many other tracks reflect her versatility and consistency. She was a student of Ustad Bade Gulam Ali.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1965
- Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999
- 2 Best Female Playback Singer – BFJA Awards in 1965 and 1972
- Banga Bibhushan in 2011
- Padma Shri in 2022 which she openly refused before her death
Total wealth
Sandhya Mukhopadhyay’s net worth happens to be around $1 to $5 million.
Bappi Lahiri (27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022)
Alokesh Lahiri, better known as Bappi Lahiri is one of the most talented music producers, composers, singers, and record producers in the Indian music industry. His amazing musical contribution has enriched Bollywood and other regional music such as Bengali, Tamil, and so on. He was the first musician who introduced synthesized disco music in Indian Cinema that quickly popularized Bollywood tracks with a western influence. This unwavering music artist has left all in tears with his death on 15th February at the age of 69 years only.
Family
Bappi Lahiri was born in Jalpaiguri in a Brahmin and Bengali family. His father was Aparesh Lahiri and his mother Bansuri Lahiri both kept their name out in the industry as talented Bengali singers who specialized in Classical music and Shyama Sangeet. It is widely known that Musical Legend Kishore Kumar was the maternal uncle of Bappi Lahiri. With the creative influence of his family, Bappi Lahiri embarked on his journey of music at the age of 3 years only.
Total Number Of songs Recorded
Bappi Lahiri has composed more than 5000 tracks in over 500 films. He has also worked in Bangladeshi movies and International projects that helped him gain more recognition around the world.
First Song
The first film for which he composed music was ‘Nanha Shikari’, released in 1973. His first composing Hindi song was ‘Tu Hi Mera Chanda’ sung by none other than Mukesh.
Last Song
The last recorded song by Bappi Lahiri was the ‘Bhankas’ from the movie ‘Baaghi 3’ that was released in 2020. Bappi sang and directed the track of his own.
Movie songs
Talking about his movie track is one of the most difficult jobs as the artist has composed numerous tracks. Usually, he used to take care of the whole soundtrack of a film with his individual aura and modern influences. Some of the famous movies he has worked for are, ‘Zakhmee’, ‘Chalte Chalte’, ‘Jyoti, ‘Disco Dancer’, ‘Namak Halal’, and the list goes on. The movie that put his fame on the top was ‘Disco Dancer’. Other than that, the music artist has also worked in several Bengali movies like ‘Amar Sangi’, ‘Benaam’, ‘Guru Dakhsina’, and so on.
Awards
- From 1982 to 1991, Bappi Lahiri has been nominated for Film Fare Awards many times. He won the award for the Best Music Director for the movie ‘Sharaabi’.
- He won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018
- In 2012, he won the award for the Best Item Song of the Year for his chart-busting single ‘Ooh La la’ from the film ‘The Dirty Picture’.
Total wealth
The net worth of Bappi Lahiri is estimated at 3 million US dollars which is nearly 22 Crores in INR.
The absence of musical legends has created a big void in the music industry and the hearts of music lovers. However, they will live an eternal life with the love and admiration of millions of followers through their evergreen musical creations.