Exclusive: Lata To Sing For ‘Padmavati’, Bhansali On Cloud Nine

Collaborating with Lata Mangeshkar on ‘Padmavati’ is a dream come true for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

She is the goddess of all things melodious for millions of Indians and that includes filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a self-confessed Lata Mangeshkar bhakt, who says he has learnt filmmaking by listening to the emotions in Lataji’s voice.

A career-long ambition to have Lataji sing for his cinema is finally coming true for Bhansali. The melody goddess will finally sing a song, composed lovingly by Bhansali himself, for his ambitious Rs 160 crore magnum opus Padmavati.

While the details of this historic collaboration are yet to be divulged, we can reveal with certainty that the song which Lataji will sing for Padmavati would be a plaintive thumri about love, longing and separation.

“Bhansali has poured every ounce of his musical aptitudes into making the song for Lataji the most exquisite moment of career.The song will be an epic in design a tribute to the filmmaker’s lifelong devotion to the voice that has defined six generation of feminine beauty and grace in Indian cinema,” says the source.

Also Read: Ranveer Singh Is Back In ‘Padmavati’, Thanks To Deepika Padukone

While refusing to comment on the song for Padmavati, Bhansali spoke on his enduring passion for Lataji’s voice:

I’ve learnt EVERYTHING about filmmaking by listening to her voice . When I discover some rare song of hers I feel I’m richer than the diamond merchant…There’s a different Lata Mangeshkar experience for every decade from the 1940s and 50s to the 1960s, 70s and 80s. It’s fascinating to see how differently she has sung for different composers from S.D. Burman to Madan Mohan to R.D.Burman. Each era has given us an entirely different aura from her voice. She never lets go of a single word without doing justice to it. Such a frail and delicate voice, and yet so powerful. She has done it all. We cannot have another Lata Mangeshkar. It’s my desire to try and reach her level of excellence through my work.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Filmmaker

The celebrated filmmaker also says that not a single day passes without him listening to her voice and that Lataji’s vocals are his only protection from the world.

Not a day passes when I don’t listen to her….It can’t! It’s the only shield and sustenance I’ve against the incessant blows from the world. Lataji’s voice has healed and nourished me from childhood. She fascinated me as a person…The white kerchief clutched in her hand, the two pleats with a side-parting in her hair…I know exactly when she looks up while recording a song….Even when she expresses unbearable emotions her face never gets all screwed up and ugly…She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen…From childhood I’ve been fascinated by her. I remember as a child I’d read up every titbit and biographical morsel that was served up in the back of the long-playing records…I’d hungrily scan magazines for her picture with music directors rather than the heroes and heroines…For me every detail about her was precious…I’ve always been intrigued by this diminutive woman with the most powerful voice in the world.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Bhansali’s praise for Lata Mangeshkar doesn’t end there. He goes on to say,

The mystery that she creates through the powerful texture of her voice is the most precious mystery of the universe. So many deep emotions expressed with such a straight face . She must be so rich from inside to be able to express feminine beauty in ALL its shades. How she takes up the most complex notes and makes them sound so effortless is something I’ve never understood. How does she do it? Is she as powerful as a person as she’s as an artiste? I don’t know…. Lataji is very mystical…mythical for me. The voice quality is so exceptional she has never been a real person for me. I can’t imagine any actual human being being capable of such flawlessness…No, I’ve never been tempted to examine the actual person beyond the persona. Her work will take me 13 lifetimes to unravel the enigma of her creativity. The person can wait…Sometimes she’s so maternal, sometimes so devotional…. Then so sensual…. Lata Mangeshkar epitomises so many different things to so many millions…Very few have dared to cross the sanctity of her music and try to know the real person. That aura she wears like a second sleeve is so overpowering…

Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone will be starring in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next film Padmavati. (Photo: Yogen Shah)

The Padmavati director shares his experience of seeing her in person for the very first time.

The only time I’ve come close to meeting her first-hand was when she came to the recording studio to sing R.D. Burman’s <i>Kuch Na Kaho</i> in <i>1942 A Love Story</i>. I was behind her when she came out of her car. I froze. I just kept looking at her. She looked so beautiful in her diamonds and white sari. When she was escorted to the lift I followed behind. Obviously I didn’t have the courage to get into the lift with her. I ran up the stairs as fast as possible…As I watched her sing I couldn’t believe that any human being could generate so much beauty harmony and goodness through her vocal chord. When she left people outside who had nothing to do with the recording, just stood up spontaneously. That’s the kind of aura she possesses. How can such a frail figure can exude such power! Either people dive for her feet or stand up in supreme reverence…Whenever I pass her home in Peddar Road I want to get one glimpse of her on that famous little balcony of her home…Maybe one day I’ll catch a glimpse of her… My work is so incomplete without her voice… Through her songs she taught me that excellence perfection and beauty have no full stops. We’ve found it long back in her voice. She’s still searching.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali