When Jaddanbai Praised Lata’s Urdu and ‘Yusuf Bhai’ Taunted Her

Lata Mangeshkar Passes Away: Celebrating the life of the ‘Queen of Melody’ in this special episode.

What made the ‘King of Tragedy’ once mock the ‘Queen of Melody’? Tune in to find out.

Image: The Quint/Aroop Mishra

Vocals: Ushosee Pal
Guitar: Nabarun Pal
Host, Writer and Sound Designer: Fabeha Syed
Editor: Shelly Walia
Music: Big Bang Fuzz

(Lata Mangeshkar passed away on 6 February 2022. This story is being republished from The Quint’s archives. It was originally published on 28 September 2020.)

Trained at the age of five by her father and Marathi theatre star Deenanath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar started her career as a child artiste and chorus singer in 1942. But it wasn’t until the late 40s that she landed her first solo hit – Aayega, aayega aane wala from the film Mahal, starring Madhubala and Ashok Kumar. Lata was praised by Nargis’ mother Jaddanbai for her Urdu pronunciation of a word in the song, but she was earlier mocked for her Urdu by Dilip Kumar aka ‘Yusuf Bhai’, as she fondly called him.

In this episode of Urdunama, we revisit and celebrate the Queen of Melody – her grace while facing nasty rejections.

Tune in.