Lata Mangeshkar Trivia Quiz

Answer: Khemchand Prakash

Lata Mangeshkar made her musical debut at the age of 13 to help her family, after her father died. She first entered the Marathi film industry and in 1946 sang her first Hindi film song 'Aap Ki Seva Main', composed by Datta Davjekar. But it was the 1949 film 'Mahal' which catapulted Lata to fame.

The song 'Aayege Aanewala' became a hit and with it Lata began a musical journey which would take her to the pinnacle of fame and greatness. The music director of 'Mahal' was Khemchand Prakash, who also introduced the other great legend Kishore Kumar.

Answer: O P Nayyar

Lata Mangeshkar has worked with all the top music directors including Naushad, C Ramachandra, S D Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, R D Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Anand-Milind, Nadeem-Shravan, Raam Laxman, Jatin Lalit, Ilayaraja and A R Rahman.

But she has never worked with O P Nayyar. Lata's sister Asha Bhosle was Nayyar's favourite and Nayyar had gone on record to state that his music did not fit Lata's voice.

Answer: Mera Naam Joker

Raj Kapoor's films had a popular musical combination - Shankar and Jaikishan as music composers, Shailendra as lyricist, Mukesh as his voice and Lata Mangeshkar as the singer for the heroine. Lata has sung in most of the RK films including 'Aag', 'Shree 420', 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hain', 'Sangam', 'Bobby', 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', 'Ram Teri Ganga Maili' and 'Henna'.

After 'Sangam', Lata had a rift with Raj Kapoor and stopped singing for him for some time. The film 'Mera Naam Joker' did not have any songs by Lata and Asha's voice was used.

But RK & Lata came back together in 'Bobby' to give a musical super hit and from then she worked in all his films till and even after his death.

Answer: Hothon Pe Aisi Baat

Lata Mangeshkar worked with Dev Anand in many films, including 'Paying Guest', 'Tere Mere Sapne', 'Guide', 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna', 'Jewel Thief', etc. The song 'Hothon Pe Aisi Baat' is from the movie 'Jewel Thief' that starred Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala with music by S D Burman. 'Allah Tero Naam' is from the film 'Hum Dono' with music by Jaidev. 'Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hain' is from 'Guide' with music by SD Burman and 'Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka' is from 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' with music by R D Burman.

Answer: Salil Choudhury

'Madhumati' starred Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala and had music by Salil Choudhury. All the songs of this movie were a hit and Lata ranked the song 'Aaja Re Pardesi' as one her favourites.
Incidentally, Lata enjoyed a special relation with thespian Dilip Kumar, whom she regards as her brother. Dilip had mocked Lata for her strong Marathi accent during the initial years of her career. This motivated her to learn Urdu and improve her accent.

Answer: Ae Dil E Nadan

Madan Mohan was Lata's favourite music director and the Lata-Madan Mohan combination have produced many hit songs including 'Lag Ja Gale Se' from the movie 'Woh Kaun Thi', 'Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega' from 'Mera Saya' and 'Aap Ki Nazron Se Samjha' from 'Anpadh'. The song 'Ae Dil E Nadan' was from the film 'Razia Sultana' and had music by Khayyam.

Answer: Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo

Lata Mangeshkar has sung patriotic songs like 'Vande Mataram' (national song), 'Jana Gana Mana' (national anthem) and 'Sare Jahan Se Accha'. But the song which moved Pandit Nehru to tears was 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo'. This song, written by Pradeep with music by C Ramchandra, was sung at a public function in 1963 by Lata in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru. Pandit Nehru, who was emotionally disturbed as a result of the Indo-China war, was moved to tears after hearing this song. Since then, this song is sung by Lata in all her concerts and is one of her most popular non-film songs.

Answer: R D Burman

'Caravan' was a super-hit film of the '70's which had music by Rahul Dev Burman. The song featured a fast number 'Dilbar Dil Se Pyara' by Lata Mangeshkar. This is one of the rare fast songs sung by Lata. Other such songs include 'Aa Jaane Ja' (picturised on, or lip-synched to, by Helen) and 'Main Kya Karoon Ram Mujhe Buddha Mil Gaya' (sung onscreen by Vyjayanthimala).

Answer: Dil To Pagal Hain

Lata Mangeshkar has sung numerous songs for the brothers B R Chopra and Yash Chopra. 'Dil To Pagal Hain' was a duet sung by Lata and Udit Narayan in a film by the same name directed by Yash Chopra. Other popular Yash Chopra films for which Lata has sung include 'Daag', 'Kabhi Kabhi', 'Silsila', 'Chandni', 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge', 'Mohabattein' and 'Veer-Zaara'.

Answer: True

Lata Mangeshkar's career, spanning from the 1940's to the 2000's, has produced unforgettable songs providing voices for most of the top Bollywood heroines, including Nargis, Nutan, Madhubala, Mumtaz, Rekha, Hema Malini, Kajol, Aishwarya and Preity Zinta. During her career Lata has received many awards including Filmfare awards, National awards and many other private awards. She received the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1989, which is the highest award for film artistes. In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar received the 'Bharat Ratna', India's highest civilian award.

She has cut down on her singing assignments in the 2000's and has even served as a member of Parliament for a short duration. Lata Mangeshkar was also featured in the Guinness Book of World Records from 1974-1991 as the singer who has sung the most songs. According to some sources, she has sung more than 25,000 songs in 20 languages.