'She's like a goddess:' Midlands remembers Bollywood legend Lata Mangeshkar

ITV News Central Reporter Ravneet Nandra hear's from people across the Midlands remembering the music legend Lata Mangeshkar who's enthralling voice was the soundtrack to hundreds of Bollywood films:

People in the Midlands are remembering Lata Mangeshkar, one of the most famous and respected playback singers who died last weekend.

She had been a playback singer spanning more than half-century, where actors would mime to her singing in Bollywood films.

She recorded thousands of songs in 36 languages in some of the biggest Bollywood films ever.

She died in hospital aged 92 having been hospitalised with Covid last month.

India is now in two days of national mourning. She was given a state funeral where the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood actors attended, as well as hundreds of citizens of Mumbai.

Damini Chavda was inspired by the singer.

The 26-year-old from Leicester performs across the country. Her show on Wednesday which will be a tribute to the star.

She said: "She's like a goddess. Every artist worships her."

Lata Ji was also the sister of another playback singer, Asha Bhosle, who has had an equally successful career in Bollywood. Asha Ji owns a restaurant in Birmingham, who say they feel they have a special connection with Lata Ji.

"We feel like it was a personal loss, like losing a family member."

Who was Lata Mangeshkar?

Born in Maharashtra on September 28, 1929, Mangeshkar first sang at religious gatherings with her father, who was also a trained singer.

After she moved to Mumbai, India’s film industry capital, she became a star with immense popular appeal, enchanting audiences with her smooth but sharp voice and immortalizing Hindi music for decades to come.Few musicians defined singing versatility like Mangeshkar, who issued her debut song in 1942 for a Bollywood film when she was just 13.

Soon after, she became an icon of Hindi singing, lending her voice to more than 5,000 songs in over a thousand Bollywood and regional language films. She sang for Bollywood’s earliest stars Madhubala and Meena Kumari and later went on to give voice to the industry’s modern celebrities like Priyanka Chopra.

Mangeshkar was still in her twenties in the late 1950s when she had already been established as one of the best playback singers in India.

Mangeshkar never married. She is survived by her four siblings, all accomplished singers and musicians.