Did you know Lata Mangeshkar was an outstanding photographer? Details here

Lata Mangeshkar who was legendary for her singing was an outstanding photographer. There were exhibitions of her photography when she was younger and so devoted to her Rolleiflex camera it went everywhere with her. “Yes, I loved photography. My camera used to be my constant companion everywhere. I’d take it with me to the studio and take pictures of my colleagues at work. I’d click my parents, my sisters, and brother at home. I loved photographing the outdoors,” recalls Lataji fondly.

So skilled and adept was she at clicking pictures that it was seen as an alternative career for her. “I don’t know what I’d have done if I wasn’t a singer. But photography was a feasible option. It’s a pity that the art of clicking pictures has been replaced by digital photography. People now take all their pictures on their phones. The sheer joy of capturing cameras through the lens of an old-fashioned camera is lost.”

Lataji had reams and reams of self-clicked photographs in her home. “It would require weeks if not months to go through my photographs. Maybe someday.”

Very often Lataji was known to carry her favourite accessory (the Rolleiflex ) to the recording studio and click her musical team in unguarded moments.

Lataji is also a keen student of painting. Her favourite painter is the French Claude Monet.

She pointed out the influence of Monet on the cinema of Sanjay Leela Bhansali who while admitting to Monet being a big influence, was stunned by the supreme songstress’s keen observation.

No wonder Gulzar Saab calls her a “sampoorn kalaakar”. A complete artiste.

Laughs Lataji, “Gulzar Saab is himself a sampoorn kalaakar. He directs films, he writes poetry and lyrics. He has authored many books of prose and poetry. I believe every artiste has to be aware of the world outside his or her domain. Raj Kapoor Saab and Raj Kapoor Saab are not only direct films. They take interest in every aspect of their cinema. Bhansaliji even composes his music,” says Lataji who in her youth also composed music for some Marathi cinema.

About her interest in photographyLataji had regretted that he got too busy singing to pursue any other vocation seriously. “Pataa nahin waqt kiase nikal gaya. I had to look after my family from a very young age. But they never made me feel burdened. My siblings have always given me great strength and joy. They could have easily felt I was getting more(fame, recognition, etc) than they. But they never felt that way. To this day my one and only brother Hridaynath has never shown any interest in my wealth. The same goes for my sisters as well. They care deeply for me. In fact when I am unwell I hate to tell my family about it as they get so worried, Unke chehre utar jaate hain. Only the blessed get such a family.”

 Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.