A biography of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, reveals little-known facts and rare photographs of the legend that chronicle decades of music

How's this for trivia? Lata Mangeshkar likes listening to Mozart as well as Nat King Cole. A poster of Beethoven once adorned her room. She used to play the slot machines in Las Vegas all night while holidaying in America. And, the song that made her famous, Aayega Aanewala from Mahal came close to being dropped from the film's soundtrack before release.

Deenanath Mangeskhar and his wife Shuddhamati with his three daughters, Asha (in her mother's lap), five-year-old Lata (to her father's right) and Meena, in Sangli, dated 1934.

For fans of the legendary singer who relish this sort of information, Lata Mangeshkar: In Her Own Voice is a great buy. Of course, at the price (Rs 1500) it may make more sense to buy more of her CDs, but one assumes those who choose to buy this up probably have all the Lata music they need already.

The book is pretty much a transcription of interviews between Mangeshkar and Nasreen Munni Kabir, a filmmaker based in London. Much of it is based on a six-part television documentary titled Lata in Her Own Voice directed by Kabir in 1991. There are pros and cons to this approach, the latter outweighing the former. To begin with, the lack of structure means a reader is confronted with one long interview spanning 193 pages.

Clockwise: In the Hindi film Yatra (1946); still from Master Vinayak's mythological film Subhadra (1946) starring Sharda Apte (left) and Lata Mangeshkar; a still from Gajabhau (1943) in which Lata sang her first Hindi song in this Marathi film; Pahili Mangalgaur (1942) was the first film in which Lata Mangeskhar appeared (aged 13) How do you like the new new mid-day.com experience? Share your feedback and help us improve. Read Next Story Pakistani rockets fired into India› Trending Stories Latest Photos Latest Videos Latest Web Stories ADVERTISEMENT Mid-Day Fast ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT