When Lata Mangeshkar wanted royalty- refused to sing for RK Films
When Lata Mangeshkar wanted royalty- refused to sing for RK Films
Lata Mangeshkar was upset with Raj Kapoor after he replaced her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar with Laxmikant Pyarelal for Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
Late Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar is even now acknowledged as one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema. But when she started her film career in the 1940s, Raj Kapoor was one of the first filmmakers who was keen to have her voice in his films. Their collaboration started in 1948 and went on until the end of Raj’s life but they saw their share of ups and downs which included Lata refusing to sing for him, and Raj refusing to pay royalties. Their rift erupted when Raj requested Lata to get her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar on board for Satyam Shivam Sundaram but soon after, without Lata’s knowledge, he replaced Hridaynath with Laxmikant Pyarelal.
In the book Raj Kapoor: ‘The One and Only Showman’ written by his daughter Ritu Nanda, Lata quoted
“He wanted her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar to score the music. And she managed to persuade her brother who was not really interested in scoring scores for films.
Singer Mukesh had suggested Hridaynath’s name to Raj and the filmmaker was convinced. Soon after Lata convinced her brother, she left for the US for a tour and there she learnt that Raj had replaced her brother behind her back, and hired Laxmikant Pyarelal.
It was very embarrassing for her. Hridaynath called her up and said that he had accepted the film because of her but the newspapers were writing otherwise. He was offended and embarrassed. She was very angry with Raj ji. On her return, she called him and said ‘Why did you do this? She had persuaded him because he (Raj Kapoor) had asked her to’. Ritu, the author of the book and Raj’s daughter, wrote that this became a bone of contention amid the two. “later Lata started harassing Raj Kapoor and started demanding royalty from him for the songs that she would sing in the future, as she did with other producers. She wanted more money and even created delays in recording for him,” she wrote.
In a bid to diffuse the tension, Pandit Narendra Sharma, who was a father-like figure for Lata, intervened and convinced her to sing for Satyam Shivam Sundaram as no other voice would do justice to the songs. Lata put forth the condition that if she sings, she would not speak with anyone in the studio. She even asked Laxmikant Pyarelal to ban Raj Kapoor from entering the studio amidst her recording.
She rendered the song and headed to the car without talking to anyone. Bobby was being made, I called Raj Kapoor and told him that the singers association had asked the singers to take royalty directly from the producers. He immediately replied ‘ he has come to do business, not distribute royalty). She (Lata) replied he (Raj Kapoor) has come here for business and she has come to the zoo.
When tension was at its peak Raj Kapoor requested Laxmikant Pyarelal to mediate the so-called cold war amid them. Lata rejected his efforts for quite some time but finally, Raj Kapoor called her and said, “If she refuses. to sing for his film he will put up a tent outside her house.
The two finally made up as Lata sang for Bobby and all the other films that Raj Kapoor made amidst his film career.
News Edit KV Ram
