A full life

However,what makes the book charming are the 135 photographs — most of them are black-and-white gems steeped in nostalgia — revealing the person behind thousands of soundtracks.

One can call the book an extension of a documentary by the same name that Kabir had made in 1991. The London-based filmmaker approached her again recently for an extensive documentation of Mangeshkar’s life. “Despite the gap of nearly two decades,I was surprised to find Lata didi the same as before. Her extreme intelligence,sharpness of memory and wit were intact,” Kabir recalls.

A lot of their conversations took place over hours-long telephone calls that Kabir made from London.

This made Jaya Bachchan — sitting in the audience on the front row along with Waheeda Rehman — curious about how Kabir managed to capture Mangeshkar’s expressions in the absence of that eye contact. Pat replied the icon,“I’m a playback singer. I have the habit of staying in the background.” This was just one of the instances of her quick wit and sense of humour. The evening witnessed it intermittently. The legend also revealed that Bachchan has been asking her to pen her biography for a long time.

As Mangeshkar fielded several questions regarding the state of music,her dislike for the current trends once again became clear. However,she sounded optimistic when she said,“Music before us used to be very different. May be it will undergo a change in future too.”

With the IPL season on,the cricket-loving singer wasn’t spared questions related to it. She,however,played it safe. “I don’t support any team. I just watch the matches,” she declared. This was followed by the revelation that she doesn’t like the present Twenty20 format. “I enjoy watching one-day and Test matches,” she added.

The reverence that this icon inspires was evident at the event. Singers Hariharan,Sonali and Roop Kumar Rathod,Nitin Mukesh,Alka Yagnik,musician Anu Malik,lyricist Javed Akhtar and a large number of attendees were seen with their copies of the book and seeking Mangeshkar’s autograph.