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Journalism of Courage
Written by Swarali Joshirao
Long before she became known for her golden voice, Lata Mangeshkar had acted in a film, Maze Baal, directed by Master Vinayak. The 1943 film was screened at the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) on Friday as part of a two-day tribute to Mangeshkar, who passed away in February.
“After the death of Dinanath Mangeshkar, the entire family shifted to Kolhapur where Prafulla Picture was located. Lata Mangeshkar was signed for Rs 75 to work as a singer, actor and set crew member. All her siblings used to accompany her to the set. Once, Master Vinayak saw this group, which was called Vanar Sena, and said he would cast the children in his next film, about an orphanage,” said NFAI director Prakash Magdum.
The Nightingale of India, then 13, played the role of an orphan girl named Lata. The auditorium on Friday was filled with applause when her song played and left many in tears.
On Saturday, Suresh Chandvankar, secretary, Society of Indian Record Collectors, led the tribute by presenting the audience with a selection of Lata’s songs.
“Everyone is paying tribute to Lata Mangeshkar’s legacy in their own way. I am a record collector and we have a lot of recordings. We decided to play some of her non-film Marathi songs. That’s the reason the show is called Kaljayee. The songs are of Sant Tukaram, Sant Dnyaneshwar and Poet Grace, among others,” said Chandvankar.
