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Lata Mangeshkar ...in her own voice
Since 1949, when Lata Mangeshkar was first noticed for her extraordinary singing talent in the Mahal song ‘Aayega aanewala,’ her magical voice has taken a firm hold of the Indian imagination. The tuneful purity and timeless quality of her voice have had a profound impact. For over six decades, as the much loved singer, she has reigned supreme in Indian film music and has been conferred in 2001, the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.
Lata Mangeshkar has recorded more songs than anyone else in the world and yet, despite her extraordinary fame, she is a deeply private person who has mostly shied away from glitz and glamour.
Lata Mangeshkar…in her own voice— this revised edition is a series of fascinating conversations between Lata Mangeshkar and Nasreen Munni Kabir that takes us into the world of India’s most gifted singer and reveals the person behind the voice that has provided the soundtrack for the lives of billions.
Lata Mangeshkar has recorded more songs than anyone else in the world and yet, despite her extraordinary fame, she is a deeply private person who has mostly shied away from glitz and glamour.
Lata Mangeshkar…in her own voice— this revised edition is a series of fascinating conversations between Lata Mangeshkar and Nasreen Munni Kabir that takes us into the world of India’s most gifted singer and reveals the person behind the voice that has provided the soundtrack for the lives of billions.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
228 pages, Flexiback
First published April 22, 2009
5 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Nasreen Munni Kabir
28 books33 followersBorn in India, Nasreen Munni Kabir is a renowned UK-based documentary film-maker who has produced and directed over 80 TV programmes on Hindi cinema for Channel 4 TV, UK, including the series Movie Mahal, In Search of Guru Dutt, Lata in Her Own Voice, and the two-part documentary The Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan. She has also directed a profile on Ustad Bismillah Khan and on the making of Bombay Dreams, the musical produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber for BBC Television, UK. She continues to curate Channel 4’s annual Indian film seasons.
Author of 16 books on Hindi cinema, Nasreen has served on the board of the British Film Institute for a six-year term. She enjoys subtitling, and has has subtitled over 500 Hindi films. Her last book was Conversations with Waheeda Rehman. She is most remembered for her Guru Dutt biography, titled Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema (OUP, 1996). Nasreen continues live in London.
Author of 16 books on Hindi cinema, Nasreen has served on the board of the British Film Institute for a six-year term. She enjoys subtitling, and has has subtitled over 500 Hindi films. Her last book was Conversations with Waheeda Rehman. She is most remembered for her Guru Dutt biography, titled Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema (OUP, 1996). Nasreen continues live in London.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 14, 2017
Lata Mangheskar – in her own voice
Conversations with Nasreen Munni Kabir
What an absolutely beautiful book!!
It is one of the most enjoyable ‘coffee-table’ books that I have ever read or seen. To relegate it to the level of ‘coffee-table’ books would be doing it an injustice – because it has some amazing photographs that I have seen, and it brings one of our most famous icons closer to us. The black and white image of a very young Lataji on the cove, sets the tone for a memorable book.
Nasreen Munni Kabir did a six-part documentary series on Lata Mangheskar in 1991 for Channel 4, titled ‘In Her Own Voice’. In 2008, she began to update the conversations she had with Lataji and convert them into a book.
Lataji is one of the most reclusive of Indian icons. She leads a sheltered life and rarely do we see her in film magazines, nor has her life been enmeshed in any scandal at any point. Hence, it is always a pleasure to read about her, specially stories written by people who have spent a good amount of time with her, and who have had the rare privilege of being able to interview her many hours.
The book is a series of conversations with her, covering almost all aspects of her life. Ms. Kabir, in her introduction talks about her phenomenal memory, and her knowledge about all her colleagues in the music industry. Here is a woman who has had no formal schooling whatsoever, but who has sung more than 27,000 songs in many Indian languages.
At one point the author says –
‘Lata Mangheskar’s songs are living history – so strongly tied to all our life stories and articulating our many emotions ‘
Lataji while talking about the difference between Western and Indian music says :
‘I like both traditions. I listen to Western classical music to hear how well it is composed and I listen to Indian classical to hear how well it is sung or how well it is played on say the sitar or sarod’
There are a lot of pictures which cover the many years of her life. One picture that I really enjoyed looking at was with Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar in the late 1950s. Those were the legends of their time – and what a great occasion that must have been.
Buy this book, read it whenever you think of music and of the Indian film industry. Legends like her illuminate our lives very rarely and we are fortunate to be able to hear her, and read about her.
Conversations with Nasreen Munni Kabir
What an absolutely beautiful book!!
It is one of the most enjoyable ‘coffee-table’ books that I have ever read or seen. To relegate it to the level of ‘coffee-table’ books would be doing it an injustice – because it has some amazing photographs that I have seen, and it brings one of our most famous icons closer to us. The black and white image of a very young Lataji on the cove, sets the tone for a memorable book.
Nasreen Munni Kabir did a six-part documentary series on Lata Mangheskar in 1991 for Channel 4, titled ‘In Her Own Voice’. In 2008, she began to update the conversations she had with Lataji and convert them into a book.
Lataji is one of the most reclusive of Indian icons. She leads a sheltered life and rarely do we see her in film magazines, nor has her life been enmeshed in any scandal at any point. Hence, it is always a pleasure to read about her, specially stories written by people who have spent a good amount of time with her, and who have had the rare privilege of being able to interview her many hours.
The book is a series of conversations with her, covering almost all aspects of her life. Ms. Kabir, in her introduction talks about her phenomenal memory, and her knowledge about all her colleagues in the music industry. Here is a woman who has had no formal schooling whatsoever, but who has sung more than 27,000 songs in many Indian languages.
At one point the author says –
‘Lata Mangheskar’s songs are living history – so strongly tied to all our life stories and articulating our many emotions ‘
Lataji while talking about the difference between Western and Indian music says :
‘I like both traditions. I listen to Western classical music to hear how well it is composed and I listen to Indian classical to hear how well it is sung or how well it is played on say the sitar or sarod’
There are a lot of pictures which cover the many years of her life. One picture that I really enjoyed looking at was with Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar in the late 1950s. Those were the legends of their time – and what a great occasion that must have been.
Buy this book, read it whenever you think of music and of the Indian film industry. Legends like her illuminate our lives very rarely and we are fortunate to be able to hear her, and read about her.
March 9, 2026
such a beautiful book. I absolutely loved and admired that we got to see the life of Lata ji and what she was like as a person besides the divine artist that she is. very beautiful book. I miss you so very much Lata ji amd whenever I listen to your songs I wish I was born in the era where I could hear your songs cone out for the first time and indulge in all of the splendor your voice would have brought amongst people. May Goddess bless you, Lata ji, with happiness, peace, and lots of love ❤️ ❤️❤️.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews