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| Singer Lata Mangeshkar, known as the Nightingale of Bollywood for having mesmerised millions with her melodious voice for over six decades, enters her 80th year on September 28, 2009. |
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| She was born in a Marathi family in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar was a classical singer and theater actor. Lata took her first music lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays. |
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| From last 6 decades, Lata Mangeshkar's melodious voice has been touching the hearts and souls of millions of her admirers around the world. She has been the first choice for all the film producers and directors as her voice for female characters has been undisputed over the decades. |
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| Lata Mangeshkar has lent her voice to heroines from Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit to Preeti Zinta. She sang in thousands of Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over twenty regional Indian languages. |
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| In 1942, when she was only 13, her father died of heart disease. Then Master Vinayak, the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company, who was also a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of her. He helped Lata get started in a career as a singer and actress. |
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| From her first super hit 'Aayega Aanewaala' to 'Jab Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Lata Mangeshkar has managed to thrill music lovers of every generation with her soulful singing over her 66-year-long career and continues to do so. (BCCL/Sudharak Olwe) |
