Asha Bhosle reveals Lata Mangeshkar once refused to sing at wedding; said ‘won’t sing even if offered 10 crore dollars’

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was known for her principles as much as she was for her brilliant singing. Once, she was offered to sing at a wedding but she refused because she did not want to. Her sister and veteran singer Asha Bhosle revealed this while speaking at the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award ceremony in Mumbai. (Also read: Asha Bhosle tears up remembering didi Lata Mangeshkar on DID Li’l Masters)

Speaking in Hindi, Asha Bhosle said, “Someone invited us for a wedding. They had tickets worth million dollar or pound. They said they wanted Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar. Didi asked me ‘will you sing at a wedding?’ I said I won’t and she then told the rep, ‘We will not sing even if you offer 10 crore dollars, because we do not sing at weddings’. That person was very disappointed.”

Asha also recalled how Lata always championed the cause of singers in the film industry. She ensured that singers be named on the records–it happened the first time with her famous song Aayega Aanewala. Lata also got her name on screen, and then royalty for singers, Asha said. She also recalled a childhood memory and shared that Lata once asked her to wash their parents’ feet and drink the water. “We drank it, and the blessings from that continue to be with us even today,” Asha said.

In her emotional speech, Asha also recalled how Lata had once worked despite suffering from a 104-degree fever. Lata Mangeshkar died at the age of 92 on February 6, following multiple organ failure. After starting her career in 1942 at the age of 13, she worked in the industry for more than seven decades.

The first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award ceremony took place in Mumbai on Sunday and Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for his selfless service to the nation.