“I always marvel at the way Bachchan saab bounced back” – Lata Mangeshkar

By Subhash K. Jha -

October 14, 2013 - 10:21 AM IST

Lata Mangeshkar speaks on Amitabh Bachchan - the man, the actor and the singerâ€¦

"When it comes to Bachchan Saab,I don't know where to start. I always marvel at the way he bounced back after those severe setbacks that he suffered financially. And his career too was going through a lean phase. Lekin jiss qadar woh zor se wapas aayeâ€¦.amazing! He's 110 percent a perfect artiste. Give him any role,and he slips into it effortlessly. I've never seen him repeat himself. If he was an emperor as a young man, today he plays older menwith the same majesty. In Baghban he made me cry. I recently saw Black and I can't get over his performance. I haven't seen anything like this!â€¦.Kamaal ke actor hain.

And he also sings, and sings quite well!I don't know if he can sing every type ofsong. But whatever he does sing, he sings in sur. His songs 'Holi Khele' and 'Tu Kahan Main Yahan' in Baghban are in sur. I've listened to them carefully,Singing in sur is far more important than remaining in taal. It's God's gift and Bachchan Saab has it. His voice is God's great gift to him. When he speaks you can hear his performance on screen as well as see it. His performances are impeccable.

On a social level, we meet once in a while. Recently we met at Javed Saab(Akhtar)'s birthday party. More recently he gracedthe function for my father's death anniversary where he was given the Deenanath Mangeshkar award. He arrived on dot, and was hischarming self early inthe morning. He always talks withcharm and restraintâ€¦never too much and never too little.I believe he had shooting throughout the previous night. His energy level leaves me breathlessâ€¦His pedigree is unquestionable.

I remember when I started singing in 1947I began reading up on Hindi litterateurs including Premchand, Mahadevi Varma, Jaishankar Prasad and of course Harivanshrai Bachchan.I loved reading them. I wanted my Hindito improve.Any free moment, while travelling or waiting atthe studios, was spent reading them. I've read Harivanshrai Bachchan's Madhushala several timesover, also his bulky autobiography which is truly a unique work of self-revelation. Poet-lyricist Pandit Narendra Sharma who was like a father to me, was very close to Harivanshraiji. I met him severaltimes at Narendra Sharma's home.Narendra Sharma whom I called Papaused to respect Harivanshraiji a lot. He used to call him bandhu. I couldseethe mutual love between the twoâ€¦Coincidentally, Manna Dey also got the Deenanath Mangeshkar award along with Amitabh Bachchan. If I remember correctly, Manna-da has sung Bachchan Saab's father's Madhushala.

What an amazing man Bachchan Saab is, and as I said, what an amazing comeback! After a dizzying spell of superstardom, his luck gave way so badly that his fans and admirers would be in tears at his plummeting fortunes. And then look at how he climbed back to stardom. Do people really say we're the two icons of this country? Nahin nahinâ€¦. Woh pehle hain main unke baad hoon. Main itna badaa manti hoon unko. I don't knowwhether he knows but I trulyrespect Bachchan Saab and his wife Jayaji. Mere dil mein unke liye khaas jagah hai."