Exclusive! Lata ji was a superwoman: Sunidhi Chauhan

Singer Sunidhi Chauhan’s association with Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar dates back to 1996 when she appeared in the reality show Meri Awaz Suno, which was produced by the late legend. At the end of the show, she was awarded the Lata Mangeshkar Trophy by the icon herself.

Recalling the stint, Chauhan tells us, “I knew that she would be there during the final episode, and that’s precisely what made me want to participate in it. I made sure that when I performed before her, my eyes were shut, because I knew that if I made eye contact with her, I would stop singing and start sobbing.”

Despite meeting her on several occasions in the subsequent years, Chauhan would be nervous each time. “Lata ji gave me chills. A few years back, I was in a studio with her and was standing far away from her and she told me, ‘Idhar aao, mere paas baitho’,” she says.

The Saami Saami (Pushpa: The Rise; 2021) singer is still unable to process that Mangeshkar is no more. “A few days back, I couldn’t hold myself and enquiring about her health to someone close to her family as she continued to remain in the hospital a little longer than expected. He told me that she’s doing much better. I told him to convey my namashkar to her. I really thought that she would be discharged soon,” she says, adding Mangeshkar’s demise is a “personal loss” to her.

Lauding her for being a trailblazer, Chauhan says, “There’s no end to the path she paved for female musicians like us and the ones in the generations to come. She is an ocean of music and a superwoman. She shared some valuable pieces of advice with me, which is extremely scared. Listening to her voice gives me the same feeling as connecting to the Almighty does. The way she used to approach music and felt each and every song and the way she took a breath between the lines are unparalleled. There will never be anyone like her and I mean every word of it.”