When Angry Lata Mangeshkar Slammed Mohammed Rafi For Refusing to Sing With Her

The issue of singers receiving royalties for their songs is still a contentious matter for both music companies and singers in Hindi cinema. Lata Mangeshkar was the pioneer who took a stand in the 1960s, despite the odds being stacked against the singers. By that time, Lata had already achieved tremendous success and popularity and was the preferred choice for duets with established singers like Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

During this period, the popularity of music concerts and stage performances for Hindi film music had been growing across India and some parts of the world. While music companies would compensate musicians with royalties, singers received no such consideration. Lata took a stand and demanded royalties from film producers. This deepened her differences with Mukesh and Md Rafi.

In a video that is now going viral on Reddit, Lata Mangeshkar addresses the issue between her and Rafi. She said, “Apne abhi mujhe maharani kaha.. main sach mein maharani hu. Apko yeh bolne ka zarurat nehi thi. Unhone kaha ‘main apke saath gayunga nehi’. Maine kaha ‘aap kyun takleef kar rahe hai? Main hee nehi gayungi aapke saath.’ I told music directors rafi saab ke saath gana nehi hai. (You just called me a queen, but I am indeed a queen. There was no need for you to say that. He said he won’t sing with me, and I said ‘Why you are bothering? I won’t sing with you either.’ I told the music directors that I don’t want to sing with Rafi saab.)”

Speaking of royalties, Lata said, “Main royalty le rahi thi toh mujhe lagta tha baki logo ko bhi mile. Imagine agar kal ko koi artist ka naam chala bhi jata hai, kam se kam royalty toh aati rahegi. Thori hee sahi. Isi baat pe main, Mukesh bhaiya aur Talat saab jhagda kiye karte the. Rafi saab ko kisine bhadkaya toh huara jhagda ho gaya. Main 3 saal tak unke saath gaya nehi. (I was taking royalties, so I thought others would also receive them. Imagine if someone’s popularity fades in the future, at least they would receive some royalties. Even if it’s just a small amount. Mukesh bhaiya, Talat saab, and I used to argue about this. Someone instigated Md Rafi saab, and it turned into a big fight. I didn’t sing with hi for three years.”