Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar never appeared on music reality shows, but she did make an exception for the grand finale of Voice of India, a music reality show in 2008. Apparently, the Nightingale of India was convinced by the producer Gajendra Singh, who kept pursuing her for almost 10 years.
We spoke to Gajendra Singh about this and he said, "Lata didi agreed to appear on our show Voice of India after convincing her for almost 10 years. I used to regularly invite her and call her to make an appearance on our shows but she never agreed. Finally, her sister Usha Mangeshkar helped me convince her and she appeared in the finale episode to give away the trophy."
Ask Singh how he managed to finally convince her and he said, "Lata didi told me that she agreed to come on the show because of the talent on the show. She had enjoyed listening to the young contestants and felt they were extremely talented and needed to be motivated. She told me that she agreed to be on the show only because the talent was exceptionally bright. We were extremely happy and after that, she never again made an appearance on any other reality show."
At that time, Asha Bhosle' made an appearance on Sa Re Ga Ma and Lata Mangeshkar came for the finale episode of Voice of India in 2008.
Gajendra Singh has been a producer of many music shows like Antakshari, Sa Re Ga Ma and Music Ka Maha Muqqabla. He added, "I used to regularly visit her on her birthday and during Ganpati festival too. It was a treat to meet her and I consider myself lucky to have worked with her and got her blessings."
