Kolkata (West Bengal): Veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee had met Lata Mangeshkar for the first time during the premiere of his Bollywood debut, Bees Saal Baad in 1962. An elegant Mangeshkar on meeting him promptly remarked saying, "You are completely different from the actors here and you shall be a star here too."
Since then, there was no looking back for Biswajit Chatterjee. Starting from his debut in Bees Saal Baad (1962), he has delivered countless hits including April Fool (1964), Biwi Aur Makan (1966), Sagaai (1966), Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi (1966), Ishq Par Zor Nahin (1970) among others.
Chatterjee's success is reflective of the fact that the predictions of virtuous artiste's such as that of Mangeshkar indeed turns into reality. Chatterjee went down the memory lane and narrated how warm and caring Mangeshkar was towards him.
On the second death anniversary of Mangeshkar, in a telephonic conversation with ETV Bharat, Chatterjee opened his pandora's box and shared his exclusive experiences with the 'Nightingale of India'.
"The year was 1962 when the 'Queen of Melody' came to attend the premiere of my first Bollywood film 'Bees Saal Baad'. Hemanta Mukhopadhyay being the producer and music director of the film, stalwarts such as Satyajit Roy, Dilip Kumar, Asha Bhosle along with her family came to watch the film," he recalled.
Also, big stars from Mumbai attended the premiere and watched the movie, Chatterjee said. "At the end of the movie, Lataji requested Hemanta Dada to allow me to have dinner at her house. After I reached her residence in Prabhukunj (in south Mumbai), we had food and chatted. She complimented me on my style of walking, talking and said that she admired my grace," he added.
Since then, Chatterjee worked in multiple Hindi films and both Lata Mangeshkar and sister Asha Bhonsle playbacked in some songs for his films. "I am still in touch with Usha Mangeshkar, Lataji's sister. I called to inquire about Lataji's health everyday when she was hospitalised. I still remember doing a live concert with her. It is one of the greatest achievements in my life," he added.
Biswajit Chatterjee recently paid a tribute to Lata Mangeshkar by launching a music video. "Once I entered a studio while she was recording. Suddenly, I saw a ring on her hand which had nine stones. Instantly, I asked if it was a 'Pujore'. She smiled saying she had received it from Kundan Lal Saigal after hearing her sing, when she was young." Chatterjee added.
The actor said that Lata Mangeshkar had great respect for actor and singer Saigal, prompting that geniuses respect geniuses.
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