When Lata Mangeshkar sang for Bangladesh

Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away in Mumbai today, played a key role in mobilising funds and international opinions in favour of Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971 by travelling to different cities in Indian Air Force planes.

She sang the song "O Dadabhai", composed by Salil Chowdhury for the film "Raktakto Bangla", which was released in December 1972. It is the only song sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Bangladeshi films. Directed by Mumtaz Ali, the movie starred Biswajit Chatterjee, Kabori, and Golam Mustafa, among others.

The funds raised at musical events where Lata Mangeshkar performed across India were channelised for the upkeep of refugees who had crossed over to India from Bangladesh during the war.
 
Lata Mangeshkar shared an anecdote about visiting Bangladesh on Twitter, in 2019.
 
She reminisced about coming to the country soon after the liberation. She delighted the audience with her melodious musical performances.
 
"Namaskar. As soon as the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War ended, we went to Bangladesh and we did several events with (Bollywood actor) Sunil Dutt's group. At the time, we used to commute all around by Army planes," she tweeted.
 
Lata Mangeshkar was part of an Indian cultural delegation that called on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family in Dhaka in 1972. Others in the delegation were actress Wahida Rehman, a young Sanjay Dutt and his father, actor Sunil Dutt.
 
West Bengal's music fraternity paid rich tributes to legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who collaborated with some top music directors like Sachin Deb Burman, Hemanta Mukherjee and Salil Chowdhury not only to produce memorable songs in Hindi but also in Bangla.
 
Mangeshkar, who sang close to 185 songs in Bangla, is remembered by her fans in Bangladesh for classics such as "Akash Prodip Jwole", under the direction of Satinath Mukherjee and "Prem Ekbar Esechhilo Nirobe", composed by Hemanta Mukherjee.