The biography of the renowned playback singer Hemlata, titled Dastan-e-Hemlata, was launched on November 23, 2024, Saturday, at the Sahitya Aaj Tak platform in Delhi. This biography has been penned by well-known journalist and biographer Dr. Arvind Yadav. It is an authentic account of Hemlata’s life, containing many interesting anecdotes, including some that even her close ones were unaware of. The author also sheds light on the life of Hemlata’s father, Pandit Jaychand Bhatt, bringing to the literary and music lovers several fascinating insights.
At the mere age of thirteen, Hemlata recorded her first film song. Over the course of her career, she has sung more than five thousand songs in 38 languages. In every language and dialect in which films were made in India, Hemlata has sung songs. Apart from the major languages like Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Prakrit, she has sung in regional languages and dialects like Marwari, Braj, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Bundeli, Maithili, Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani, Haryanvi, Nepali, Garhwali, Kumaoni, Chambayali, Bilaspuri, and more. Additionally, Hemlata has sung in foreign languages such as English, French, Italian, Dutch, Zulu, Mauritius Creole, Siraiki, and Multani. She has sung in every genre – love songs, separation songs, devotional songs, folk songs, and ghazals, showcasing her unmatched talent and the incredible versatility of her voice.
Hemlata is extremely popular for her Hindi duets with the legendary singer Yesudas, holding the record for the most number of duets with him.
In her childhood, Hemlata was called ‘Baby Lata’, and during her adolescence, she was referred to as the ‘Second Lata’. Some even called her ‘cheap Lata’. For film producers who found Lata Mangeshkar’s fee exorbitant, and for music directors who couldn’t get Lata’s dates, Hemlata became their go-to artist. She was their ‘Lata’.
Legendary music director Naushad once said, “Hemlata has the voice quality of Lata Mangeshkar and the innocence of Noor Jehan.” Roshan remarked, “I have found my Lata.” SD Burman told his son Rahul Dev Burman, “I will get Hemlata to sing first, not you.” Hemlata was one of the rare artists who had the potential to challenge Lata Mangeshkar’s supremacy.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Hemlata set a record by singing the most ‘dubbed songs’ in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam films that were dubbed into Hindi. Her melodious voice became a household name through the iconic TV series Ramayan. She sang several popular songs, couplets, and chaupais in the series. However, due to one person’s jealousy, she did not initially receive the credit, respect, and popularity she truly deserved. But the truth could not be hidden, and the world soon knew that many of the memorable songs from Ramayan were sung by Hemlata.
Hemlata holds a unique record as the first singer to record songs while being nine months pregnant. She recorded the famous song “Kaun Disha Mein Le Ke Chala Re Batuhiya” from the popular film Nadiya Ke Paar when she was pregnant and had already passed her delivery date.
The author of this biography, Dr. Arvind Yadav, is primarily a journalist. Apart from Hemlata, he has written biographies of prominent personalities like the renowned scientist Bharat Ratna Professor CNR Rao, India’s first female cardiologist Padma Vibhushan Dr. Padmavati, the well-known social worker Padma Shri Phoolbasan Yadav, the famous entrepreneur Sardar Jodh Singh, renowned entrepreneur, social worker, and doctor Nimmagadda Upendranath, and famous surgeon Dr. Pigilam Shyam Prasad. Several of his books have been published.
Dr. Arvind Yadav began his journalism career in 1996 with the Hindi Milap newspaper. He later worked as a reporter with Aaj Tak and Channel 7/IBN 7. In 2008, he became the Executive Editor of Sakshi, a Telugu news channel. Between 2012 and 2015, he served as the Editor of TV9, a Telugu news channel. In 2015, he joined Your Story, a digital media organization, and played a key role in launching its web editions in twelve Indian languages. Dr. Arvind worked as the Managing Editor (Indian Languages) for Your Story. From 2019 to June 2024, he served as the Special Officer (Media) for the Andhra Pradesh government.
Arvind Yadav, known for his struggle against injustice, corruption, and untruths through his writing, was born in the historic city of Hyderabad. He completed his schooling and college education in the same city. He holds Master’s degrees in English and Hindi from Osmania University and has also studied science, psychology, and law. He is a prominent expert on the politics and culture of South India. He has travelled to many villages and cities in search of news and stories, a journey that continues. His struggle for the downtrodden has earned him a unique position in the field of journalism. Over the past few years, he has focused on writing stories and articles about people who are striving to bring positive change to society. Exploring different aspects of successful individuals’ lives and presenting them to the public has now become his primary goal. He is a strong advocate for spreading the good work happening in the country to the masses. Established as a journalist, Dr. Arvind Yadav is now also gaining recognition as a storyteller and biographer.
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