I want to keep singing for the rest of my life: Lata

Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar says that she wants to continue singing forever, provided she is offered meaningful songs.

Nightingale of India Lata Mangeshkar says that she wants to continue singing forever, provided she is offered meaningful songs.

"I want to continue singing for the rest of my life," said Lata who turned 80 Monday.

"I'm open to all kinds of songs, but the only thing I look for is the lyrics. The lyrics have to be meaningful. I would like the producers and the directors to approach with soulful and meaningful tracks," added the veteran singer at the launch of an album here.

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The melody queen, as she is popularly known, has sung more than 30,000 songs in over 20 Indian languages. And she has sung all kind of songs - from light classical music to film songs, from ghazals to bhajans and pop.

Having worked with almost all top music composers and singers in the industry, Lata has also featured in the Guinness Book of Records from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world.

When asked about her opinion on the number of reality shows that are doing the rounds, Lata said that more than singing, the focus is on performance.

"Reality shows these days are all about singing, dancing, performing and latest fashion. New singing stars have potential but they concentrate more on overall performance rather than singing itself, which is a total contradiction.

"Singing is a divine form of art and blending it with other art forms takes away the very soul of music. So it's better if reality shows concentrate purely on the talent of singing and music," Lata maintained.

Now, after more than six decades in the industry, the singer says that she doesn't regret anything.

"Whatever I achieved is by god's grace. I'm completely satisfied and content with my life and career," she said.