Lata Mangeshkar On #MeToo: A Working Woman Must Be Given The Dignity, Respect & Space She Deserves

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Over the last few weeks, the #MeToo movement has taken the film industry by storm. It all began when Tanushree Dutta alleged sexual harassment by Nana Patekar on the sets of Horn Ok Please. Soon, many prominent names like Sajid Khan, Alok Nath, Vikas Bahl, Kailash Kher, Mukesh Chhabra, Sham Kaushal were named and shamed by women for sexual misconduct.

In the midst of the #MeToo wave in India, legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar says nobody could mess around with her and get away with it. Recently, her sister Meena's biography "Mothi Tichi Savli' was launched. It has many revelations about Lata wherein one of the chapters mentions that she once threatened to cut a lyricist (Naqshab Jarchvi), into pieces.

When asked about it in a recent interview, Lata mentioned, "Not exactly. Woh bechare ab rahe nahin (the poor chap is no more). But he had it coming. He was spreading rumours about him and me which had no truth to it. I confronted him. When I was young, I had a temper. No one could mess around with me and get away with it."

Speaking about the Me Too movement, she said, "I truly believe a working woman must be given the dignity, respect and space she deserves. If anyone denies her that space, he must be taught a lesson."

The singer further revealed that she isn't happy with any of the books that have been written about her. Lata said, "I am not happy with any of the books that are written about me. These authors have not even asked me if they can write books on me. And then they have written whatever they wanted, without confirming or cross-checking facts. Some of these books have been offensive and we have even considered legal action against them."

Further quizzed if it is possible to tell the entire truth in biographies, she said, "Not really. Not the entire truth. Because there are lives of others and their families involved. One has to consider the sentiments of those whose lives are affected."

When prodded if tha's one of the reasons why icons like her, Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar refuse to write an autobiography, the legendary singer added, "Perhaps. But the solution is not to lie. But to be honest with restraint. To not disclose certain areas of one's life is not dishonest. It is being discreet. But you're right. There is a scarcity of good biographies on the greats of our cinema."

Lata revealed that she would want biographies made on Kundal Lal Saigal, Dilip Kumar and her father Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar.

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