Meena Khadikar is a veteran Indian singer. She is best known for composing and singing Marathi songs. She has also lent her voice to several Hindi films. She is the second eldest daughter of Deenanath Mangeshkar. Lata Mangeshkar is her elder sister of Meena Khadikar.
Wiki/Biography
Meena Khadikar was born on Tuesday, 7 September 1931 (age 90 years; as of 2021) in Indore, Indore State, Central India Agency, British India (now in Indore district, Madhya Pradesh, India). Her zodiac sign is Virgo. She never received formal education.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black (dyed)
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Her father’s name is Deenanath Mangeshkar. He was an Indian musician and theatre artist. Her mother’s name is Shevanti Mangeshkar.
The picture of the parents of Meena Khadikar
She is the sister of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
Meena Khadikar (extreme left) with her siblings
Husband & Children
Meena Khadikar’s was married to Mr Khadikar. He died in 2011. The couple has two children. The name of her daughter is Rachana who is a singer. She has a son named Yogesh. The name of her granddaughter is Saanjli Khadikar.
Career
Meena Khadikar started singing Bollywood songs in 1953. Her first song was ‘Aapne chheen liya dil’ and it was a duet song with Mohammed Rafi from the film Farmaish. In the following year, ‘Phagun aaya’ was sung by Meena Khadikar, along with Mohammed Rafi in the movie Pilpili Saheb. In 1957, she lent her voice in the movie Mother India and sang the popular song ‘Duniya mein hum aaye hain toh.’ Before marking her singing debut in Bollywood, she used to compose and sing songs in the Marathi language. During her singing career, she has composed several nursery rhymes and kids songs including ‘Asawa Sunder Chocolatecha Bungla.’ Soon after the release of this album, it was released and recorded in Bengali and Gujarati languages. The children of Meena Khadikar sang the songs of this album.
Literary Works
Meena Khadikar wrote the biography of Lata Mangeshkar titled ‘Mothi Tichi Savali’ in 2018. In the following year, she published a book titled ‘Didi aur Main’ on the life journey of Lata Mangeshkar.
Lata Mangeshkar while showing the book Didi aur Main in 2019
Facts/Trivia
- She also goes by the name Meenatai.
- The singing career of Meena Khadikar spanned between 1952 to 2000.
- According to Meena Khadikar, she listens to the songs of Lata Mangeshkar every night before sleeping. In an interview with a media house, Meena Khadikar replied to the question that which song of Lata Mangeshkar she liked the most. She said,
When I sleep at night, I play her songs on the phone and hear them speak to me.”
- Meena Khadikar adores handicrafts and artistic work. She makes hats, Santa Claus, Himalayan views in glass boxes, durable items from waste items, and dolls at home.
- In September 2020, Lata Mangeshkar congratulated Meena Khadikar on Instagram on Meena’s birthday, and Lata also shared a romantic song of Meena Khadikar along with her birthday video.
An Instagram post by Lata Mangeshkar on Meena Mangeshkar’s birthday
- Meena Khadikar was honoured with the Radio Mirchi’s Lifetime Achievement Award on 26 March 2021. Lata Mangeshkar announced this on her Twitter handle soon after the announcement of the award to Meena Khadikar. Lata Mangeshkar wrote,
My younger sister Meena Khadikar has received Radio Mirchi’s Lifetime Achievement Award (Marathi). Meena is a very good musician, singer and writer. She is of saintly nature. I bless her that she gets more awards.”