Legendary playback singer Suman Kalyanpur, who passed away on 31 May 2025 at the age of 89, had once spoken candidly about one of the most enduring curiosities of her decades-long career — the striking similarity between her voice and that of Lata Mangeshkar, which led countless listeners to misattribute her songs to the Nightingale of India. The remarks, made during an old interview with DD News, offer a rare, intimate window into how Kalyanpur herself understood a comparison that followed her throughout her life.

The Voice That Sounded Like Lata's

Kalyanpur recalled that the confusion had begun early. Even as a child, she said, audiences and those around her would assume that songs she had sung were actually performed by Lata Mangeshkar. She admitted she never quite found a rational explanation for the resemblance. 'Pata nahi kyun aise hain, meri samajh mein nahi aata hai. Magar jab bhi bachpan se main gaati thi, sabhi ko lagta tha ki yeh unka gaana hua hai,' she said in the interview.

Her Humorous Take on the Similarity

Rather than expressing frustration, Kalyanpur offered a characteristically warm and self-deprecating explanation. 'Shayad hum saath mein gaye honge Bhagwan ke paas maangne kuch aur humko aadha-aadha mila hoga. Aise isliye meri awaaz waise milti hai. Bass woh pehle aa gayi hai,' she joked — suggesting that she and Lata had perhaps visited God together seeking something else, and each received half the same divine gift, with Lata simply arriving first.

The remark, delivered with characteristic grace, encapsulates how Kalyanpur navigated a comparison that could easily have been a source of professional resentment. Instead, she wore it lightly.

A Warm Bond With Lata Mangeshkar

Kalyanpur also spoke about her personal relationship with Lata Mangeshkar, describing it as genuinely warm and cordial. 'Bahut achche se milte thi. Bahut achcha humare beech mein rapport rehta tha,' she said, pushing back against any suggestion of rivalry between the two icons.

This is notable context: both singers were active during the 1950s and 1960s, the golden era of Hindi film music, and were frequently recorded by the same composers and studios. The professional proximity made the voice-similarity comparisons both inevitable and, at times, commercially significant — producers occasionally leveraged Kalyanpur's vocal resemblance to Lata's timbre when the latter was unavailable.

A Career That Stood on Its Own

Over a career spanning several decades, Suman Kalyanpur built a body of work that stands independently of any comparison. Her most celebrated tracks include 'Na Na Karte Pyar Tumhi Se Kar Baithe', 'Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche', 'Ajahun Na Aaye Balma', 'Tumne Pukara Aur Hum Chale Aaye', 'Dil Ek Mandir Hai', 'Mere Mehboob Na Ja', and 'Yeh Sama Yeh Khushi Bolo'.

Her passing on 31 May 2025 has prompted a fresh wave of tributes and renewed interest in her interviews and archival recordings, bringing this old DD News conversation back into wide circulation. Her humility and humour in addressing the Lata comparison remain, for many, a defining portrait of the singer.