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Lata Mangeshkar's demise has saddened the entire nation. The legendary actress who was 92 passed away due to multiple-organ failure. Her mortal remains are being taken to Shivaji Park for people to pay homage. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai spoke to ETimes about his last meeting with Lata ji before the pandemic.

He said, "There is not one person in India or in the world today who is not having a sad day hearing the news about Lata ji's demise. There's such immense respect for her. I am one of them. I have memories of her since childhood when I had heard her song 'Aayega aane wala' from 'Mahal'. When I met her after becoming a director, I told her that the first song I heard as a child at the age of 3-4 years, and I started singing was 'Aayega aane wala'. She laughed and said, 'See I had said director aayega.' When I became a director, Lata ji sang the first song of my career, 'Jaa re jaa o harjai' from 'Kalicharan'. I touched her feet because I was associated with that voice since childhood. When I saw her, I felt like I was meeting a Goddess. And it remained so till the end. Even today I'd say she was a form of Goddess. Goddess Saraswati resided in her. When she sang 'Jaa re jaa o harjai', she first asked me who is featuring in the song on-screen. She did one rehearsal and then there was a take. And the song turned out to be an inspiration for me forever. It was the first song I had picturised on Reena Roy. Recently I watched a singing reality show on television, the kids were singing that song even today. The song is so beautiful, even after 50 years, it is still alive."

He further spoke about the song he had recorded for 'Karz'. "When she sang that song, it felt like a 16-year-old girl is singing the song. She paid such close attention to the lyrics, to the character... she used to get into the skin of the character while singing. She was such a profound artiste that she had an understanding of cinema, of the situation, of the actors... even directors. 'Karz' was one of her favourites, she asked me for a special print of the film. She always told me, 'Subhash ji, aap sabse achchi filmein banate hain. Main aapki filmein baar baar dekhti hu," he said.

Speaking about 'Ram Lakhan', he said, "I remember she wouldn't have dates. I took Laxmi ji to the studio where she was recording. I told her, 'Lata ji, we record songs every day. And there are many singers. But this song is such that it will have no meaning if you don't sing it. I will have to change the song.' She smiled and asked me why I thought so. I said, 'You'll know it when you sing and hear it.' She gave me a date, she came to the studio and recorded the song. I told her there was a new girl, Madhuri Dixit. Even today, the song is iconic. When we thought of a song, we thought that Lata Mangeshkar is singing that song. The song should be fantastic. Like if you work with Dilip Kumar ji, you feel the scene should be outstanding. It's a responsibility on the writer's part as well. Lata ji would give that sense of responsibility to the composer and lyricist. She was very particular that there should be no bad words."

The director took a walk down the memory lane as he talked about his last meeting with her before the pandemic, in 2019. He said that he and his family went to her house. He further added, "My students asked if they can also go for her darshan. She was doing well health wise. We went to her house because we wanted to establish a scholarship in her name for Whistling Woods music school. She said, 'Subhash ji, you are giving me this honour, I am not giving you any honour.' She accepted it, she chatted with my family and the students. She treated us to a feast in her house. So much love she has given us. There is a huge photo of her in our school mentioning Lata Mangeshkar Scholarship that has been given to students for 6-7 years now. Her scholarship is a blessing for an upcoming artist."

Ghai revealed that Lata ji used to say, "If you want to be a good artiste, your soul is God's gift. Connect your soul to Goddess Saraswati Maa. Today's generation that is getting into sound and technology has forgotten it. Her voice was a soul in itself."