career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them. He helped Lata get started in a career as a singer and actress.Mangeshkar sang the song Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekars Marathi movie Kiti Hasaal (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapats Marathi movie Pahili Mangalaa gaur (1942), in which she sang Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu for the Marathi film, Gajaabhaau (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayaks company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan . She sang Paa Lagoon Kar Jori for Vasant Joglekars Hindi language movie Aap Ki Seva Mein (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. The dance in the film was performed by Rohini Bhate who later became a famous classical dancer. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayaks first Hindi language movie, Badi Maa (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, Maata Tere Charnon Mein. She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayaks second Hindi language movie, Subhadra (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.After Vinayaks death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie Shaheed (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkars voice as too thin. An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would fall at Latas feet and beg her to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song Dil Mera Toda, from the movie Majboor (1948).Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkars Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.One of her first major hits was Aayega Aanewaala,[citation needed] a song in the movie Mahal (1949), which was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip synced on screen by actress Madhubala.