Eternal ‘Melody Queen’ Asha Bhonsle turns 75

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Posted: 17 years ago
#1
Eternal 'Melody Queen' Asha Bhonsle turns 75

Spicezee Bureau

New Delhi, Sept 08: It's romance that still rules 'Melody Queen' Asha Bhonsle's heart, who turns 75 today. Crossing yet another milestone of her life, Asha is in mood for any quite celebrations and is still very much live and in action as she marked her special day with an all new album of romantic songs

With a voice that has remained ageless, Asha Bhonsle has ruled the music charts of all genres from pop and cabaret songs to club mixes, romantic numbers, bhajans and ghazals. You name it and she has sung it, enthralling listeners across all ages with the magic of her ageless voice Having sung for actresses of older films like Madhubala, Nutan, Asha Parekh, Helen and Rekha to giving playback to Urmila Matondkar, Kajol, Karisma Kapoor and Gracy Singh among the newer ones, Asha has contributed to the Indian film industry for more than six decades now.

TV actor Kinshuk Mahajan of "Sapna Baabul Ka Bidaai" will feature in the music video of the title song of Asha's new album. "Asha-ji is like a kid! She is so down to earth and simple. When she called me, she was so sweet to talk to," Kinshuk said.

"It was so nice to know that she was adamant about taking me for the music video. The song is very romantic. I wish her all the best though I don't think I would be able to attend the birthday celebrations," he added.

Asha began her singing career with her first film song "Chala chala nav bala" for the Marathi movie "Majha Bal" in 1943.

When she set out to make a mark in Bollywood with her first Hindi song "Saawan aaya" for Hansraj Bahl's "Chunariya" in 1948, she faced tough competition from her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar and others like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, and Suraiya, who dominated the world of playback singing.

Asha showed her charisma with the sensual songs "Aiye meherban" from "Howrah Bridge" in 1958, which was picturised on Madhubala, and "In aankhon ki masti" from "Umrao Jaan" in 1981. She also sang the evergreen number "Chura liye hai tumne" for Zeenat Aman in "Yaadon Ki Baraat".

Her romantic numbers were also widely lauded with songs like "Haal kaisa hai janab ka" ("Chalti Ka Naam Gadi" 1958), "Mur mur ke na dekh" ("Shri 420"), "Pal do pal ka saath hamara" and many others.

"She is simply blessed and her voice is god's gift. Not many have a voice like hers. More than a singer, she is a performer who has a feel for every song. One should see the expressions with which she performs on stage - she enjoys each and every bit of it," new-age pop singer Shibani Kashyap said.

She added: "Her zeal and zest for life is very inspiring. She lives life to the fullest and this is evident from her singing."

Born into the musical family of Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar, Asha took her initial training in music from her father. Her father died when she was just nine and her training came to an end.

After his death in 1942, the family moved from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Mumbai. Asha and her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, started singing in films to support their family.

The year 1957 was the breakthrough year for Asha when music director OP Nayyar got her to sing in "Tumsa Nahin Dekha" and "Naya Daur". "Ude jab jab zulfein teri" from the latter film still remains a favourite among music lovers.

The same year the legendary SD Burman had a rift with Lata Mangeshkar. This came as a blessing in disguise for Asha, who soon became his favourite female singer.

In the 1970s Asha came closer to another legend of Indian music, RD Burman, who added a new and stylish dimension to her singing. The songs "Piya tu ab to aaja", "Dum maro dum" and "Chura liya hai tumne" were a result of this combination. The two also tied the nuptial knot in 1980.

Her ghazals in Muzaffar Ali's "Umrao Jaan" fetched huge accolades and remain an all-time favourite.

In 1995, a 62-year old Asha did playback for young actress Urmila Matondkar in the movie "Rangeela". She pleasantly surprised her fans with superhit songs like "Tanha tanha" and "Rangeela re" after which she also sang for Karisma Kapoor in the song "Mujhko hui na khabar".

For her contribution to music in Indian cinema, Asha was conferred the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest title in Indian cinema in 2000. She was also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan by President Pratibha Patil May this year.

Asha's popularity goes beyond the Indian shores owing to her various foreign collaborations with artistes like Boy George and Stephen Lauscombe. In 2002, she teamed with Michael Stipe on the track "The Way You Dream" on the self-titled album by '1 Giant Leap'.

In 2006, she recorded an album "Asha & Friends" with film actors Sanjay Dutt and Urmila Matondkar and cricket player Brett Lee.

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Indradhanush thumbnail
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Posted: 17 years ago
#2

Asha Unplugged over the years

08 Sep, 2008 07:41 am ISTlGaurav Malani/INDIATIMES MOVIES


From Helen to Urmila Matondkar, we have seen several seductive strokes of Bollywood actresses over the years. But there has been one common element that continues to impart that extra sizzle to these screen seductresses. It's the evergreen voice of singer Asha Bhosle.

Born on September 8, 1932 in a small village near the Sangli district of Maharashtra, India, Asha Bhosle celebrates her 76th birth anniversary today. As the supremely talented singer continues to rock even after her platinum jubilee, we trace down her life history from a musical Marathi family to being a global singing sensation.

Asha Bhosle was born to Dinanath Mangeshkar, a classical singer and theatre actor from the Mangeshi village in Goa (from where Dinanath derived their surname). She was trained in classical singing by her father till the age of nine when he passed away of heart disease. Subsequently the Mangeshkar family shifted to Bombay and elder sister Lata Mangeskar started singing and acting in films to earn their daily bread and butter.

Asha Bhosle followed the footsteps of Sister Lata Mangeshkar and sang her first film song Chala Chala Nav Bala for the Marathi movie Majha Bal in 1943. In 1948 she made her Hindi film debut with the song Saawan Aaya from a film named Chunariya . This was the same time that she eloped from her family and married a much-elder Ganpatrao Bhosle who was a personal secretary to her sister Lata Mangeshkar. She was only 16 and he was 31. The Mangeshkars strongly disapproved of her marriage and Lata was not on talking terms with Asha Bhosle for a long time. However with the ill-treatment from her in-laws and suspicious behaviour from her husband, the marriage didn't survive long. A repentant Asha Bhosle returned to the Mangeskhar family with two children and third still in her womb. She severed ties with Ganpatrao but the Bhosle surname remained with her.

Asha Bhosle continued to sing in films to earn money for her family. But she only got to sing for the supporting actress or vamps, which were the songs rejected by the leading female playback singers of that era like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and her sister Lata Mangeshkar.

With the texture of her voice Asha Bhosle got a chance to sing for Bimal Roy's Parineeta and Raj Kapoor's Boot Polish. But it was with O P Nayyar that she got her first big break in CID which was followed by her first big hit in B R Chopra's Naya Daur. Soon she collaborated with composers like S D Burman and Ravi. In the 70s, there were speculations of a romantic relationship between Asha Bhosle and O P Nayyar and on August 5, 1972 they parted ways personally and professionally on a bitter note.

In late 60s and through the 70s, Asha Bhosle struck a great alliance with music director R D Burman which subsequently resulted in their marriage. She soon became the voice of Helen who sizzled in the item numbers of 70s. Despite her wide vocal range, Asha Bhosle got somewhat typecast in this period and got slotted for singing only sensuous numbers (for O P Nayyar) or Westernized hip-hop tracks (with R D Burman).

This image of Asha Bhosle changed with the Urdu film Umrao Jaan (1981) where Khayyam extracted the finest nuances from her voice in poetic ghazals . She recreated the same magic with Gulzar in Ijaazat (1987) which fetched her The National Award. While Sister Lata Mangeshkar is known for her sugar-coated sweetness, Asha Bhosle is known for her wide-ranged versatility.

Unlike Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle remained active in playback singing for a much longer period and her songs from Dil To Pagal Hai, Taal, Company, Devdas, Lucky and more recently Aap Ka Suroor are still fresh in the minds of her fans. Rangeela needs a special mention for the way in which A R Rehman got the best out of Asha Bhosle.

Asha Bhosle has lend her voice to several private albums, Indipop remixes, regional films, live concerts and also many international albums. In 2006 she was nominated for the Grammy Awards in the category of Best Contemporary World Music Album.

At 76, Asha Bhosle's golden voice still continues to rule our hearts and minds with the same magical effect like it did six decades back.

Chartbuster Track Record

Sar Pe Topi Lal – Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957)
Maang Ke Saath Tumhaara – Naya Daur (1957)
Uden Jab Jab Zulfen Teri – Naya Daur (1957)
Aaiye Meherbaan – Howrah Bridge (1958)
Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka – Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1959)
Jayiye Aap Kahaan Jaayenge – Mere Sanam (1965)
Haseena Zulfon Wali – Teesri Manzil (1966)
Piya Tu Ab To Aaja – Caravan (1971)
Dum Maro Dum – Hare Krishna Hare Ram (1971)
Jaane Jaan – Jawani Diwani (1972)
Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Ho – Bobby (1973)
Chura Liya Hai Tumne – Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973)
Yeh Ladka Hai Allah – Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi (1977)
Yeh Mera Dil – Don (1978)
Dil Cheez Kya Hai – Umrao Jaan (1981)
Mera Kuch Saaman – Ijaazat (1987)
Tanha Tanha – Rangeela (1995)
Le Gayi Le Gayi – Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Kahi Aag Lage – Taal (1999)
Khallas – Company (2002)
Lucky Lips – Lucky (2005)


Interesting Trivia

- Between 1948 and 1957, Asha sang more songs than any other playback singer, though most were relegated to insignificant films or as second singer in duet with the bigger singers like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar.

- Initially it was complained that Asha Bhosle used to imitate the then popular singer Geeta Dutt (wife of Guru Dutt). But soon Asha came out of that image and developed a distinct style of her own.

- Asha recorded her last song for O.P. Nayyar for the film Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye. Though the song Chain se got many awards, it was never included in the actual film.

- Reportedly Helen used to attend the recording sessions of Asha Bhosle so that she could get a proper feel of the song and plan her choreography accordingly.

A sincere request from your bhakt: Pls don't come to reality shows.

Summer3 thumbnail
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Posted: 17 years ago
#3
Thanks interesting. Hope she continues to live as long as possible.
I think once a person reaches 70 it is very hard to sing well any more.

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