At 90, Asha Bhosle gears up for a milestone concert in Mumbai

“Nabbe saal mein koi birthday manaata hai kya? Maine kahaa show karne ki kya zaroorat hai, ghar mein manaao na party, (Who celebrates their birthday at the age of 90? I said: What’s the point of doing a show? Let’s party at home),” said Asha Tai — as she is fondly addressed in Maharashtra — at a press conference at Mumbai recently. Referring to her son Anand, who manages her career, she said, “My son wanted to show the world how his mother can stand and sing for three hours at this age. He is extremely proud of me. He has seen me working from the time he was born until today. I had to bow down before his wishes.”

Brimful of Asha

The press conference, held at Hotel JW Marriot, was hosted by the event management company Morya Entertainment and the ticketing platform Paytm Insider, who are collaborating on this musical extravaganza, where the legend will be joined by her mentee — singer Sudesh Bhosle. A share of the profits generated will be directed to the non-profit organization Child Development Foundation and Charitable Trust.

To Bhosle, performing in Mumbai is special because it holds the memories of a bygone era when her family experienced poverty, and she had to walk long distances or use public transport to go to studios and record songs. “Mumbai has protected me amidst all of life’s challenges. When I last performed at a big concert in Dubai (she turned 90 on September 8 last year and the concert was held on September 18), I was a bit nervous but Mumbai is my home.”  

Born as Asha Mangeshkar into the musical family of Deenanath Mangeshkar, a Marathi classical singer and actor, and his Gujarati wife Shevanti in the small hamlet of Goar (part of the salute princely state of Sangli, which is now in Maharashtra), she lost her father when she was just nine. Subsequently, her family first moved from Pune to Kolhapur, and then to Bombay. It was to support her family that she and her elder sister, Lata Mangeshkar, who died in February 2022, started singing in films. Asha was just 10 years old when she sang her first film song, Chala Chala Nav Bala, for the Marathi film, Majha Bal (1943). In the last 80 years, she has recorded over 12,000 songs in a variety of genres — from pop, cabaret and club mixes to traditional Indian classical music.

A versatile virtuoso

Celebrated for her versatile voice, the Padma Vibhushan awardee has worked with some of the most talented music composers in the film industry, including O.P. Nayyar, Khayyam, Madan Mohan, Shankar-Jaikishan, R.D. Burman, Ilaiyaraaja, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Naushad, Bappi Lahiri, Sardar Malik, A. R. Rahman, Jatin-Lalit, Usha Khanna, Vishal Bhardwaj and Anu Malik. She has given playback to generations of actresses: from Madhubala, Nutan, Asha Parekh, Helen and Rekha to Urmila Matondkar, Kajol, Karishma Kapoor and Gracy Singh, among others.

Apart from earning the love of her listeners for playback singing, she has sung ghazals, qawwalis, bhajans, folk songs, and Rabindra Sangeet. Way back in 2011, the Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed her as the most recorded artist in the history of music. By then, she had already recorded 11,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs in over 20 languages. Many of these are in Marathi and Bengali.

Asha made her playback debut in Hindi films with the song Saawan aaya for Hansraj Behl’s movie Chunariya in 1948. She was just 15. She received Rs 100, then a princely sum, which she spent on a little celebration with her husband: the two had the roadside batata vada, she said in an interview. A year later, she married Ganpatrao Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar’s secretary, who was 20 years older to her. She had three children with him, before their divorce in 1960. (While her daughter Varsha died by suicide in 2012, her elder son Hemant died of cancer in 2015.)

It was quite early in her career that Asha started exploring different tonalities. When she arrived on the scene, Lata, with her four-octave range, had proved her mettle with a sparse and eerie track, Aayega aanewaala from 1949’s horror film, Mahal: it was her breakthrough song. The world of playback singing at this point was dominated by the likes of Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, and Suraiya. Asha’s journey into the hearts of millions began with songs that encapsulated the zest and fervour of the newly independent India. One of the early gems was Chhod do aanchal from the movie Paying Guest (1956); her playful voice, combined with Kishore Kumar’s energy, created a classic. The song, composed by S.D. Burman, betrays a light-hearted vibe.

A new listenership

In 1957, Asha had her own breakthrough when O.P. Nayyar got her to sing in Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Naya Daur. The title song of the former and Ude jab jab zulfein teri from the latter became huge hits. Incidentally, since S.D. Burman had a fallout with Lata in the same year, it was Asha who replaced her as the celebrated composer’s favourite singer. Asha’s romantic numbers in this period were widely lauded, including songs like Haal kaisa hai janab ka (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958) and Mur mur ke na dekh (Shri 420, 1955). She showed her charisma with the sensual song, Aiye meherbaan from Howrah Bridge in 1958.

In the 1960s and 1970, Asha became the Lata-rival power centre, moving the songscape of Hindi films away from the Lata Mangeshkar-Mohammed Rafi mould. The rivalry between the two sisters became the grist to the mill of tabloids that splashed every gossip with glee. The high point of Asha’s singing career came when RD Burman, who was nicknamed Pancham by Ashok Kumar, came into her life; the two married in 1980, and though they divorced in the late 1980s, they had mutual appreciation for each other until Pancham’s death in 1994. Even though her style and inflection were all her own, RD lent a new direction, and dimension, to Asha’s vocals. Under the baton of her imprimatur, she explored new possibilities, and created a new listenership for herself. 

There are too many memorable Asha-RD Burman tracks to dwell on in detail. But let’s just recollect only a few. Can you imagine the jangly, frenetic-paced Piya tu ab to aaja, articulated in a Helenized, titillating tone, in any other voice? The song, from the 1971 film Caravan, and Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1973), earned Asha the Filmfare Awards for Best Female Playback Singer. It was a big deal for her because for eight successive years (from 1958 to 1965), this award had consistently eluded her, while Lata-Rafi had already got three such statuettes to flaunt. One of her biggest hits arrived in the same year with Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko from the blockbuster Yaadon Ki Baaraat. Many more followed: there was the romantic Kehdoon tumhe (Deewaar, 1975), the haunting In aankhon ki masti from Umrao Jaan (1981) and the warm, lilting title track from Yeh vaada raha (1982).

Those who grew up in the 1990s still swoon over such songs as Zara sa jhoom loon main (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge), and Rangeela Re and tanha tanha yahan pe jeena (Rangeela) — both films came out in 1995. Asha’s ageless voice is in full form in A. R. Rahman’s Radha kaise na jale from the epic 2001 drama Lagaan. In 1996, she performed lead vocals on sarod master Ali Akbar Khan’s album Legacy, which earned Asha a 1997 Grammy Award nomination for Best World Music Album — she became the first Indian singer to have made it to the Grammy. In 2005, another Grammy honour came her way when she was nominated for You’ve Stolen My Heart, a studio album brought out by the Kronos Quartet, featuring arrangements of music by none other than Pancham (the vocals are by her). At 90, Asha still has miles to go.

Asha, the unstoppable

At the event in Mumbai, Asha was in high spirits, eager to prove that age has not dimmed her enthusiasm. Apart from regaling her fans with their favourite melodies from her vast repertoire, she is also chuffed to provide a platform to her granddaughter Zanai, who will present a classical dance performance as part of the concert. “It is difficult to praise your own kid. She has been learning Kathak since the age of three. She has been singing with me, and taking a keen interest in acting. When she was a baby, I knew she would grow up to be an artist. I never stopped her. Please watch her dance and you’ll agree that a star is born.” 

Rubbishing rumours that this is supposed to be her last concert, she said that she is keen to tour other parts of Maharashtra such as Pune, Kolhapur, Nagpur and sing for her fans there. However, she did say, “Grab the opportunity to see artists and hear them till the time they are around. People say that they have not seen Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey. Please come and listen so that you can say: We saw Asha. We heard her sing.”

When asked to comment on her association with ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas, who passed away recently, she said, “I was a big fan of his music, and used to listen to him frequently. He used to visit me at home. I have also sung for him since he was a music director too. He was a wonderful person. But it was God’s will. Nobody can transgress what is written in their destiny. We are mere witnesses. Such tragedies have happened in my own family. Grief is not meant to be expressed. You just feel it. Happiness must be spoken about and shared with others.”

‘Naam gum jaaega, chehra ye badal jaaega/Meri awaaz hi pahchaan hai, gar yaad rahe (Name will be lost, face will change / My voice alone is the identity, if it’s remembered,” crooned Lata in Gulzar’s Kinara (1977). It’s the same with Asha. Her voice will endure.