MUMBAI: Asha Bhosale, a name equivalent to versatility, celebrates her 85th birthday today. Out of 85 years, for over six decades she ruled the playback singing in Hindi Film Industry. She entered the industry when her sister Lata Mangeshkar was already an established name, along with names like Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt, despite that Asha carved her own niche. Below are few interesting facts about the Asha Bhosale:
Guinness Book of world records has registered her name for the most recorded artiste ever in 2011.
Till now Asha Bhosale has sung over 12000 songs in 21 Indian languages.
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The youngest actress that Asha Bhosale gave her playback in recent times was Sneha Ullal in the Salman Khan starrer movie Lucky for the song Lucky Lips.
Till now she has received 18 Filmfare nominations and has won eight times.
Recipient of second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan, Highest awards in cinema, Dadashaheb Phalke Award and recently was even conferred with Deenanath Mangeshkar Lifetime Achievement Award, an award after her own Father’s name, a legend of Marathi theatre and an award in UK in 2003, BBC Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair).
She made her debut on silver screen at the age of 79 in the movie Mai and won critical acclaim for the same.
For a girl belonging to a conservative Maharashtrian Family, Asha Bhosale stays undisputed queen of cabaret songs; a genre she initially refused to sing. Recently, at the show Bengal Tigers, an ode for four Bengali music composers, Asha was shared a light-hearted memory with S D Burman, whom she endearingly addressed Burman Dada. “Burman dada would say Aasa (in Bengali tone), just imagine yourself like the cabaret diva. I was shocked, as I am a Marathi lady always draped in six yards of saree, how can I imagine that? He later said, arey bass socho ki tum who ho aur gaana gao (Just think that’s you and sing on). I understood what he was saying and thereon I never looked back.”
Raat Akeli Hai-Jewel Thief:
Little did she know, she would end up marrying Burman dada’s son, who was five years younger than her. She met R D Burman, at a recording, much before they married. Their pairing gave Hindi film industry some of the most chart bursting songs. Her songs like Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja, picturised on Helen, are still ruling the charts.
As the norm goes, Asha was stereotyped for her cabaret singing and possibly the only one who could handle the influence of Western music in singing. Not the one to take the thing lying down, Asha broke this stereo type too by singing most poignant ghazals in the Rekha starrer Umrao Jaan. These ghazals fetched her National Award too. Soon, she sang the melancholic Mera Kuch Saman from Ijjazat, again winning her a national award and getting rid of the stereo type.
Dil Cheez Kya Hai
There is no genre that is untouched by her from popular Hindi film songs to classical music to ghazals to bhajans to even ‘Crooning’ style of singing
Ghazal with Ghulam Ali:
Her collaborations with foreign artistes have been talked about be it with the founder and artistic director of Kronos Quartet David Harrington, with their album You’ve Stolen My Heart: Songs from RD Burman’s Bollywood, which won them Grammy nomination or with Boy George.
She also sang a song Ave Maria in the United Kingdom.
British band Cornershop composed the song, A Brimful of Asha in 1997, which was later remixed by the English musician Fatboy Slim and became a massive hit in UK.
Beyond singing, Asha is known for culinary skills. Her cooked food is extremely popular within the film industry and is known to get farmaish from many of her beloved, especially for her Non-vegetarian food and she rarely lets the requests down. Pertaining to that, she is owner of ten restaurants in India and abroad.
Asha Bhosale is the first singer to be nominated at the Grammy’s for her album Legacy with Sarod legend Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
