MUMBAI: Crowned as the most versatile singer with a career spanning over six decades, Asha Bhosle has acquired an unparallel status in the Indian music industry.
Born on 8 September 1933, in the musical family of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, Bhosle is acclaimed as the queen of playback singing in Hindi Cinema. Renowned for her voice range, her work includes wide repertoire of musical genre ranging from film, pop, ghazals, folk songs, qawwalis, to bhajans, traditional Indian classical music and Rabindra Sangeets.
Adding new dimension to the Bollywood songs, Bhosle has been credited to introduce sensuality through songs such as ‘Raat Akeli Hai,’ ‘Dum Maaro Dum,’ ‘Ye mera Dil,’ Yayi re Yayi re’, ‘Aaiyee Meharbaan,’ Aao Huzur and ‘Ye Hai Reshami Zulfon Ka Andhera.’
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Before receiving the crown of the most exemplary singer, Bhosle had to strive for making her mark in the music industry which was hugely dominated by prominent playback singers like Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum. After the death of her father, the exemplary singer along with Lata Mangeshkar entered into the music industry to support her family. At the age of 10, Bhosle sang her first song ‘Chala Chala Nav Bala’ for the Marathi film Majha Bal (1943) whereas her first solo Hindi film song was for the movie Raat Ki Raani in 1949.
During her struggle, Bhosle was engulfed in several ups and lows of life until the year1956 when she received her first big break which was offered by OP Nayyar for the movie CID, followed by her success with BR Chopra’s 1957 hit film Naya Daur. Bhosle’s association with Chopra offered several hits for his later productions which include Gumrah (1963), Waqt (1965), Hamraaz (1965), Aadmi Aur Insaan (1966) and Dhund (1973).
Her long association with Mohd. Rafi further escalated her winning streak as their duet like ‘Maang Ke Saath Tumhara’, ‘Saathi Haath Badhana’ and ‘Uden Jab Jab Zulfein Teri’, earned her recognition of the playback singer for lead actress. In 1966, Bhosle performed duets for music director RD Burman’s first soundtracks for the movie Teesri Manzil which won her the popular acclaim.
At several occasions, Bhosle has seen giving the anecdote wherein she states that when she first heard the dance number ‘Aaja Aaja’ from Teesri Manzil, she felt that she would not be able to sing this westernized tune. While Burman offered to change the music, she refused, taking it as a challenge. She completed the song after ten days of rehearsals, and ‘Aaja Aaja’, along with such other songs as ‘O Haseena Zulfonwali’ and ‘O Mere Sona Re’ (all three duets with Rafi), became successful. In 1960-70s Bhosle was the known as the voice of Bollywood’s actress and dancer, Helen.
The inimitable singer has collaborated with several established composers like Khayyam, Ravi, Sachin Dev Burman, Rahul Dev Burman (Pancham), Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman, Jaidev, Shankar-Jaikishan, Anu Malik and more Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. In 2006, Bhosle stated that she had sung over 12,000 songs. She was recognized as ‘World’s Most Recorded Artist’ in September 2009. Bhosle was also officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
The veteran singer has been a celebrity judge for many reality shows. In 2012, for the first time, Bhosle doned the crown of fourth judge on music talent hunt show Indian Idol season 6 wherein she shared the panel with Anu Malik, Sunidhi Chauhan and Salim Merchant.
Sharing the experience of judging the show along with the veteran, Sunidhi Chauhan told Radioandmusic.com that Bhosle is one of the most wonderful person she has ever met. “The kind of legend she is, she never made me feel like that when I was sitting next to her on Indian Idol stage. She is always humble and loving and it was unbelievable to understand that she was there, as it always felt like its dream. No matter how close I get to her, she is always like a school and I have learnt a lot from her. Sitting next to her was a dream come true. I can never forget her song Raat Akeli Hai, it’s one of my favorite track of hers . She is very happy and warm in heart and through her singing and I wish her a very Happy Birthday and hope that she keeps doing the good work for years.”
