Imagine being 16 and heedlessly in love with a man almost 16 years older than you. Imagine eloping with him and then walking out of a broken marriage with two children and a third on the way. Imagine being in the shadow of a far more successful sister and initially having to sing her rejects and for a long time, not being allowed to sing for any leading lady and having to voice the vamps. And then a few decades later ending up as the most recorded voice in the world. A legend unlike any other. With a voice not just of rebellion but of peace and seduction and prayer and poetry and passion and timelessness and eternal youth. Yes, Asha Bhosle made it to the other side. By more than just the skin of her teeth and yes, Asha Bhosle is a living proof of the fact that there are no mistakes in life. There are only challenges and set backs and life lessons. And if you can deal with them with all that you have got, you will get through anything. She is not of one mould, this one. If Lata Mangeshkar is the voice of ‘virakti‘ and spirituality, Asha Bhosle’s voice is of ‘unmaad‘, abandon, celebration and a whole hearted ‘yes’ to all of life. The good. The bad. The ugly. The unthinkable.
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She is also someone who has always loved dashing stereotypes to the ground and dancing on their pieces.When she was considered unfit to be the voice of leading ladies, she took her first big break in BR Chopra’s Naya Daur and ran away with it, cocking a snook at the naysayers. When they said, she could only do club songs in that sultry voice, she sang qawwalis in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (Saaqiya aaj mujhe neend nahin aayegi), Dil Hi To Hai (Nigahen milane ko jee chahta hai), moved music lovers to tears with agonising pathos in Bandini’s jailhouse lament Ab ke baras, was as pure as a temple bell in Kaajal’s memorable Sahir bhajan, Tora mann darpan kehlaye, showed off her classical roots with Mohammed Rafi in Dil Diya Dard Liya’s Sawan aaye ya na aaye and matched Lata note for note in Jahan Aara’s Jab jab tumhe bhulaya. Too many instances. Too little time to recall all of them. Let us just say that she not only is part of our cinema’s music history but is one amongst the few who wrote it.
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She was and is a genre busting, envelope pushing, in-your-face force of nature who went on from being OP Nayyar’s muse in the 60s to the 70s, when she appropriated everything the decade represented. She was the hippie, the club singer, the voice of young India that identified with Western notations and RD Burman and all the excitement of unheard sounds and rhythms he brought with him. She remained relevant in the 80s, coming up with memorably sensual songs like Saagar’s Jaane do na on one hand and perfectly delivered ghazals with a bravura, national award winning turn in Umrao Jaan and then in the lyrical Ijaazat. In the 90s, she jammed with a young and audacious AR Rehman to give us Tanha tTanha and Rangeela re.
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While she did all this, she raised three kids, sang songs in every possible Indian language and cut albums with international stars ranging from Mehdi Hassan to Boy George to Code Red, won a Grammy nomination, heaps of awards, opened restaurants named after her, performed all over the world and remained unforgettable and unbreakable.
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Her story is one of stubborn resilience. To twist a memorable quote, “The remarkable thing is not that she had talent and she succeeded but that she knew that she had talent and that she would succeed.”
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Happy Birthday Asha Bhosle and thank you for being fearlessly original and always doing what you are best at. Proving the world wrong with a smile that after all these years, still reaches your eyes. Your parents knew what they were doing when they named you.
Asha..a brimful of hope.
i’ve grown up enjoying her melodious songs.My overwhelming feeling and respect for her makes me short of words.
Rebellious in true spirit ans not fake. The younger generation has lot to learn from her. Dedication & non pretense. Love and respect for Ashaji and Lataji.