I am film industry’s last Mughal’: How Asha Bhosle defied norms to cap off her 80-year journey as an artiste

The Padma Vibhushan recipient, who was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital for chest infection on Saturday, died at noon on Sunday.

Asha Bhosle built a remarkable career that spanned over 80 years.

In her storied career, Bhosle has not only established herself as a musical giant but also as an incredibly versatile artiste. But what made her unstoppable was not taking her talent for granted, and approaching every new assignment with fresh energy. She even believed that her “connection with music has grown stronger” with age. “I no longer just sing a tune, I feel the notes surging through my veins. It’s almost like I see the music. It’s difficult to explain. One has to feel it to understand it,” said the 1933-born singer, who is the daughter of late vocalist Deenanath Mangeshkar.

Also Read | ‘I’d have to change my singing style’: Asha Bhosle adopted a more Western singing style to avoid competing with sister Lata Mangeshkar

Born in Sangli, Bhosle made her playback debut at the age of 10 with the Marathi film Majha Bal (1943). Five years later, she recorded her first solo Hindi film song in the 1949-movie Raat Ki Raani. That was the year her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar shot to fame with the astounding success of ‘Aayega aane wala’ in Mahal (1949). When Bhosle stepped into the industry, playback singers Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum were at the peak of their popularity. But Bhosle would go on to carve a space uniquely her own.

“Initially, I had to face a lot of challenges. But then, that’s life. I faced all the difficulties head on and overcame them. This made me enjoy the good times even more,” said the Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient, who has lent her voice to over 12,000 songs.

Over the decades, she has collaborated with talented music directors of different generations, including OP Nayyar, Shankar-Jaikishen, R D Burman, Khayyam, Bappi Lahiri and A R Rahman. She even developed her “own individual style”. She said: “The most difficult part of my musical journey was to consciously create my own identity. Today, I am pleased that my form of music is known as the Asha Bhosle style.”

In spite of her age, the singer, for whom music was “equivalent to breathing”, never stopped her daily riyaaz.

Calling herself “an accident singer”, who used to keenly listen to her father, his disciples and elder sister Lata sing, she spoke about working on her art. “No matter what you want to do, immerse yourselves in it,” Bhosle had said.

When asked how she managed to stay positive even after the roller-coaster ride – a tumultuous first marriage, loss of a daughter – she had, Bhosle responded with the Manna Dey number ‘Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haaye, kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi ye rulaaye’ from Anand (1970). “My life has been like the waves in a sea. I have reached this stage after going through that (the restless movements),” said the icon, who made the extraordinary seem like second nature.