When Asha Bhosle confessed her competition with sister Lata Mangeshkar, was afraid she’ll be overshadowed: ‘Didi ke hote mujhe kaam nahi milega’

 

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This one incident was enough to give her sleepless nights. She recalled, “I thought to myself, if I will continue to sing in a similar voice to didi, then I will never get work as long as didi is in the business. I won’t have a name and fame of my own”

“After this incident, I began to change my style of singing. I started to watch English movies to learn western songs, observe how they would sing in English. I also learnt how to sing Qawwali, Ghazal, the voice modulations needed in different form of singing. I started to learn it all”, she added.

Asha Bhosle eventually became the voice behind songs like “Aaja Aaja” (Teesri Manzil), “O Mere Sona Re” (Teesri Manzil), “Piya Tu Ab To Aaja” (Caravan), “Do Lafzon Ki Kahani” (Don) “Yeh Mera Dil” (Don), “Disco Station” (Hathkadi), “Mera Kuch Samaan” (Ijaazat), “Raat Akeli Hai” (Jewel Thief), “Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko” (Yaadon Ki Baaraat), “Roz Roz Aankhon Tale” (Jeeva), “Tumse Milke” (Parinda), and the list goes on. She teased her listeners with her unique voice, very much different from that of her sister’s.

 

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Having established a niche for herself in the industry, there were many times that the singer collaborated with her sister Lata Mangeshkar. However, the collaborations used to make Asha Bhosle extremely concscious. “Be it Main Chali Main Chali” (Padosan in 1968), “Chhap Tilak Sab” (Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki in 1978), or the other 90 songs she recorded with her, the experience remained the same.

In the same interview, Asha said, “Whenever I used to record with didi, I had to be extremely conscious. I had to be prepared as to what different thing will she add this time to this song. We had a thing of adding our own touch to songs we sang, so I used to be worried, what new thing would she add. There was a pressure to give an equal attempt at adding something new to the song, to leave my mark.” She confessed, “There was definitely a competition between us”. However, she clarified, “It was a healthy one. This (competition) enhanced our songs.”