ASHA : 70 Years/70Landmarks

ASHA BHOSLE

ASHA BHOSLE COMES ALIVE ON NET

ASHA : 70 Years/70Landmarks

Arthur J Pais
In a career spanning over five decades, Asha Bhosle has sung for over 50 music composers ranging from Allah Rakha Qureshi, the tabla maestro who occasionally composed songs for films, to the youngest composers today.
“I sang for Tanuja over 30 years ago,” she had once told me, “and I have sung for her daughter Kajol.” She chuckled, and said, “I am sure I will be around to sing for Kajol’s daughter.”
rediff.com lists 70 milestones to celebrate the 70 years of the versatile singer’s life.
1. Asha Bhosle enters the movies in 1948 with the now forgotten Chunaria. The music scene is dominated by Shamshad Begum and Geeta Roy. Asha’s elder sister Lata Mangeshkar is slowly making a mark, but while Lata shoots to the top in about five years, Asha has to wait for many more years.
2. Her earliest songs are composed by the likes of A R Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain and Ghulam Mohammed, but none of them are huge hits. Her songs in Sangdil, starring Dilip Kumar and composed by Sajjad, get her some recognition in 1952.
3. Bimal Roy is one of the earliest filmmakers to recognise her talent and uses her, though sparingly, in Parineeta (1953). Most of the songs are sung by Geeta Roy.
4. Raj Kapoor considers Lata a divine gift. But he is also alerted by her younger sister’s talent. In Boot Polish, Asha sings the phenomenally popular Nanhe munne bachche with Mohammed Rafi.
5. Composer O P Nayyar gives her a big break in CID, starring Dev Anand, Shakila and newcomer Waheeda Rehman. The 1956 film also had songs by Shamshad Begum and Geeta Roy. A few years later, as a romantic relationship develops between Asha and Nayyar, he uses her voice exclusively for nearly two decades till their friendship ends.
6. Nayyar gets her to sing in two big hits, Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Naya Daur. The Maang ke saath tumhara number in the latter becomes very famous.
7. The success of Naya Daur (1957), produced by B R Chopra, forges a special bond between Chopra and Asha. In the following decades, she would be the principal female singer in many Chopra hits, including Waqt and Gumraah.
8. Contrary to the opinion that only O P Nayyar recognised her early in her career, a handful like Khayyam give her good assignments in the 1950s. Though she sings only a few words in the title track of Khayyam’s Phir Subah Hogi, you feel her presence throughout the haunting number dominated by Mukesh.
9. Many of her songs are picturised on the likes of Helen and other oomph girls. Her talent as a singer of immense resources is seen in Sone Ki Chidiya. The 1958 film had a haunting score by Nayyar.
10. Asha becomes a sensation with the frothy numbers S D Burman has composed for her and Kishore Kumar for Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958). Songs like Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si make the film an evergreen musical comedy.
11. C Ramachandra is another composer who gives her a boost in the first decade of her career. Her songs for him in V Shantaram’s films, especially Navrang (1959), further consolidates her position.
12. Newcomer Ravi makes an auspicious debut with Devendra Goel’s Vachan in which Asha sings the lovely Chandamama door ke.
13. Asha and Ravi click in Dilli Ka Thug. Her duet Cat mane billi with Kishore Kumar is a funny, fast-moving song that consolidates their position in the industry.
14. Guru Dutt, the producer of CID, remembers Asha when he launches Chaudvin Ka Chand. Ravi wants Geeta Dutt, Guru Dutt’s wife, to sing the film’s major songs, but Geeta backs out as she claims she cannot do full justice to them. Guru Dutt insists Asha sing the songs.
15. The success of Chaudvin Ka Chand’s music prompts composers to prefer Asha to Geeta.
16. Geeta Dutt sings most of the songs in Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), her last major film, but Asha has the one memorable song, Bhanwra bada nadan.
17. Bimal Roy and composer S D Burman give Asha a haunting song, Ab ke baras in Bandini. The film had a wonderful Lata number Mera gora ang laile but Asha’s emotion-packed song proves she is in the major league.
18. Jaidev challenges Asha with his intricate composition in Mujhe jeene do and Ramlal makes excellent use of her voice in Sehra. The film is produced by V Shantaram, who thinks Asha’s vibrant voice is better than sister Lata’s.
19. Kishore Kumar has composed music for half a dozen films and Asha is his first choice. Listen to her evocative songs in Door Gagan Ki Chaon Mein (1964) and you will realise what a wonderful team this was.
20. The songs of Yash Chopra’s Waqt (1965) become a big hit. Ravi, who prefers Asha over Lata, is the composer.
21. Asha has a mellow, lingering and memorable song Tora man darpan in Kaajal (1965). Once again, Ravi proves that Nayyar is not the only composer who has a great rapport with the singer.
22. Mere Sanam, another great hit of 1965, has several beautiful songs sung by Asha and composed by Nayyar. Jaayiye aap and Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera. Both solos present two distinct emotions. Asha does full justice to both. The former is a haunting love number while the latter is a seductive one.
23. In Teen Deviyaan (1965), S D Burman brings Kishore Kumar and Asha to produce fast-paced, immensely popular music.
24. Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon has a superb, fast-paced score by Nayyar. This Nasir Hussain film is a roaring hit. Asha’s pensive number, Aankhon se jo utri, once again demonstrates that she can turn even the most intricate tunes into classics.
25. Rising composer R D Burman challenges Asha’s vocal chords with Aaja aaja (sung with Mohammed Rafi). The film, Teesri Manzil (1966), produced by Nasir Hussain, is another huge hit.
26. Madan Mohan, another composer bewitched by Lata, keeps aside a challenging song for Asha from time to time. How can one forget the enchanting and seductive Jhumka gira re in Mera Saaya (1966)? Though Lata sang the hit title song, Asha’s formidable rendering of Jhumka gira re made it a chart-topper too.
27. The seductive Raat akeli hai picturised on Tanuja in Jewel Thief (1967) is one of the film’s highlights.
28. Asha has another highly popular seductive number, Parde mein rehne do, in Shikar. The 1968 film, with Shankar-Jaikishen’s music, runs more than 50 weeks in Mumbai, and is one of the biggest hits of the 1960s.
29. Raj Kapoor is not on speaking terms with Lata and Asha gets to sing the songs of Mera Naam Joker (1970), including the seductive rain number, Mera ang lag ja. The songs are popular but the movie fails at the box office.
30. The 1970s see Asha reaching dizzying heights. Her song Dum maro dum, composed by R D Burman, in Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971), becomes a phenomenal hit, running for 40 to 50 weeks. Kishore Kumar says the song is powerful enough to bring a dead person to life.
31. With several hit songs for RD in films like Caravan (1971) and Bombay To Goa (1972), Asha moves closer to the composer. Soon the gossip columns report her relationship with Nayyar is on the rocks.
32. Asha now also sings a few duets with RD, the most popular being Monica, Oh my Darling and Duniya Mein in Caravan and Apna Desh (1972).
33. By the early 1970s, Asha has also proved that she can excel in classical songs. Ravi gets her to sing bhajans and classical melodies in Grihasti and Kaajal.
34. Composers Shankar and Jaikishen are beholden to Lata but they gave Asha some fine numbers too. For instance, the haunting title track of Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyaan.
35. In 1973, Asha sings some lovely RD compositions, like Chura liya hai tumne in Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973). Sung with Rafi, the song is still remembered for its infectious melody.
36. The O P Nayyar-Asha Bhosle association comes to an end in Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974). The solo Chain se humko agar is an award-winning hit though it is deleted from the film.
37. The 1975 hit Khel Khel Mein is yet another R D Burman favourite. It had fun-filled duets like Khullam khulla pyar karenge, but its most outstanding number was the mournful solo Sapna mera.
38. In Chhoti Si Baat (1975), she teams up yet again with Salil Chowdhury who got her to sing the lovely Baag mein in Chanda Aur Suraj. This time, a new singer to Mumbai called Yesudas joins her in the Janeman janeman number.
39. Kadambari, the 1976 arthouse movie starring Shabana Azmi, has music by sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan. Her number Ambar, one of her finest songs, is soothing and haunting.
40. She sings a lovely song in Ghar (1978), Bottle se ek baat, composed by R D Burman.
41. In the 1980s, she travels across the US, Canada and Britain to give concerts that draw thousands of South Asians. Unlike other singers, including Lata Mangeshkar who remains stiff, she moves around. Her concerts are always lively.
42. She scales epoch-creating heights with the Rekha-starrer Umrao Jaan (1981). Khayyam’s soft, lingering songs like In aankhon ki masti mein and Dil cheez are among the best film songs ever composed.
43. Though there is no composer like Nayyar who will give her all the songs in a film, she continues to get the best from newer and older composers. O Maria in the Kamal Haasan-Rishi Kapoor-Dimple starrer Saagar (1985) further enhances her reputation.
44. Anu Malik asks her to sing for the 1984 hit Sohni Mahiwal, starring Sunny Deol, Poonam Dhillion and Zeenat Aman.
45. RD reinvents his and Asha’s career with an astounding score in the 1987 Gulzar film Ijaazat. The hauntingly sad song Mera kuch samaan sounds sadder by Asha’s passionate rendering. Pancham and director-lyricist Gulzar have said that Mera kuch samaan was a very difficult song to sing as the lyrics were written in prose.
46. With the rise of singers like Anuradha Paudwal and Alka Yagnik, her career starts sliding but she simply cannot be written out. Witness her songs in Khoon Bhari Maang (1988), composed by Rajesh Roshan.
47. RD’s career is shaky in the late 1980s with too many flops. Yet, from time to time, he and Asha come out with winning melodies like Pyar ke modh par, a duet she sings with Suresh Wadkar in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parinda (1989).
48. She makes time for non-film melodies. Some of these songs are composed by the likes of Jaidev who had got her to sing some of his haunting melodies in Hum Dono and Mujhe Jeene Do.
49. The 1990 film Lekin is produced by Lata and her brother Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The film, whose score is composed by Hridaynath, sees Lata singing more numbers. But Asha also gets an opportunity to transform the intricate song Jhoote naina into a masterpiece.
50. She records a few songs such as Ave Maria abroad and sings Bow down mister with Boy George.
51. To commemorate her 60th birthday, EMI India releases three cassette sets of her 1933 works. Of these, her devotional songs in the cassette Bala Main Bairagan Hoongi comes as a surprise to those who are not fully familiar with her versatility. Here, she sings ghazals by composer Ghulam Ali with ease. The Golden Collection: The Ever Versatile Asha Bhosle, an anthology of popular film hits, is also released.
52. Composer A R Rahman ropes her in to sing in Ram Gopal Varma’s Rangeela (1995). The song Tanha Tanha is especially famous. “Lata and Asha are legends,” Rahman once told me. “I think of them only when I feel I have composed something that fits their stature.”
53. She says she dislikes the remix business. She says she produced Rahul and I (1996), a remix of songs she had done with her late husband R D Burman, because she was afraid someone else would come up with a terrible remix.
54. In Daud (1997), the O bhanware number with Yesudas reminds listeners that Asha is still in command over her voice. The music is composed by Rahman.
55. Among her other outstanding non-film albums is Dil Padosan Hain in which she does terrific justice to R D Burman’s complex tunes, just the way Lata boosted Burman’s compositions in films like Aandhi.
56. Janam Samjha Karo, a non-film album with Leslie Lewis, is a big hit and wins Asha the 1997 MTV Award.
57. Kamal Haasan’s Hey! Ram is a box office dud but Asha and veteran South Indian composer Ilayaraja create a haunting melody with the song Janmon ki.
58. Legacy, another non-film album, is a collaboration between Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Asha. The project, which celebrates classical music, is a big hit.
59. Govind Nihalani’s Takshak (1999) bombs, but Rahman’s score gets much praise. One of the best songs in the film, Rang de, goes to Asha Bhosle.
60. Rahman gives her yet another memorable tune in Subhash Ghai’s Taal, Kahin aag lage, a song proclaiming the pain of unfulfilled love.
61. Vishal Bharadwaj, another composer of the new generation, gets her to sing the title track in Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000), starring Tabu and Manoj Bajpai.
62. Asha gets the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. She had long ago, after having won half a dozen Filmfare Awards, asked not to be considered for the annual Filmfare Awards. But the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award was different. It saluted a career that had led to songs in dozens of films not only in Hindi but a multitude of Indian languages.
63. The Kambakth ishq number in Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya (2001), composed by Sandeep Chowta, raised the younger composers’ faith in the veteran singer. She is at her seductive best.
64. Asha gets the most coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001. Lata, who had won the award a few years earlier, says the honour for Asha was long overdue.
65. Her duet with Udit Narayan, Radha kaise na jale, in the Aamir Khan-starrer Lagaan (2001) wins her more fame.
Courtesy:rediff.com

66. After singing for Gulzar’s films like Lekin, Asha sings for his daughter Meghna’s directorial debut, Filhaal (2002). Though the film isn’t a success, Anu Malik’s score is well received.
67. She turns composer with Aap Ki Asha (2002), but the album does not do well.
68. She starts a restaurant in Dubai. She says cooking has been a passion for many decades and she has been collecting recipes from all over India and trying them out in her kitchen.
69. The Chori pe chori number in Shaad Ali’s Saathiya