Last rites to be held today with state honours
Mumbai: Asha Bhosle, the legend who refused to be bracketed into any one genre and stepped out of the shadows of her sister’s greatness to create her own universe in Hindi playback singing, died in a Mumbai hospital on Sunday. She was 92.
Asha, one half of the Mangeshkar duo whose versatility was unmatched even by her sister Lata, was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital on Saturday evening due to chest infection and exhaustion, her granddaughter Zanai Bhosle said.
The singer, who defied convention to add heft, depth and even oomph to women’s voices in cinema, be it the lovelorn Meena Kumari in ‘Hum Intezar Karenge’ or the unapologetically seductive Helen in ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’, is survived by her son Anand. The last rites of legendary singer will be performed at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Monday afternoon with state honours.
The singer’s son, Anand, said people can pay their last respects to her at 11 am on Monday at Casa Grande, Lower Parel, where she lived. “Her last rites will be performed at 4 pm tomorrow at Shivaji Park,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of Asha Bhosle and said her songs will forever resonate in people’s lives.
In his message on X, Modi also said that Bhosle’s extraordinary musical journey, spanning decades, enriched Indian cultural heritage and touched countless hearts across the world.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Asha Bhosle ji, one of the most iconic and versatile voices India has ever known,” he said.
Asha got married to Ganpatrao Bhosle in 1949 when she was 16 and later in life married collaborator and composer R D Burman.
Asha, who got listeners jiving to ‘Aaja, Aaja’ just as skilfully as she got them to mourn lost love in ‘Chain Se Ham Ko Kabhi’, ruled the Hindi playback singing world along with her sister Lata for seven decades with virtually every movie song recorded in Bollywood for female leads using their voices.
Asha herself sang for more than eight decades, recording an incredible 12,000 songs. Her first song was in 1943 at the age of 10 for the Marathi film ‘Majha Bal’. She continued to sing until the late 2010s and beyond, making her the longest performing singers in global music history.
Unlike Lata, her voice remained steady and its timbre fresh, even when she was singing at the age of 80. Lata died in February 2022 also at the age of 92.
While Lata was the go-to choice for music director Madan Mohan, the master of melody and ghazals, Asha was equally accomplished in that genre, and is still remembered for her ghazals in ‘Umrao Jaan’. She won a National Film award for the movie.
But she also established her own identity, partnering first with O P Nayyar for his rhythmic, peppy songs and later with R D Burman for songs inspired by cabarets, romance, lament and every other emotive tonality. Still, there was never any hint of rivalry between the two sisters who occupied almost an equally high seat in the pantheon of India’s singing gods.
Among Asha’s most popular songs are ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar’, ‘In Ankhon Ki Masti’, ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’, ‘Piya Tu Ab to Aaja’, ‘Duniya Mein Logon Ko’ and ‘Zaara Sa Jhoom Loon Main’, among others.
She was the voice for many leading ladies from Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Zeenat Aman to Kajol, Urmila Matondkar and also actors like Padmini and Vyjayanthimala.
In 2023, she performed at a special concert, ‘ASHA@90: Live in concert’ in Dubai to celebrate her 90th birthday.
Born on September 8, 1935, in Sangli (Maharashtra), she was initiated into music by her father Dinanath Mangeshkar just like her sister was. Music was perhaps in her destiny. Of the four sisters, Lata, Usha and Asha were playback singers while Meena is a music composer as is their brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
The much-awarded Asha, who was also was also a successful entrepreneur and ran the popular restaurant Asha in Dubai and the UK, won multiple awards, including the Dadasaheb Phalke, Padma Vibhushan, National Awards and other music honours.
