Glimpses from Asha Bhosle's life.
Key Points
- Asha Bhosle passed into the ages on April 12.
- The legendary singer formed bonds with all kinds of people and talents, from Kishore Kumar to cricketer Brett Lee.
- Ashaji has had many chartbusters with many generations of actresses, right from Madhubala, Nalini Jaywant, Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman, Sadhana, Mumtaz to Kajol and Madhuri Dixit.
Asha Bhosle led a rich and successful life, staying active right until the end came on April 12, at the age of 92.
We look back at some beautiful moments from her life.
Asha Bhosle's playlist includes all our favourite songs, and she belted them out time and again, at sold-out concerts held all over the world.
One of Ashaji's earliest collaborations with Kishore Kumar was a film called Muqaddar (1950), which also starred him.
News18 quotes Ashaji as once saying, 'Kishoreda and I were too new when we sang songs for a film called Muqqadar. He was very quirky. Once we were singing a song which went like, 'Ek, do, teen, chaar, baago mein aayi bahaar.'
'In Marathi for Do, they say Don, so I sang it like that. Ever since that, he named me Don and would always make fun of me by recalling that.
'I was very afraid of him because he would always tease me. He would gang up against me with the chorus singers. After a point, I started to give it back. He said, 'Tu bhi pakki hai' and we became friends.'
They went on to sing so many more chartbusters, and forging a close bond.
Asha Bhosle won her first National Film Award for the song Dil Cheez Kya Hai from the 1981 film Umrao Jaan, starring Rekha.
Asha with her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who is four years younger than her.
The Mangeshkar sisters: Lata, Asha, Usha and Meena.
Ashaji listens intently during a recording session for Raj Kapoor's film Mera Naam Joker with Shankar-Jaikishan.
Success did not come easily for this talent, notes Dinesh Raheja. In the early 1950s, she struggled to bag the odd prize assignment from topnotch composers. Besides her own sister Lata Mangeshkar, she also had to contend with Geeta Roy and Shamshad Begum.
Ashaji has had many chartbusters with many generations of actresses, right from Madhubala, Nalini Jaywant, Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthimala, Waheeda Rehman, Sadhana, Mumtaz to Kajol and Madhuri Dixit.
Asha Bhosle had terrific sense of humour, and it often took centrestage at her live concerts. Chefs at Asha's restaurant in Manchester had the privilege of seeing it first-hand.
Asha Bhosle's niece Padmini Kolhapure calls herself an 'Asha Bhosle' discovery', as she recalls how her Asha atya was a fabulous cook.
Asha Bhosle walks the ramp for Manish Malhotra.
A double dose of Asha!
Asha unveils her wax figure at Madame Tussauds in London.
Asha's rockstar personality won her friends from across various fields. One of them was cricketer Brett Lee, and they even sang a chartbuster, em>Haan Mein Tumhara Hoon.
Asha Bhosle with granddaughter Zanai Bhosle.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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