As Asha Bhosle turned 90, she looked back at her singing career and revealed that she sometimes felt that she wouldn't be able to survive the difficult times in her life.
Asha Bhosle turned 90 on September 8, 2023, and she is all set to mark this day with a live concert in Dubai. The singer started her incredible career eight decades ago when she sang her first film song, Chala Chala Nav Bala, for the Marathi film, Majha Bal in 1943. With almost 12,000 songs to her credit, Asha Bhosle has proved her versatility with songs like Piya Tu Ab To Aaja, O Haseena Zulfon Wali, Dil Cheez Kya Hai and Tora Man Darpan Kehlaye, among others.
Asha Bhosle's voice is loved by millions of Indians who have tuned into her songs day and night. Recently, her son, Anand Bhosle along with PME Entertainment hosted a live concert, ASHA@90: Live in Concert, to mark his mother's 90th birthday. In an interview with PTI ahead of the show, Asha looked back at her journey of 90 years and said that for her music is like breathing. Recalling that it wasn’t always easy for her, Bhosle said:
“At the age of 90, I have to stand for three hours on stage and sing songs, I’m happy I can do this at this age. Humari saans nahin hoti hai toh aadmi mar jata hai. Mere liye music meri saans hai. I have spent my life with this thought. I have given a lot to music. I feel good I’ve come out of difficult times. Many times I felt I would not be able to survive, but I did.”
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Reflecting on her vast body of work, Asha Bhosle stated that she wishes she would have sung more songs in different languages and did more classical singing. She also mentioned that managing the ups and downs in the highly competitive environment of the music industry hasn’t been easy for her, but she somehow overcame the difficult times. She added:
“Music kabhi khatam nahin hota. Ye dariya hai. I’ve sung songs for the main artist and for the dancers as well. I believe I could fit in well with anyone. But I wish I had sung more songs in different languages. I wish I could have done more classical singing. In every field, there’s politics. In films too there’s politics, so it is not easy. I believe a lot in destiny, and I believe whatever is meant for me will come to me and what is not meant for me, I’ll never get that. I faced difficulties, but today when I look back, it all looks mazedar as I came out of it.”
Asha Bhosle’s first international show took place at the Royal Albert Hall, UK, in 1976, and it was graced by many eminent personalities like Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. Now, almost five decades after the show, the singer is all set to have a special concert in Dubai on her birthday. Talking about the show, she said.
“It is like a Broadway show, there are many dancers, musicians and technicians. The stage is going to be big. I’ve never done a show on such a big level. It is a special show. I didn’t plan to celebrate the birthday this way. My son and family members wanted it to be celebrated this way. The songs will play out according to my journey, like the classical songs, the film songs I did, and how I changed my style, the songs that I sang with other legendary singers and musicians. In a way, we are paying tribute to all the legends who have left us."
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Asha Bhosle revealed that performing on the stage still makes her nervous so she does rehearsals before the concert. Speaking along the same lines, the singer shared that she sometimes gets so anxious that she feels like she should run away somewhere, but the moment she is on stage, she forgets everything just by looking at the audience. She said:
“I do rehearsals before the concert. Since this time we have chosen some different kinds of songs, something which I’ve never sung, so for those songs, we are working hard, doing more rehearsals. Before going on stage, I’m very nervous, I also yawn a lot. I feel like I should just run away somewhere. But then I remember god and my parents, and then the moment I’m on stage I forget everything just by looking at the love of the audience.”
Asha Bhosle also elaborated on the fact that she was the last Mughal in the music industry and shared that the outstanding singers and musicians of her era have all passed away. Adding that she had discussed the possibility of having a performance titled The Last Mughal with her elder sister, the late Lata Mangeshkar, Asha said that she never wants to show herself as a great personality. She concluded:
“Some of the old songs are still a hit. All the singers would sing so well be it Mohammed Rafi sahab, Kishore, Mukesh ji, and others. ‘Abhi, sab khali ho gaya hai‘. I just said like that because Didi (Mangeshkar) had said we both sisters will do a show and we will call it ‘Last Mughal’. That thing was playing in my head; hence this came out. I didn’t mean to say that ‘I’m a maharani or I’m great’, what I meant is I know the industry closely for many years.”
Apart from Hindi, Asha Bhosle has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages.
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