For Asha Bhosle, survival in the competitive world of showbiz wasn't easy. And going by the obstacles she had to deal with, the domain is neither meant for the thin-skinned, not the weak-minded. Only someone as determined and resolute like Asha could have taken on challenges to carve a niche for herself even when singers like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar bagged prominent singinig offers.
"Lata Mangeshkar jaise pahad mere aagey they aur unko paar karna mere liye mushkil. That's when I realized that if I wanted to succeed, I had to move away from what everybody was doing. Toh jo style chal raha tha mujhe ussey alag jaana tha. Since I was fond of watching English films, I was quite familiar with Western music and didn't face any difficulty in incorporating the same in my songs. That's also why my song 'Eena Meena Deeka' earned a huge response. Haan puraane logon ne gaaliyan di. But I was fortunate enough to earn the support of the youth. Since I know what youngsters want, I have been successful at catering to their interest."
Even though Asha's life after marriage was hard, her strong will power helped her combat all problems. "Shaadi ke baad maine bahut gareebi dekhi. I raised three children all by myself. I would get up early, do household chores and leave home by 7am for work. There was a phase wherein I was recording about seven songs in a day. Income Tax ke darawney kaagaz bhi aatey they. Tyohar aur chuttiyan mere liye kabhi bhi nahi they. But I never complained. I knew I had to slog for my children."
Since Asha has never shown any inhibitions at taking risks, she continues to create great success and inspire many. Her ability to challenge her beliefs about what she can and can't do, has helped her take on new challenges and experience new adventures. With her decision to walk the ramp for ace designer Manish Malhotra at the Lakme Fashion Week S/R 13, something she hadn't tried before ever, she showed moving out of a comfort zone calls for breaking free from the past and pushing herself to do something she wouldn't normally do.
"Maine socha ki maine ab bas catwalk hi nahi ki hai to woh bhi kar loon. Everybody was genuinely worried for me because they weren't sure if I would be able to walk the ramp. Kaun hai wohh Chopra?" After the guests announced her name (Priyanka Chopra), she continued, "Chopra boli, 'Humare liye bhi kuch chodd dijiye.' But I have always believed in doing things that I haven't done ever. Now I want to learn the functions to operate a computer."
As Asha tells us, since cine-goers are happy crooning tracks like 'Lungi Dance', 'Halkat Jawaani' and 'Munni Badnam', lyrics have taken a back seat. "Aaj kal logon ko bolon ki samajh nahi hai. There are many takers for quality Bollywood films. Jab se tere naina was a beautiful song, but the quality of lyrics has gone down. Ab fashion ho gaya ki ek item song ya do item song hone chahiye. Such songs can be crooned by any singer. Toh hamare film line mein bolon ki kami ho gayi hai," she says, adding, "I was shocked to hear the song Halkat Jawaani. Marathi mei Halkat gaali hoti hai. This is unacceptable"
To ensure her 12-year-old granddaughter Zanai, who made her singing debut in the 2103 film Mai, become a perfect playback singer like herself, she has been training her. "I want to groom my granddaughter Zanai now. She has a melodious voice - a mix of mine and Lata didi. I want to prepare her as a singer."####
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