When it comes to talking about artistic impact, facts often don’t suffice. But this time, they might. Let’s start with the basics— Asha Bhosle recorded her first song in 1943, and her last recorded song, ‘The Shadowy Light’, came out two months ago.
More than 12,000 songs across multiple languages, a career spanning 83 years — and how do we sum up this legacy in a few hundred words? These are the days when you realise the insurmountable impact some artists have made in our lives. Asha Bhosle, without any exaggeration, is one of those rare artists.
As ‘90s kids, we grew up hearing about Lata Mangeshkar’s legacy, how she could never hit a false note. Our connection with Asha was more personal than with Kishore Kumar and Muhammed Rafi. When we heard her in ‘Rangeela Re’ (Rangeela, 1995) or ‘Le Gayi’ (Dil To Pagal Hai, 1997), we heard a joy for life.
This journey of endurance and relevance began nearly 50 years ago. She recorded her first Hindi film song in 1948, for the film Afsana. However, by the early 50s, Lata Mangeshkar had emerged as the undisputed queen of film music and the voice of the heroine. The composer didn’t like taking too many risks. What did that leave Asha with? The club songs. In other words, the songs of temptation and desire.
