Top 10 artistes Asha created magic with

The playback singer, who just turned 89, produced great works with a host of popular names in Hindi cinema, writes Rajiv Vijayakar

Asha Bhosle turned 89 on September 8. The world-record holder for the maximum number of recorded songs—over 11,000 in over 20 languages. The Dadasaheb Phalke laureate has made a mark even internationally.

She made her singing debut at 10 in the 1943 Marathi film ‘Mazha Bal’ (Chala chala navbala) and in Hindi in Hansraj Behl’s 1948 ‘Chunariya’ (Saawan aaya). As her predominant fame is thanks to Hindi songs, here are her top 10 associations:

B R Chopra

B R Chopra remains the only legendary filmmaker who preferred Asha to her more celebrated sister, Lata Mangeshkar. Asha openly credits him for her major break in ‘Naya Daur’ (1957) over composer OP Nayyar, wherein Asha, for the first time, sang all the songs for a top heroine—Vyjayantimala. Chopra’s films with Asha include ‘Dhool Ka Phool’, ‘Gumraah’, ‘Waqt’, ‘Humraaz’, ‘Aadmi Aur Insaan’, ‘Dastaan’, ‘Dhund’, ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’, ‘The Burning Train’ and more.

Bappi Lahiri

In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was mainly Bappi Lahiri who employed Asha’s vocals for an array of hits, led by the naughty to risqué songs like Pyar ka tohfa tera (‘Tohfa’) and Ooee amma (‘Mawaali’). Alongside came delights like Kisi nazar ko (‘Aitbaar’), Jawani jaaneman and Raat baaqi (‘Namak Halaal’), Sochna kya (‘Ghayal’) and that underrated Asha-dominated score, Zindagi ek juaa.

Helen

For the bulk of Helen’s career, Asha remained her essential voice. RD Burman’s Monica o my darling (‘Caravan’) signalled the peak of their combination that included songs by OP Nayyar (Yaar badshah/’CID 909’), Shankar-Jaikishan (Kisiki jaan lete hain/’Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan’), Kalyanji-Anandji (Yeh mera dil/’Don’), Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Meherbaan mehboob/’Aansoo Ban Gaye Phool’) and SD Burman (Baithe hai kya usske/ ‘Jewel Thief’). Remembers Asha: “Whenever I recorded her song, Helen would send me a chocolate.”

Kishore Kumar

Kishore Kumar was Asha’s favourite all through. Whether it was the question-answer compositions from SD Burman (Aankhon mein kya ji from ‘Nau Do Gyarah’), the wide RD Burman variety (Jaanejaan from ‘Jawani Diwani’, Ek main aur ek tu from ‘Khel Khel Mein’, Aaya hoon main tujhko in ‘Manoranjan’), or the spicy as well as exotic compositions from others composers, the two had a terrific chemistry in their then-‘live’ recordings, as heard in Aankhon aankhon mein (‘Mahal’) or Le jayenge (‘Chor Machaye Shor’).

Lata Mangeshkar

Though the media termed them rivals, the two sisters were close to each other and recorded about 70 duets, mostly for Shankar-Jaikishan, followed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The cream included Koi aayega aayega (‘Professor’), Man kyoon behka (‘Utsav’), Mere mehboob mein kya nahin (‘Mere Mehboob’) and Jab jab tumhein bulaya (‘Jahan Ara’).

Mohammed Rafi

Rafi remains the singer with whom Asha has sung the maximum duets—89 for O P Nayyar alone! These include evergreens from ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Tumsa Nahin Dekha’, ‘Ek Musafir Ek Hasina’, ‘Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon’, ‘Teesri Manzil’ and more. Among their other standout duets are Hum intezaar karenge (‘Bahu Begum’), Chura liya (‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’), Raat ke humsafar (‘An Evening In Paris’) and Raaz ki baat (‘Dharma’).

OP Nayyar

OP Nayyar elevated Asha’s status to make her the next-in-command to Lata Mangeshkar. After ‘CID’ and ‘Naya Daur’, Nayyar never saw beyond Asha, all the way to Chain se humko kabhi from ‘Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye’ (1974), before their personal fallout. Asha and Nayyar bestowed each other unforgettable gems in ‘Tumsa Nahin Dekha, ‘Mere Sanam’, ‘Kismat’, ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’.

RD Burman

The man Asha told me she first met “as an unprepossessing child” at a recording with father, SD Burman not only wed her later, but also experimented with her voice as few did. The chartbusters flew fast and thick, beginning with ‘Teesri Manzil’. The heady brew included, in solos alone, musical brilliance like Dum maro dum (‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’), Jaaoon to kahaan (‘Anamika’), Sajti hai yun hi mehfil (‘Kudrat’) and Chori chori solah singaar (‘Manoranjan’).

Ravi

Here was a composer whose Asha melodies had a distinctive edge that earned him great affection from her. Asha was the sole female singer in his 1955 debut ‘Vachan’, and their tuning went on to create exquisite nuggets like Aage bhi jaane na tu (‘Waqt’), Tora man darpan (‘Kajal’), Sheeshe se pee (‘Phool Aur Patthar’), Yeh parda hataa do (‘Ek Phool Do Mali’) and Zindagi ittefaq hain (‘Aadmi Aur Insaan’). From child artiste to top heroine, or from a ghazal to a cabaret, Ravi seemed to prefer Asha.

Zeenat Aman

When Zeenat Aman swayed to the ‘narcotic’ notes of Dum maro dum in ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’, the die was cast: Asha became this new generation heroine’s dominant voice, associating with her from a qawwali (‘Hum Kisise Kum Naheen’) to a romantic litany (Uljhan suljhe na from ‘Dhund’). ‘Manoranjan’, ‘Chori Mera Kaam’, ‘Chhaila Babu’, ‘The Great Gambler’, ‘Qurbani’—the ‘hit’-list features humdingers as assorted as Chura liya (‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’) and Kasam na lo (‘Bombay 405 Miles’).