Asha Bhosle might hold a Guinness Record for recording the maximum number of songs, but there were days when she, along with fellow music legend Kishore Kumar, was turned away from recording studios.
“But such incidents merely strengthened my resolve to come out of the shadow of established singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum or Noor Jehan,” said the singing sensation at an event organised by the Young Ficci Ladies Organisation (YFLO) in the city.
“I was always attracted to Western music and knew that to make a space for myself in this industry, I needed to change the prevalent singing style of the age,” said the 81-year-old.
“Eena Meene Deeka was the first song I sang in my own style. Although the old generation criticised me a lot, I found many fans among the younger generation and that is how my career took off,” she recalled.
As the guest of honour at an event that aimed to encourage women to live their dreams, Bhosle spoke about losing her father early in life, moving to Mumbai, finding a foothold in a cut-throat industry, successfully managing her family and career, and recording more songs than anyone else ever did.
“Your willpower is your biggest strength,” said the singer, who has till date never shied away from a live performance or a hectic schedule on the pretext of old age.
“Only recently, I decided to walk the ramp for designer Manish Malhotra, just because I’d never tried anything like it before,” said Bhosle with a hearty laugh.
“Having tried my hand at almost everything else in life, I now plan to groom my granddaughter Zanai into a playback singer.”
With that kind of attitude towards life, Bhosle is definitely the right choice for an YFLO event that also saw the presence of Delhi chapter chairperson and F&B professional Avarna Jain and Ficci Ladies Organisation president Neeta Boochra.
Earlier this month, the organisation had also hosted Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg as a guest of honour.
Leave a reply