Meet Asha’s new friend, Munna Bhai. In Asha Bhosle and Friends...., a music album by the legendary singer, Asha’s ‘first friend’ is Bollywood superstar Sunjay Dutt, and he recorded the song, Jaaiye jaaiye jaaiye, with her at Mumbai’s Sangeet Studio finishing the recording in 15 minutes flat. Something that had Asha smiling.

“I was stunned when Sanju recorded it so quickly. And his voice is so much like Kishoreda’s. It has a masculine feel to it which is missing in many playback singers of today,” says Asha paying a generous compliment to Munna Bhai.

“I almost fell off the chair when I heard that you wanted to sing a song with me,” gushed Sanju to Asha and added, “What made you think of me!” Asha told music director Shamir Tandon and the director of the music video, S. Ramachandran, that she wanted to sing with Sanju. “I thought she would want a singer. I was stunned when she took Sanju’s name. But then she had done her homework well,” says Tandon. “Sanju too was rocking. He recorded quicker than most playback singers.”

The 74-year-old singer then proceeded to dance away to glory with Sanju as well. “After doing her lip sync portions, she broke into a dance with Sanju. She did rehearse some steps very shyly with me earlier,” says journalist turned director Ramachandran.

“I had sung earlier with his father Sunil Dutt in a film called Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke. Dutt Saab wore a hat to the recording and seemed very tense. I asked him why he wore a hat and he said that it was for protection from me,” guffaws Asha.

“It is that very energy that urges her to want to sing with more stars today. She has given us a wishlist and we are trying to make that come true,” say Tandon and Ramachandran in chorus. Sanju currently is busy showing off his prized possession — the CD of the song to his family and friends who are also amazed by Sanju’s newfound vocal abilities. Asha Bhosle will record more songs for her album which has music by Shamir Tandon with several other Bollywood stars in the coming days.