My first playback recording, at the age of seven, was with Asha Bhosle. It was a duet for the film Minoo — Dheere Dheere Haule Se, the Hindi adaptation of Biswapita Tumi Hey Prabhu from the Bengali
film Sister.
Years later, when I was about 15 or 16, she arrived unannounced at our home in Bombay — Juhuchhaya, in D.N. Nagar. She said she happened to be in the area.
She spoke and understood Bengali with ease, and sat down to a simple lunch Ma had cooked — daal, bhaat, sabzi. At Baba’s request, I sang Jiban Gaan Gahi Ki Je, one of her own songs, with lyrics by Baba and music by her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
Eager to impress, I embellished the rendition with vocal flourishes that the composition did not demand. She listened patiently and then said: “Don’t put in more than is needed.”
It was a lesson that stayed with me.
Though Lata Mangeshkar recorded more of Baba’s compositions, Ashaji sang several memorable ones. Baag Mein Kali Khili, for instance — picturised on Tanuja — had a lively rock-and-roll lilt, and she rendered it with effortless flair.
Its Bengali counterpart, Ja Re Ja Amar Ashar, was sung by Ma, Sabita Chowdhury, and later found its way into the Malayalam hit Chemmeen, where it was sung by K.J. Yesudas.
Baba also had her sing the Hindi version of Ei Roko Prithibir Gari Ta Thamao in Room No. 203 — Hey Jawaan Dil Ke Mere Armaan, mounted as a cabaret number. She returned for his last film, Swami Vivekananda (1993), and I also remember R.D. Burman dropping by during the recording in Mumbai.
There were other collaborations too — like Din Gyalo Din Gyalo from Ei Somoy, a film that, unfortunately, was never released.
Baba had worked with Ashaji far more extensively than is commonly remembered. Many of those songs were lost to poor marketing or the lack of success of the films they were in. At times, I cannot help but feel that some of his finest compositions, sung by lesser-known artistes, might have received their due had she lent them her voice.
On the occasion of Baba’s 25th year in the industry, at a programme at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai, Ashaji gifted him a platinum ring. Ma would later say that he wore it for a long time.
With her passing, an era seems to have drawn to a close. Ashaji’s versatility remains unparalleled. Her collaborations with R.D. Burman are celebrated as treasures, and rightly so.
Much is said about her Westernised, modern songs, but one must also recall the finesse of her ghazals with Ghulam Ali, and the depth she brought to classical and semi-classical compositions. Few singers have traversed such a vast musical landscape with such assurance.
(As told to Sudeshna
Banerjee)