One of the giants of the Indian movie and music industries has died. Asha Bhosle, who gave voice to hundreds of movie characters as a Bollywood playback singer, died Sunday at age 92. Her son Anand Bhosle confirmed her death to Indian media.
As a playback singer, Bhosle's specialty was recording the songs used in movie scores for actresses to lip-sync on screen. In some ways, Bhosle's career was the reverse image of that of her older sister, the equally famous playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.
While Mangeshkar earned her reputation singing the roles of chaste, virtuous heroines, Bhosle specialized in saucier characters, such as in one of her most famous songs, "Dum Maro Dum." By Bhosle's own reckoning, she recorded some 12,000 songs over a career that spanned about eight decades.
Bhosle boasted an incredibly flexible and powerful voice that could mesmerize audiences and that gave voice to generations of Indian actresses. Into her later years, she still showed remarkable vocal range.
And even if you never heard her sing, you might still recognize her name: it's Asha Bhosle that the British band Cornershop was referencing in its 1997 hit, "Brimful of Asha."
Bhosle was born Sept. 8, 1933 in Sangli, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, was an accomplished actor and North Indian classical singer and actor in the Hindustani language. Bhosle was nine years old when he died and shortly afterward, she and her older sister, Lata — later known as Lata Mangeshkar — started down a path of acting and singing, in part to help support their mother and three other siblings.
The family moved from city to city, and ultimately landed in Bombay (now Mumbai), the center of India's burgeoning film industry; the term "Bollywood" is a portmanteau of "Bombay" and "Hollywood."
As a child and young teen, Bhosle performed in a string of movies, but at age 16 — against her family's wishes — eloped with Ganpatrao Bhosle. The marriage caused something of a scandal, as he was not only almost twice her age, but also her sister Lata's personal secretary. The couple parted ways acrimoniously in 1960, and Bhosle and Lata's relationship was often notoriously rocky in the following decades.
In her early professional years, Bhosle often found herself performing in low-budget films. But she also started developing a niche by singing vampy roles as well. In the 1960s and early 1970s, for example, Bhosle frequently sang for the outré actress and sexy "item girl" Helen.
Over time, Bhosle developed collaborations with leading film song composers over several decades, including O.P. Nayyar, Ravi, Sachin Dev "S.D." Burman and, most crucially, his son Rahul Dev "R.D." Burman, whom she married in 1980. R.D. Burman, whose works' amazing range included classical, disco, jazz, cabaret, balladic love songs and more, proved to be a perfect partner for Bhosle both professionally and personally. In later years, she was also a favorite of younger composers, including A.R. Rahman.
Aside from her film work, Bhosle sang a range of other material, including North Indian classical music, Hindu devotional songs and poetry. But her popularity as a playback singer, both within the Indian subcontinent and with audiences and artists abroad, continued for decades, unrivaled by anyone in Bollywood with the possible exception of her older sister. In 2000, the Indian film industry gave her its highest prize, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award; in 2008, the Indian government awarded her one of its highest civilian prizes, the Padma Vibhushan.
Using honorifics with her name, India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, wrote on X on Sunday: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of Smt. Asha Bhosle ji, one of India's most renowned and versatile voices. Her unique musical journey spanning decades has enriched our cultural heritage and touched the hearts of countless people around the world."
Last month, Bhosle released a collaboration with Gorillaz called "The Shadowy Light." In an Instagram message posted by Gorillaz, Bhosle talked about her "life's journey," and about what will happen "when I get to the other side."
"I shall attain moksha (ultimate freedom) wherein I shall become one of the thousands of sounds floating all around us. If you put some of them together, they form a beautiful tune," she said.
"Therefore, I shall become one of those sounds, which shall eventually become a musical note in a beautiful song which shall be heard by several generations for thousands of years. This freedom to become one with nature is what awaits me on the other side of the river."
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