From The Inspiring Desk Of Asha Bhosle At 92: Please Note I’m Not Done Yet

On 8th September 2025, I shall be 92 years old and I take this opportunity to thank all my well wishers who have both supported and remained with me in my long journey, I cannot thank you enough because had it not been for your love, I wouldn’t have made it this far. Every time I hear your applause, it pushes me to go further and test uncharted territories in this vast ocean of music and art.

I am often asked by well meaning journalists to give interviews in the media, which I tend to avoid because contrary to my public image, I am at heart a recluse and an introvert. I am shy to discuss my achievements because I have so much more to learn in so little time. Having said that, for those of you who have time on your hands (meaning you are not big into social media) and wish to know a little more about my journey, please read on…

Prior to the advent of cinema, the only public entertainment platform was theatre. My wonderful actor, singer, composer and writer father Master Dinanath Mangeshkar owned his own travelling theatre company. I, along with my 4 siblings travelled with the theatre company all over India where my Father performed these grand musicals to a rapt audience. Therefore, I grew up in an atmosphere of music and the performing arts. Our theatre company folded up when Dada Saheb Phalke introduced cinema to India and soon after my loving father passed away in 1942 at the height of The Quit India

Movement. In 1943, World War Two was raging in Europe and that’s when I recorded my first Marathi song; around the time when the Battle for Stalingrad in Russia was in full swing. My first record label read British India. World War Two era was one of rationing and hardships and we often slept on empty stomachs. I remember attending a political rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai where I first saw Mahatma Gandhi speaking and I was very impressed by him and other political leaders who such as Jawarlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Abdul Ghaffar Khan etc. The partition of India was a painful experience for many Indians but we managed to live through that as well.

When I moved to Mumbai, (then Bombay), the British had left it in pristine shape. It was a grand city and I was in awe of it. I loved travelling on trams, trains and buses hopping from one studio to the next. Working in the fledgling music industry (termed Bollywood today) was full of new experiences and yet we managed. I consider my great fortune and luck to work alongside persons of extraordinary calibre, who are today considered the founding fathers of Indian Cinema.

As people heard me sing, more and more work came my way. I carried on singing, sometimes recording as many as 7 songs in a day. Years later, I was informed that I had got a mention in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the most number of songs (around 11,000) recorded by any singer globally. Honestly, I did not work to break any records. At the height of my career, the Guinness Book Of World Records probably did not exist. Anyway, I thank Guinness for including me in their book.

Musical boundaries were being broken and revolutions in music and sound was taking place every decade or so. According to me, the

first music composer who brought a new exciting sound was C Ramchandra, who introduced a western sound which was new to us. He experimented with Rock and Roll and took a leaf out from American Pop Stars like Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. Suddenly, that was the rage and I adapted to this western style to keep up with the times. Then came OP Nayar with his rustic Punjab folk music sound which went through the roof. I adapted to this style as well and remained relevant. Post OP Nayar, came the finest musical genius of our time; my late husband Kumar Rahul Dev Burman (a Prince by birth from the royal family of Tripura, but an Emperor by His Deeds). RDB’s revolutionary style of compositions, sound, technique are even being admired today. Even today, his music is often heard in the background of movie tracks, Apple has used his songs twice to launch their iPhone models, Heineken has used his song in their advertisements, etc, etc.. RDB passed away in 1994 and a year later in 1995, another musical genius called AR Rahman unleashed a fresh new brilliant sound on an unsuspecting audience. When I first sang the song Rangeela for him, I was 62 years old. I thank AR for bringing the best out of an elderly person. Please note that I am not done yet. On 12th Sep ‘25, a song sung by me with a very popular British Band shall be launched. I am happy to say that whenever musical boundaries were being broken, I remained the common thread for experimentation by all these great composers of extraordinary calibre.

I also take this opportunity to remember the wonderful singers that I have worked with…my older sister Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi, Shri Kishore Kumar, Shri Manna Dey, Shri Mukesh Mathur, Shri Hemant Kumar, Smt Geeta Dutt, Smt Shamshad Begum and the list goes on. All of these people I knew personally, having shared a great rapport with them, not only as colleagues but also as close friends. We shared family style

relationships and I recall one common factor between all these great artistes - they were all simple human beings without a nasty bone in their system. Unfortunately, most of my close friends and colleagues have passed away and I mourn their loss, a void which shall remain empty. On this note, I recall Rafi Saabs famous song; composed by the late Kumar Sachin Dev Burman and penned by the late Kaifi Azmi Sahab…Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari, Bichade Sabhi Bari Bari…!

Since my name is Asha (Hope), I would like to end this piece on a happy note…I’m proud that my Gen Z granddaughter Ms Zanai Bhosle is turning out to be an excellent music composer, lyrics writer, singer, classical dancer and actor…as Mr. AR Rahman recently remarked; that my family (Mangeshkar / Bhosle / Burman) has done nothing but music for 4 generations. He went on to add that this family knows nothing other than music. I take that as a compliment!

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