I joined Bollywood for money: Asha

Movies with English names are a new fad in Bollywood, writes Robin Bansal

AFTER a successful career spanning over six decades, veteran Bollywood playback singer Asha Bhosle has said that she would have preferred to be a classical vocalist but had to turn to the film industry because it offered more money.

"There was a time when I used to ask my guru ji what should I sing to earn money and he told me to go for live music. So I started singing that and I joined films for money, as I had to raise my kids. It was very saddening to leave classical music behind," says Bhosle.

The 76-year-old singer, whose album ‘Precious Platinum’ was recently featured in the Top 100 Greatest World Music albums of all time by Amazon.com, feels that the music scenario has changed a lot from the time she started singing.

The singer, who has a repertoire of more than 12,000 songs and has sung in more than 14 languages, says that despite leaving classical music she was lucky to work with several musical maestros in films.

"I am lucky that the film line gave me a chance to work with stalwarts like Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar and the duo of Shiv-Hari (Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia) when they started composing for films and I could not have asked for more," adds the versatile singer.

Asha’s songs are synonymous with the compositions of Rahul Dev Burman aka Pancham who gave her the maximum number of hits at the peak of her career.

"I loved all his songs. Pancham had this unique quality of bringing out the best in every artist by making him or her feel comfortable. He knew how to make me sing to get the maximum effect in every situation," adds Asha. "There were times when I would tell him in the morning that I was not up to singing because I was nervous. And he would respond, ‘don’t sing, just take it easy. Talk about your home’. Then around noon, he would gently coax me to sing and after a few trials, the recording was over. Pancham would say, ‘ho gaya na’ (it is done). He was the best recording man around," she reminisces as she walks down the memory lane.

"Of course, today we still have great lyricists and composers like Gulzar and Sameer," adds the singer.

In 1966, Asha hit the charts with the score of Teesri Manzil created by R.D. Burman. It was the beginning of a long and successful collaboration.

"Bollywood film music has become modern over the years with the inroads of technology," says Asha.

"Playback singing in Bollywood is not the same any more. Music has changed over the years. The new technology is very modern and sophisticated, but it has taken jaan (life) and atma (soul) out of music. There is no spirit in Bollywood music any more and it is this rooh (spirit) I am seeking in music now," adds the musician.

"One can sing out of rhythm and out of tune; women can sing in an octave lower than that of men and male playback singers can have a high-pitch baritone. The machines can always fix that. The new Bollywood music is raucous and I don’t like it. The dil ke gaane (songs of the heart) have disappeared," said Asha, who turned 76 this month.

The musician, who began her career in 1943, does not want to cut any more "albums of Bollywood
film music".

"Film songs do not make sense any more because the television channels in the country do not want to show anything else barring Bollywood music. I want to make meaningful Indian music," she adds.

Her first assignment was a Marathi movie Majha Bal in which she sang Chala Chala Nav Bala.

"Very few new musicians are good. I think Preetam, Monty, Shankar Mahadevan, Shankar-Eshaan-Loy and A.R. Rahman are making quality music. There are many others, who are also doing well," adds Asha.

"Fusion music did not exist when we sang in Mumbai. Our music was original, drawn from the Hindustani classical music. However, many composers were inspired by western music. But the modern fusion music is neither classical nor western. Contemporary Bollywood music has less bol (taal or rhythm) than the music of yesteryears," she adds.

The singer feels that "Indians are going back to their classical musical roots to develop new styles".

"Parents now are hiring instructors to teach their children classical music at home. It used to be a tradition once upon a time. My grandchildren are training under Birju Maharaj (dance) and Pandit Jitendra Abhisekhi (classical). All schoolchildren in the country must learn classical music and dance," she says.

Asha says she has hobbies like reading and cooking.

"I read Marathi literature, Marathi translations of all famous Bengali and Hindi novels. The books enriched me. All of my three children are very well-read. Every child in this country must study. Padhai is knowledge," adds the artist.

Asha is in no hurry to give up singing. "An astrologer studied my horoscope and said that I would sing for another eight years. I want to sing till my last breath," she adds. — Agencies

HOME