Asha Bhosle

Some Lesser Known Facts About Asha Bhosle

• Does Asha Bhosle smoke?: No

• Does Asha Bhosle drink alcohol?: No

• Asha’s father was an actor and classical singer of Marathi Musical stage.

• When she was nine years old, her father passed away.

• Asha and Lata were very close in their childhood. Lata used to carry Asha all the time. They were so inseparable that when Lata went to school, she would take Asha with her.

• She began singing along with her sister Lata Mangeshkar to support her family.

• At the age of 16, Asha eloped with 31 years old Ganpatrao Bhosle and married him against her family’s wishes. Asha and Ganpatrao Bhosle separated in 1960.

• In 1954 movie Boot Polish, Raj Kapoor signed her to sing “Nanhe Munne Bachche” with Mohammed Rafi which earned her popularity.

• O. P. Nayyar was the first composer who first gave Asha her own identity. Nayyar first met Asha in 1952 at the music recording of Chham Chhama Chham.

• In 1958, Asha sang Bengali song for the first time.

• Asha first met Rahul Dev Burman (or R. D. Burman or Pancham), when Asha was the mother of two and Burman was in 10th grade having dropped out to pursue music.

• Asha would call R D Burman “Bubs”. In 1980, she married him. R. D. was 6 years younger than Asha.

• Asha’s daughter Varsha committed suicide on 8 October 2012; she was 56 years old and worked as a columnist for The Sunday Observer and Rediff. Varsha was battling depression.

• Asha’s youngest child, Anand Bhosle, manages Asha’s career. Her grandson, Chaitanya (Chintu) Bhosle (Hemant’s son) is a part of the world of music. Chaitanya is a member of India’s first & only boy band, “A Band of Boys”. Her sisters Lata and Usha Mangeshkar are playback singers. Her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar and another sister Meena Mangeshkar are music directors.

• Asha’s son Hemant died of cancer in Scotland in 2015. He was 66 years old.

• Asha is a good cook. When asked in an interview, what if her singing career had not taken off, she said “I would have become a cook. I’d have cooked in four houses and made money.”

• She runs restaurants in Dubai, Kuwait, and Manchester.

• Asha and Lata have also sung together. Their first duet was for the film Daman (1951). Some of their songs include Man Bhawan Ke Ghar aye (Chori Chori, 1956), O chaand jahaan woh jaaye (Sharada, 1957), Sakhi ri sun bole papihaa us paar (Miss Mary, 1957), Mere Mehboob Mein Kya Nahi (Mere Mehboob, 1963), Ai kash kisi deewane ko (Aaye Din Bahar Ke, 1966), Main Haseena Nazneena Koi Mujhsa Nahi (Baazi, 1968), Main Chali Main Chali (Padosan, 1968), Jabse Laagi Toose Najariya (Shikar, 1968).

• In 2000, Government of India bestowed Dadasaheb Phalke Award on her.

• Until now, Asha Bhosle has sung over 12,000 songs.

• Asha received Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

• In 2011, Asha was officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history.

• In 2013, Asha debuted in films as an actor. She played the role of a mother in a Marathi film called ‘Mai’.

• She has trained her granddaughter, Zanai (daughter of her son Anand), who made her singing debut with the Marathi film ‘Mai’ (2013).