Tune in to Asha Bhosle
In 2016, veteran journalist and writer Raju Bharatan released ‘Asha Bhosle: A Musical Biography’, focusing on the role played by music directors OP Nayyar, SD Burman and RD Burman in her career, and her relationship with her sister Lata Mangeshkar. A year ago, the Marathi book ‘Swaraswamini Asha’ was released, with contributions by 90 authors. Now, we have another biography penned by journalist and writer Ramya Sarma.
In ‘Asha Bhosle: A Life in Music’, Sarma has used a different approach. Her focus was to discover Asha, now 91, through the eyes of people who worked with her, and the interviews she gave to publications. It was a challenging task, considering that many people refused to speak, or backed off after making a commitment. There were also those who spoke willingly, narrated stories not only about music, but also about her love for cooking, how she took a day off from a concert tour to visit Disneyland, and how she avoided late-night parties when she had a recording the following morning. Interestingly, the book ends with a chapter on her culinary skills, with recipes of dishes she cooks.
Rather than telling Asha’s story chronologically, Sarma divides the book into chapters focusing on different aspects of her life. Strangely, there are two chapters on the sisters when they could have been combined as one. Besides Nayyar and the Burman father and son, and Khayyam’s iconic ‘Umrao Jaan’ in 1981, the section on music directors talks of later names like AR Rahman, beginning with ‘Rangeela’ in 1995, Sandeep Chowta and Shamir Tandon. It also mentions her limited work with music directors like Shankar-Jaikishan, Madan Mohan and Salil Chowdhury, who otherwise preferred Lata, and how Hariprasad Chaurasia of Shiv-Hari wanted to compose for her, but never managed to.
A chapter is dedicated to her early work with, and subsequent marriage to, RD. When they first met, she scolded him for coming to the studio instead of studying. Ten years later, they worked together on ‘Teesri Manzil’, whose music was a huge success. By the time they got married in 1980, Pancham was one of the leading composers. In an interview, Asha is quoted, “When he proposed to me… I didn’t even think of Pancham from that angle. The realisation that I loved him dawned on me very slowly. It took shape gradually… and we got married.” From the highs and lows faced by Pancham, the book mentions details of his death in 1994.
Asha’s non-film music adds a fresh element. There are descriptions of her albums with the US-based Kronos Quartet, sitar player and vocalist Shujaat Khan and composer Lesle Lewis, besides the path-breaking 1987 album ‘Dil Padosi Hai’ with RD Burman and Gulzar. Anecdotes by music industry veteran Atul Churamani talk about her work ethic and friendliness, and how she rendered popular ghazals like ‘Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo’ with fresh arrangements by Somesh Mathur in ‘Asha: A Brand New Album’ (2005). However, one wishes there were more details of her albums ‘Meraj-e-Ghazal’ with Ghulam Ali and ‘Kabhi To Nazar Milao’ with Adnan Sami.
While the book provides many nuggets, there is also a bit of repetition, mainly as different people cite the same examples. One finds a couple of oversights, like crediting ‘Aan’, ‘Albela’, ‘Baiju Bawra’ and ‘Daag’ to Nayyar, when they are by other music directors. It also says her son Anand has twin sons; it’s actually a son and a daughter.
The minor gaffes aside, what sets this book apart is that it maintains a balance between Asha Bhosle’s work and personal charisma. The recipes act as a good garnish.
— The reviewer is a Mumbai-based music critic
Book Review