Hasrat Jaipuri (April 15, 1922 – September 17, 1999) was a Hindi and Urdu poet and film lyricist.

Initial Days

Jaipuri was born Iqbal Husain in Jaipur, where he studied English till medium level, and then acquired his ''taalim'' in Urdu and Persian from his grandfather, Fida Husain. He began writing verse, when he was around twenty years old. Around same time, he fell in love with a Hindu girl named Radha. He wrote a poem for her, ''Yeh mera prem patra padh kar, ke tum naaraaz na hona''. Later, the poem was used as a song in Raj Kapoor's film, ''Sangam'' (1964).

Career in Bollywood

In 1940, Jaipuri came to Bombay (now Mumbai), and bus conductor, earning a monthly salary of eleven rupees. He used to participate in mushairas. At a ''mushaira'', Prithviraj Kapoor noticed Jaipuri and recommended him to his son, Raj Kapoor. Raj Kapoor was planning a musical love story, ''Barsaat'' (1949) with Shankar-Jaikishan. Jaipuri wrote his first recorded song, ''Jiya Beqaraar Hai'' for the film. His second song (and first duet) was ''Chhod Gaye Baalam''.

Along with Shailendra, Jaipuri wrote lyrics for all Raj Kapoor films till 1971. After the death of Jaikishan and failures of ''Mera Naam Joker'' and ''Kal Aaj Aur Kal'', however, Raj Kapoor turned to other lyricists and music directors. Kapoor initially wanted to call him back for ''Prem Rog'', but later settled for another lyricist, Amir Qazalbash. Kapoor finally asked him to write lyrics for the film, ''Ram Teri Ganga Maili''. Later, he also invited him to write three songs for the movie ''Henna''. Jaipuri alleges that after Raj Kapoor's death, the music composer Ravindra Jain "conspired" to "scrap" his lyrics and replace them with his own lyrics.

When fellow lyricist Shailendra turned producer with ''Teesri Kasam'', he invited Jaipuri to write lyrics for the movie. He also wrote screenplay for the movie ''Hulchul'' (1951). His last film as a lyricist was ''Hatya: The Murder'' (2004).

Selected list of songs

{|class="wikitable" |- !Song Title !!Film !!Notes |- |''Jiya Beqaraar Hai'' |Barsaat |First recorded song |- |''Chhod Gaye Baalam'' |Barsaat |First duet song |- |''Zindagi ek safar hai suhana'' |Andaz |- |''Teri pyari pyari soorat ko'' |Sasural |specially written for Chanda Jaipuri |- |''Pankh hote to ud aati re'' |Sehra |- |''Tere khayalon meinhum'' |Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne |- |''Ehsan tera hoga mujh par'' |Junglee |- |''Tum mujhe yoon bhula na paaoge'' |Pagla Kahin Ka |- |''Sayonara sayonara'' |Love In Tokyo |- |''Aao twist karen'' |Bhoot Bangla |- |''Ajhoon na aaye baalma'' |Sanjh Aur Savera |- |''Duniya bananewale'' |Teesri Kasam |- |''Sun Sahiba Sun'' |Ram Teri Ganga Maili |- |''Unke Khayal Aaye To'' |Lal Patthar |- |''Badan Pe Sitare Lapete Hue'' |Prince |Inspired to write this song on seeing a woman dressed in a sari studded with glittering stars in Paris |- |''Yeh mera prem patra padh kar'' |Sangam |Written when he fell in love with a Hindu girl named Radha |- |}

Poetry

Jaipuri has written several books of poetry, in Hindi and Urdu. He once said, "Hindi and Urdu are like two great and inseparable sisters". When Khateeb Rafathullah Amburi, of Chennai Tamil Nadu met him in Bombay and request him to say any new ghazal he take Rafath Amburi to a mushaiyand in the way he said write down and said a rubaee. Mai Shaire e qooba hoon, dil o jaan ki tarah hoon, Dundiya may muhabbath bharey armaan ki tarah hoon, Allah rakhe e apni muhabbath youn hi qaayam, Mai Kal to chala jaonga, mehman ki tarah hoon, ''' And Hasrath sahib is now not with us. KHATEEB RAFATHULLAH, AMBUR, CHENNAI. TAMILNADU'''

Personal life

Jaipuri invested his earnings in property, on his wife's advice. Thanks to earnings from these properties, his financial condition was sound, and therefore he was not much active as a lyricist. He was survived by two sons and a daughter.

In the year 1985 during the month of February he made a visit with his wife to Hyderabad to meet Arun and Sanjay Deshpande and for sightseeing. While sitting beside Sanjay Deshpande and watching chitrahar on TV the song,"Hum ko to jaan se pyari hai tumhari ankhee...." from the film NAINA happened to be telecast and he was delighted and exclaimed "Are yeh to mera gana hai"(this happens to be my song). He made a visit to the Nizam Charitable Trust and the staff were thrilled on seeing him. He also made a visit to Sajjad Kishore (a singer who sang kishore numbers in orchestra) in king koti.To his disappointment, however, he was not at home but he did wait for him. The next day when Sajjad Kishore was informed about his visit he immediately visited him and touched his feet in apology.

While returning to Mumbai by minar express a person appeared to recognize him at the secundrabad train station. He exclaimed that Jaipuri was a famous person but was unable to guess his name. On further interrogation he was jubilant on recognizing him. He touched his feet in respect and asked him,"Sir you are a very famous lyricist you should be traveling by plane?" to which Jaipuri replied "Am I not a human that I cannot travel by train?" (he was travelling by second class).

Awards

Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - 1972 for ''Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana'' (''Andaz'')

Filmfare Best Lyricist Award - 1966 for ''Baharon Phool Barsao'' (''Suraj'')

Josh Malihabadi Award, from Urdu Conference

Dr. Ambedkar Award, for ''Jhanak Jhanak Tori Baaje Payaliya'' (''Mere Huzoor''), a Brajbhasha song

Jaipuri was also awarded a doctorate from the World University Round Table.

References

External links

Hasrat Jaipuri at Kavita Kosh (Hindi)

Songs of Hasrat Jaipuri

Ghazals and nazms by Hasrat Jaipuri

Category:Indian songwriters Category:Indian poets Category:Urdu poets Category:Hindi poets Category:1922 births Category:1999 deaths Category:Indian Muslims Category:People from Jaipur

mr:हसरत जयपुरी

Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Shankar Jaikishan
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi,Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal
alias	Shankar-Jaikishan, SJ
born	October 05, 1922andhra pradesh, India (Shankar), November 04, 1929Vansda, Gujarat, India (Jaikishan)
died	April 26, 1987 (Shankar), September 12, 1971 (Jaikishan)Bombay, India (both)
genre	Film score, Indian classical music, Fusion music, Indo jazz
occupation	Composer, music director, orchestrator, conductor
years active	1949–1987
goldenglobeawards	}}

Shankar Jaikishan (Devanāgarī:शंकर-जयकिशन), also known as S/J, is an Indian music composer duo in the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949–1971.

Shankar-Jaikishan, along with other artists, wrote "everlasting" and "immortal melodies" in fifties and sixties. Their best work was noted for being "raga-based and having both lilt and sonority".

Early years

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi (25 October 1922 – 26 April 1987) born in Tanuku, west godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, but was a native of Rajasthan originally while Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal (4 November 1929 – 12 September 1971) belonged to Bansda (Vansada), Gujarat.

During his formative years, Shankar played the tabla and learned the art formally from Baba Nasir Khansahib. For many years, Shankar studied as a disciple of the legendary composer Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, in whose orchestra he performed. Jaikishan was adept at playing the harmonium. Subsequently, he obtained his musical lessons from ''Sangeet Visharad'' Wadilalji and later from Prem Shankar Nayak. After moving to Bombay, he became a disciple of Vinayak Tambe. Shankar started his career with a theater group run by Satyanarayan and Hemawati, before shifting to Prithvi Theatre where he played tabla and performed some minor roles in plays. Shankar worked as assistant to the leading composer duo of Husnlal Bhagatram.

Apart from working at Prithvi theaters, Shankar used to frequently visit the office of a Gujrati director Chandravadan Bhatt who had promised Shankar that he would give him a break as a Music Director as and when he produced a film. It was outside the office of Mr Bhatt that Shankar saw `ek dubla patla sunder `ladka' also sitting a number of times. Although they never spoke to each other, one fine day, Shankar took the initiative of starting the conversation and then discovered that his name was Jaikishan and he too used to visit the same producer in search of some work related to music and that he was a Harmonium player. Shankar later recollected that their vibes were right from the very beginning i.e. right from their first meeting itself they developed liking for each other (rather than any feelings of rivalry which could have been natural since both were visiting Mr Bhatt for similar reason) and it was he who then and there assured Jaikishan of the job of a Harmonium player at Prithvi theaters (without asking Prithviraj Kapoor, fondly referred to as `Papaji'). Of course, later, Papaji honoured Shankar's selection and gladly accepted Jaikishan as a Harmonium player at Prithvi. Soon, the two of them developed very close friendship to the extent that the people started refererring to them as `Ram-Lakshman' ki jodi and by several similar-meaning nick names. It was during this phase that Shankar and Jaikishan developed a very deep bond of friendship, mutual understanding and regard for each other and made up their mind to work together as a musical team. Apart from following their musical pursuits, they also used to play significant roles in various plays including the famous play "Pathan".

While working in Prithvi Theaters, Shankar and Jaikishan, apart from working in the music department there, used to compose tunes and were in touch with Raj Kapoor, who was working as an assistant to the famous director Kidar Sharma and was aspiring to be an actor/director. Thus, the three had met at Prithvi Theater, run by Raj Kapoor's father, Prithviraj Kapoor.

`Barsaat': the First break

Raj Kapoor made his debut as a director with the film "Aag" in 1948. While the film received a mixed response at the box office, its musical score (in which the music director Ram Ganguli was assisted by Shankar and Jaikishan) proved to be quite popular. However, during the recording of some song for his new venture `Barsaat', Raj Kapoor had some serious differences with Ram Ganguly, the music composer of the film and decided to assign its music to Shankar who insisted on taking Jaikishan as his partner and thus came into existence the new pair of music directors(MD) named `Shankar-Jaikishan' who gave landmark, path-breaking and trend-setting music for the RK production `Barsaat' in 1949.

Himself being a trained singer (he and Mukesh learned vocal music from the same Guru) and having an ear for good music, Raj Kapoor thus, took on board, a completely new team of composers Shankar and Jaikishan and lyricists Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri (a former bus conductor). On the insistence of Shankar, he and SJ co-opted the upcoming singing talent Lata Mangeshkar, and repeated Mukesh as Raj Kapoor's ghost voice for the various songs of Barsaat. In due course, this team was to prove to be one of the most successful musical combinations of all times, perhaps second only to the combination of Shankar, Jaikishan, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi.

''Barsaat'' was a super hit, both commercially and more so musically. Among other things, it established Lata Mangeshkar as the undisputed queen of Hindi film music. It also had the distinction of giving two firsts to Hindi cinema – a title song (''Barsaat mein hamse miley tum'') and a cabaret (''Patli kamar hai''). The film propelled Shankar-Jaikishan on the road to musical super-stardom and to a stature that remains unmatched to this date.

Early works

The two became known by the acronym "S-J".

Their early works include Awaara, Aah, Shree 420, Basant Bahar, Halaku, Patita, Kathputli, Anari, Chori Chori, Daag, Baadshah, Boot Polish, and Ujala .

Musical collaborators

S-J formed a core team with lyricists Shailendra (himself regarded as perhaps the greatest of his ilk) and Hasrat Jaipuri and with singers Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. SJ had two other life-long companions who worked as their assistants: Dattaram Wadkar and Sebastian De'souza, the former supervising their rhythm section and the later writing musical notations for all SJ compositions (during SJ's musical sittings as can be seen in a number of photographs of such sessions) and then rehearsing all the musicians of the grand SJ orchestra according to SJ's compositions and directions. SJ also patronized the immensely talented singer Manna Dey, who sang his best songs with them and used Mukesh's silken voice as playback for Raj Kapoor. Among the directors, they worked most closely with Raj Kapoor and were considered the kingpins of his legendary banner RK Films.

They were commercial geniuses in addition to be wonderfully god-blessed on music. They lead the bollywood music in spite of tough competition from maestros like Roshan, SD Burman, OP Nayyar and Madanmohan and remained on the top much to the chagrin of very highly talented music directors!

S-J worked with almost all singers of their time. They had a good working relationship with all of them and were masters in extracting the very best from every one of them. They were steady as a team with Hasrat Jaipuri & Shailendra as their lyricists; but after the demise of Shailendra, they worked with a host of other lyricists such as Indeewar, Gulshan Bawra, Neeraj, Verma Malik, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Vithhal Bhai Patel and Rajinder Krishan, to name a few.

S-J were the "house composers" for RK Films and were on their pay-roll till the end. Raj Kapoor used to maintain a music bank where he stored compositions of S-J. Even after the termination of the professional association between Shankar and Raj Kapoor (Jaikishan had died by then), the latter had used a number of S-J's earlier compositions (which were in his custody) for all his films though the credits were given officially to other composers, e.g., Laxmikant Pyarelal (Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Prem Rog) and Ravindra Jain (Ram Teri Ganga Maili). S-J also worked with other stars like Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Biswajeet, Joy Mukherjee, Dharmendra & Manoj Kumar.

Composition style

Shankar-Jaikishan's compositions broke new ground in Hindi film music. Apart from relying upon their knowledge of Indian classical music, they also employed western beats and orchestration. Shankar-Jaikishan were the pioneers in establishing the role of the orchestra in song compositions as a medium to express and enhance the meanings and feelings of songs rather than using it just as a `filler' as per the prevalent practice before their advent on the scene. They made use of the orchestra and musical instruments (often dozens or hundreds of them) in their songs which consisted of the following format: The song starts with a `prelude' (preparatory music to create and introduce the environment and mood for the beginning of the song), then the mukhda starts and is followed by `interlude' containg music pieces on the orchestra. With very few exceptions(Chal Mere dil; Ye mera deewana pan hai are good examples), they always used different interludes before each stanza. `Multi-layered' music studded with counter melodies' played by the orchestra accompanied while the mukhda or the antara of a song was being sung and finally came the `epilogue' - the music with which the song ended after the singer(s) had finished their singing.

Shankar-Jaikishan made a significant contribution in promoting Indian classical music throughout their career. It was their established practice to have at least one song in a movie based on semi-classical style. These included songs like `Jhanak-jhanak tori baje payaliya' (Mere Huzoor), `Chham chham baje re payaliya' (Jane-anjane), `Radhike tune bansari churayi' (Beti Bete), `Manmohana bade jhoothe' (old `Seema'), `Koi matwala aya mere dware' (Love in Tokyo), `Ajahu na ayae baalma, sawan beeta jaye' (Sanjh aur Savera), `Lapak jhpak tu aa re badarwa' (Boot polish), `Ye barkha bahar sautaniya ke dwar' (Mayur pankh), `Re man sur mein ga' (Lal pathar), `Sooni sooni sans ke sitar par' (Naina), `Kate na kate raina' (Mera naam joker) and numerous others. Their music in `Basant Bahar' and ''Amrapali'' both of which had every song based upon Indian classical music. While "raga Bhairavi" remained their perennial favorite, SJ used a variety of Raagas in their compositions.

Shankar Jaikishan also used the western classical-based waltz rhythm in a number of songs.

Shankar-Jaikishan gave a new style and meaning to the genre of sad songs by composing them on a fast tempo. Songs like `Main zindagi mein hurdum rota hi raha hun' (Barsaat), `Tera jana dil ke armanon ka lut jana' (Anari), `Haye tu hi gaya mohe bhool re' (Kathputli), `Aye mere dil kahin aur chal' (Daag) and `Andhe jahan ke andhe raaste' (Patita) demonstrated this. The last two songs, along with many others (notably `Awaara Hoon' from the film ''Awaara''), also demonstrate the composers’ use of musical instruments – a harmonium is used to produce the effect of a piano accordion.

Working styles: `SJ' were two composers in one name

While working as a team, Shankar and Jaikishan used to compose their songs separately. Generally, Shankar liked to work with Shailendra and Jaikishan with Hasrat Jaipuri though there are notable instances where Shankar worked with Hasrat and Jaikishan with Shailendra. Between the two, Shankar was the senior partner and hence, he would usually arrange the orchestra, even for Jaikishan's songs. There was a gentleman's agreement between them for not identifying the actual composer of the song. As a result, it has been a popular pastime for S-J aficionados to try and tell a Shankar song from a Jaikishan song. Dance numbers, title/theme songs and soulful songs were Shankar's forte while Jaikishan was a master of composing background score, apart from romantic songs (he is generally regarded as the best ever in this genre) and simple, catchy compositions which became instant hits (`Ehsaan mere dil pe' being a typical example of such songs). However, Shankar was no less in this aspect of devising simple `straight line' tunes: `Mera joota hai Japani' (Sri 420) being the best example of this genre.

It is said that Jaikishan would count some numbers on his fingers before coming up with the background score for a particular scene on the spot! Two of S-J's films, viz., Sangam (1964) and Mera Naam Joker (1971) are regarded even today as having some of the best background musical scores of Hindi films till date. Although Jaikishan alone used to work on background scores of SJ movies, it may be an over-simplification to presume that whatever went in background scores was solely Jaikishan's creation. Since SJ had a common pool of tunes in their stock, made by either of them or by both of them jointly during their numerous music sessions/sittings (Riyaz), it would have been perfectly legitimate and natural for Jaikishan to have used tunes created by either or both partners wherever needed. It is understood that in RK films, Shankar and Jaikishan both used to work on the background scores. On the other hand, both Shankar and Jaikishan were equally proficient in scoring western music based songs.

Despite their distinct working styles and preferences, it is very difficult, if not altogether impossible, to ascribe most of their songs to only one of them. In most of the songs, they invariably contributed to one another's creation, either in the form of improvisation of tune or of orchestration, thus, making their compositions truly a joint effort. Furthermore, each of the two could compose in other's style now and then thereby making the identification still more difficult.

Contrary to the popular mis-conception that `it was Jaikishan who used to handle the public relations and business/financial aspects of the duo's career', the fact is that it was Shankar who had the final say on all financial/business aspects of the SJ-team.

Raaga-Jazz Style

Shankar Jaikishan had the major contribution towards the development of Jazz music in India and the new genre Indo Jazz. Their 1968 album ''Raaga-Jazz style'' is the earliest Indo-Jazz recording in India. In this album, considered to be one of the most innovative, SJ created 11 songs based on Indian Ragas with saxophone, trumpet, sitar (by Rais Khan), tabla, bass etc.

Awards

During their career, S-J won Filmfare Best Music Director Awards for a record nine times. The last three awards were won in three successive years, thereby making S-J the first composers to score a hat trick of these awards.

S-J also came out tops in Binaca Geetmala, the legendary countdown radio program on Hindi film music, where their compositions were declared the most popular on six occasions (a record later equaled by Laxmikant Pyarelal). These songs were ''Mera joota hai japani'' in 1955 (Shree 420), ''Teri pyari pyari surat ko'' in 1961 (Sasural), ''Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par'' in 1962 (Junglee), ''Bol radha bol'' in 1964 (Sangam), ''Baharon phool barsaao'' in 1966 (Suraj), and ''Zindagi ek safar hai suhana'' in 1971 (Andaaz). In 1959, seven of the top ten songs for the year were composed by S-J, a sort of record that stands perhaps to this date, though the top honors for that year went to SD Burman.

Government awards

1968 - Shankar-Jaikishan was honoured with the Padmashri by the Government of India.

Filmfare Awards

Winner

1956 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Chori Chori''

1959 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Anari''

1960 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai''

1962 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Professor''

1966 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Suraj''

1968 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Brahmachari''

1970 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Pehchaan''

1971 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Mera Naam Joker''

1972 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film ''Be-Imaan''

Nominated

1958 - for the film ''Yahudi''

1959 - for the film ''Chhoti Bahen''

1961 - for the film ''Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai''

1963 - for the film ''Dil Ek Mandir''

1964 - for the film ''Sangam (film)''

1965 - for the film ''Arzoo (1965 film)''

1968 - for the film ''Diwana (film)''

1969 - for the film ''Chanda Aur Bijli''

1971 - for the film ''Andaz (1971 film)''

1974 - for the film ''Resham Ki Dori''

1975 - for the film ''Sanyasi (1975 film)''

The ''Sur-Singar'' Awards

Winner

1968 - For the song ''Jhanak Jhanak Toree Baje Payaliya'' of the film ''Mere Huzoor''

1971 - For the song ''Re Man Sur Mein Ga'' of the film ''Lal Patthar''

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

Winner 1968 - Best Music Director for the film ''Brahmachari'' 1971 - Best Music Director for the film ''Andaz (1971 film)''

The `so-called' disputes/differences between Shankar and Jaikishan

In a signed article in Filmfare, Jaikishan identified unwittingly the song ''Yeh mera prem patra padh kar'' (Sangam) as `his' composition. This led to a lot of bitterness between the two, as Shankar considered it a violation of the unwritten agreement between them. At about the same time, Shankar gave a break to singer Sharda and started promoting her as the new singing sensation in preference over Lata Mangeshkar. Jaikishan, however, stuck to Lata Mangeshkar for his compositions. In this period, Shankar and Jaikishan started taking individual contracts for films though every such film continued to show them together as the composers. Mohd. Rafi intervened and helped them settle their differences; however, it is conjectured that their relationship was not same as earlier and this impacted the quality of their compositions which had started exhibiting a decline (which is clearly noticeable in the movies released during the last phases of Jaikishan's lifetime and those released just after his demise).

On the other hand, Jaikishan, Hasrat and Shankar all had denied, whenever quizzed on this topic, that there ever was any rift between them. In fact, according to Hasrat, the division of work was by mutual agreement to cope up with the heavy work load so that Shankar and Shailendra looked after one part of the work while Jaikishan and Hasrat on the other part but this division was not rigid; there was a lot of give and take between them even during this phase. Towards the end (just before Jaikishan's untimely demise), in several of their last movies such as Jane Anjane (1971), Andaaz (1971), Ankhon Ankhon Mein, Shankar and Jaikishan were known to be working together. In retrospect, it appears that the so-called rift between Shankar and Jaikishan was blown out of proportion by the media and vested interests and was used later to downgrade Shankar in his post-Jaikishan years.

Since Shankar continued to support Sharda (post ''Sangam'' era) and even ghost-composed music for her film and non-film albums, it is said that Lata Mangeshkar became angry with him and discontinued singing for him. Whereas there may be some truth in this assertion, the other fact is that Lata Mangeshkar had stopped working with him after `Sangam' due to her anger against both Raj Kapoor and Shankar in making her sing `Budhha mil gaya' from ''Sangam'' which she was not keen as she did not feel comfortable with the lyrics of the song. Nevertheless, she continued singing for Jaikishan even after ''Sangam'' and till the end.

Standing in the industry

S-J enjoyed an unrivaled position in the Hindi film industry. During their heyday and even toward the later part of their career, they were the highest paid music directors in the industry. Barring stray exceptions, they were paid more than the leading actors and the promotional material of their films would give them more prominence than anyone else. In one instance, they were paid more than the highest earning actor of the day. To this date, barring composer A. R. Rahman, no other composer(s) has been able to equal, let alone surpass, this feat.

S-J staged a show in Shanmukhanad Hall, Mumbai in 1970 under the aegis of the Indian Navy. In terms of attendance and grandeur, it remains unsurpassed to this day, thus providing a public seal of approval to their leading status in the industry.

Jaikishan's death and SJ's post-Jaikishan era

Jaikishan died in 1971 due to cirrhosis of liver, a disease caused by excessive consumption of alcohol. At the time of his death, the duo enjoyed an unparalleled popularity which was underlined by a massive turnout at his funeral procession. Gaylord, a restaurant at Churchgate (Mumbai) where Jaikishan used to be a regular visitor, mourned the death of its illustrious patron by lighting a candle on his favorite table for one month and keeping it out of bounds for other guests with the sign "Reserved for Mr. Jaikishan".

After Jaikishan's death, Shankar carried on with the banner of Shankar-Jaikishan alone (as per their mutual understanding made during their lifetime that in case of the demise of any one of them, the surviving partner will continue to work with the same team name). He was clearly hampered by numerous reasons such as the departure of his soul-mate Jaikishan his favorite lyricist Shailendra, betrayal of Raj Kapoor, continued Shankar-bashing and false propaganda by his rivals and lack of motivation on his own part due to which his music appeared to suffer in comparison to S-J's own high standards. Also, in spite of his continued experimentation on music, the projects themselves for which he worked did not turn out to be commercial successes due to which even his good scores went largely un-noticed.

According to Lata Mangeshkar herself, it was the late Mohd. Rafi who brought about a rapprochement between the two and she did start singing again for Shankar starting from Sohan Lal Kanwar's `Sanyasi' and several other films later. Although Shankar's creations during this period for Lata as well as other singers like Rafi, Kishore, Manna Dey were quite good, most of these went un-noticed due to non-descript status of such films which bombed at the box office. His most-successful musical hit was'' Sanyasi'' in 1975 for which he scored all songs and the entire background score based upon SJ's favorite Raag Bhairavi to prove the point that SJ' Bhairavi was as much Shankar's as that of Jaikishan !

After Sanyasi, although some of Shankar's later songs did exhibit flashes of the old maestro's brilliance, overall, these films (''Aatmaram, D-Jhooth, Garam Khoon, Papi Pet Ka Sawal Hai'', Chorni, Eint ka Jawab Pathar etc.) did not succeed in endearing him to leading production houses, though there were some exceptions. For example, actor Dharmendra had signed Shankar to compose the score for his film'' Bichchhoo'', however, since Shankar did not accept Sai's (who was more keen in having Raj Kamal as MD) intereference in his work, he opted out of the project. Eventually, the project itself was abandoned by producer-to-be Dharmendra.

Shankar was in the running for Raj Kapoor's film Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), but was overlooked in favor of Laxmikant Pyarelal whose candidature was supported vigorously by Mukesh. Ironically, Mukesh owed his standing in the film industry primarily to S-J's compositions.

Shankar was also considered for Raj Kapoor's proposed film ''Param Vir Chakra'' (his case was supported by Raj Kapoor's sons), but the project did not see the light of day and Shankar never returned to the RK camp.

Shankar's death

Shankar died in 1987. Sadly, his death received nominal media coverage and his funeral was attended only by his family and some friends. The film industry was hardly represented at his funeral (even Raj Kapoor did not attend), thus reinforcing the stereotype of its fickle-natured loyalties.

Raj Kapoor later paid glowing tributes to the colleague of his salad days in a televised interview. However, it was only after Raj Kapoor's own death in 1988 that the significance of his association with S-J was brought out in great detail.

Legacy

Descendents of Shankar and Jaikishan stayed away from the film industry. Shankar's family is based in Hyderabad and is involved in the hotel business. Jaikishan's family is based in Mumbai and his wife (Pallavi Jaikishan) and one daughter (Bhairavi Jaikishan) are dress designers of repute. Jaikishan's other children pursue different vocations.

Selected filmography

Barsaat (1949)

Aawara (1951)

Baadal (1951)

Daag (1952)

Aah (1953)

Aas (1953)

Patita (1953)

Boot Polish (1954)

Mayur Pankh (1954)

Seema (1955)

Shri 420 (1955)

Basant Bahaar (1956)

Chori Chori (1956)

Halaku (1956)

New Delhi (1956)

Kathputli (1957)

Yahudi (1958)

Anari (1959)

Kanahiya (1959)

Hamrahi ( 1963)

Ujala (1959)

Main Nashe Me Hoon (1959)

Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayee (1960)

Jis Desh me Ganga Behti Hai (1960)

Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961)

Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai (1961)

Junglee (1961)

Sasuraal (1961)

Aashiq (1962)

Asli Naqli (1962)

Dil Tera Diwana (1962)

Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962)

Professor (1962)

Rangoli (1962)

Dil Ek Mandir (1963)

Aai Milan Ki Bela (1964)

April Fool (1964)

Rajkumar (1964)

Sangam (1964)

Aarzoo (1965)

Gumnaam (1965)

Jaanwar (1965)

Amrapali (1966)

Love In Tokyo (1966)

Suraj (1966)

Teesri Kasam (1966)

Gunahon Ka Devta (1967)

An Everning In Paris (1967)

Around The World (1967)

Raat Aur Din (1967)

Brahmchari (1968)

Jhuk Gaya Aasman (1968)

Kanyadaan (1968)

Duniya

Mere Huzoor (1968)

Prince (1969)

Pyar Hi Pyar (1969)

Yakeen (1969)

Bombay Talkie (1970)

Mera Naam Jokar (1970)

Pagla Kahin Ka (1970)

Pehchaan (1970)

Andaaz (1971)

Jaane Anjaane (1971)

Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971)

Laal Patthar (1971)

Main Sundar Hoon (1971)

Parde Ke Peechey (1971)

Be-Imaan (1972)

Jangal Mein Mangal (1972)

Aankhon Aankhon Mein (1972)

Naina (1973)

Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar (1973)

Resham Ki Dori (1974)

Resham Ki Dori (1974)

Vachan (1974)

International Crook (1974)

Saazish (1975)

Sanyaasi (1975)

References and further reading

External links

Page of SJ in www.downmeldoylane.com

Shankar's IMDB entry

Jaikishan's IMDB entry

Tribute to SJ

Lyrics of Hindi Movie Songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan (in Hindi)

Complete list of hindi movies with music by Shankar Jaikishan

Hindi songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan

Statue of Jaikishen unveiled at his native place Bansda in South Gujarat

Shankar Jaikishen Yahoo Discussion Group

Shankar Jaikishan Biography, music database and blog

Category:Indian musicians Category:Indian film score composers Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Indian jazz musicians Category:Musical duos Category:Harmonium players

hi:शंकर-जयकिशन te:శంకర్ జైకిషన్

Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Lata Mangeshkar
background	solo_singer
birth date	September 28, 1929
Birth place	Indore, Central India Agency, British India
instrument	Vocals
genre	Film music (playback singing)
occupation	Singer
years active	1942–present }}

Lata Mangeshkar (born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Mangeshkar was featured in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974. Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had. In 2011 ''Guinness'' officially acknowledged Bhosle as the most recorded artist in music history.

Early life

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, in the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, ''BhaawBandhan''. Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school. Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career

Early career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan . She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles in Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie ''Shaheed'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin." An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie ''Majboor'' (1948).

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.

One of her first major hits was “Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie ''Mahal'' (1949), which was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), and ''Kohinoor'' (1960). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for ''Aag'', ''Aah'' (1953), ''Shree 420'' (1955), and ''Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in ''Sazaa'' (1951), ''House No. 44'' (1955), and ''Devdas'' (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from ''Madhumati'' (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from ''Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film ''Chhote Nawaab'' and later for his films such as ''Bhoot Bangla'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967) and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from ''Guide'' (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from ''Anpadh'' (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career. She sang for ''Parasmani'' (1963) which was their first film together.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name ''Anandghan''). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, ''Pakeezah'' released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''Sharmeelee'' (1971), and "Piya Bina" from ''Abhimaan'' (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricist Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Caravan'' (1971), ''Kati Patang''(1971), and ''Aandhi'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film ''Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film ''Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''Kora Kagaz'', composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, ''Chala Vaahi Des'', composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of ''abhangs'' of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie ''Lekin...''. She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989) and ''Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!'' (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including ''Chandni'' (1989), ''Lamhe'' (1991), ''Darr'' (1993), ''Yeh Dillagi'' (1994), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997) and later on ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002) and ''Veer Zaara'' (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (''Dil Se..''), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (''One Two Ka Four''), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (''Pukar''), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (''Zubeidaa''), "Lukka chuppi" (''Rang de Basanti'') and "O Paalanhaare" (''Lagaan''). She made an appearance in the film ''Pukar'' singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film ''Lajja''; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.

Lata Mangeshkar records songs for Madhur Bhandarkar ''Kitne Ajeeb Rishte Hain Yahan Par'' for ''Page 3'' (2005), ''Daata Sun Le'' for ''Jail'' (2009) and, ''Kyun Yahan Hota Hai'' was recorded years ago for ''Corporate'' (2006), but is only being used in ''Heroine'' (2012).

Non-singing career

Music direction

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of ''Anand Ghan''.

1960 - ''Ram Ram Pavhana''

1963 - ''Maratha Tituka Melvava''

1963 - ''Mohityanchi Manjula''

1965 - ''Sadhi Manase''

1969 - ''Tambadi Mati''

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.

Production

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

1953 - ''Vaadal'' (Marathi)

1953 - ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra

1955 - ''Kanchan'' (Hindi)

1990 - ''Lekin...'' (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the ''Lata Mangeshkar Award'' in honour of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, several sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by several other sources, with one of them stating that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250. Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information. In 2011 Asha Bhosle was officially acknowledged by ''Guinness'' as the most recorded artist in music history, surpassing Mangeshkar.

See also

Playback singer

Asha Bhosle

List of Indian playback singers

Bollywood songs

References

Further reading

. A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. . . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links

Category:1929 births Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Marathi people Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:People from Indore Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Malayalam playback singers Category:Bhojpuri cinema

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Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Rishi Kapoor
birth date	September 04, 1952
birth place	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
spouse	Neetu Singh (1980–present)
children	Riddhima Kapoor Sahani, Ranbir Kapoor
occupation	Actor, Producer, Director
yearsactive	1971–present
othername	Chintoo }}

Rishi Kapoor (Hindi: ऋषि कपूर) (born 4 September 1952) is an Indian Bollywood actor, film producer and director.

Early life

Born in Mumbai, Kapoor is the second son of film director and star Raj Kapoor. He did his schooling with his brothers at Campion School,Mumbai. His brothers are well-known actors: Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor. He is father of actor Ranbir Kapoor and designer Riddhima Kapoor Sahani. Rishi is the paternal uncle of today's actresses Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. He is of Punjabi Hindu origin.

Career

Rishi Kapoor debuted in his father's 1970 film ''Mera Naam Joker'', playing his father's role as a child. Rishi Kapoor had his first lead role opposite Dimple Kapadia in the popular 1973 film ''Bobby'' which became an instant hit among youngsters. He has, since then, played the lead role romancing young heroines till the year 2000 with the delayed release of ''Karobaar: The Business of Love''. He moved on to supporting roles with ''Hum Tum'' (2004) and ''Fanaa'' (2006). He directed a film ''Aa Ab Laut Chalen'' in 1998 starring Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, Kader Khan, Paresh Rawal and Jaspal Bhatti. Recently he appeared in ''Namaste London'' and an English-language film titled ''Don't Stop Dreaming'' which was directed by his cousin Aditya Raj Kapoor (son of actor Shammi Kapoor). He acted with the veteran actor Kamal Haasan in Saagar which was officially sent to the Oscars.

Kapoor has acted in ''Heena'', directed by his brother, Randhir Kapoor and his father, the late Raj Kapoor, and in ''Prem Granth'', a movie produced by the three Kapoor brothers (Rishi, Randhir and Rajiv Kapoor, directed by Rajiv Kapoor).

Rishi has acted in the movie ''Chintu Ji'' in which he plays himself. The film has references that pertain to Raj Kapoor, his father, his mother, his wife and his earlier films like ''Chandni'', ''Mera Naam Joker'' and others.

Personal life

Rishi Kapoor got engaged to Neetu Singh, with whom he had several hit movies, on 13 April 1979 and then married her in 1980. They have two children: Ranbir Kapoor, who is also an actor, and Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, a fashion designer.

Awards

National Film Awards

1971 - National Film Award for Best Child Artist for ''Mera Naam Joker''

Filmfare Awards

Winner

1974 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Bobby''

2008 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

2011 - Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for ''Do Dooni Chaar''

Nominated

1980 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Sargam''

1983 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Prem Rog''

1986 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Tawaif''

1990 - Filmfare Best Actor Award for ''Chandni''

2010 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for ''Luck By Chance''

Other Awards

1970 - Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards: Special Award for ''Mera Naam Joker''.

2006 - Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement

2007 - MTV Lycra Awards: Maha Style Icon of the Year 2006.

2008 - FICCI "Living Legend in Entertainment" Award. 2008 - Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image International Film (M.A.M.I). 2009 - Honoured by Russian Government for contribution to cinema. 2010 - Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards: Best Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Love Aaj Kal''.

2010 - Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Luck By Chance''

2011 - Zee Cine Awards: Best Lifetime Jodi along with Neetu Singh. 2011 - Stardust Awards: Best Actor for ''Do Dooni Chaar''.

Filmography

''Mera Naam Joker'' (1970) Simi Garewal

''Bobby'' (1973) Dimple Kapadia

''Zinda Dil'' (1975)

''Raja'' (1975) Sulakshana Pandit

''Rafoo Chakkar'' (1975) Neetu Singh

''Khel Khel Mein'' (1975) Neetu Singh

''Rangila Ratan'' (1976) Parveen Babi

''Laila Majnu'' (1976) Ranjeeta

''Ginny Aur Johnny'' (1976) Special Appearance

''Barood'' (1976) Reena Roy/Shoma Anand

''Kabhie Kabhie'' (1976) Neetu Singh/Naseem

''Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin'' (1977) Zeenat Aman/Kajal Kiran

''Doosra Aadmi'' (1977) Neetu Singh

''Chala Murari Hero Banne'' (1977)

''Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977) Neetu Singh

''Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan'' (1978) Moushmi

''Pati Patni Aur Woh'' (1978) Special Appearance in song ''Tere naam'' with Neetu and Parveen

''Zehreela Insaan'' (1974) Neetu Singh/Moushmi

''Naya Daur'' (1978)

''Badalte Rishtey'' (1978) Reena Roy—as Manohar Dhani

''Anjane Mein'' (1978) Neetu Singh

''Sargam'' (1979) Jaya Prada

''Salaam Memsaab'' (1979)

''Jhoota Kahin Ka'' (1979) Neetu Singh

''Duniya Meri Jeb Mein'' (1979) Neetu Singh

''Aap Ke Deewane'' (1980) Tina Munim

''Do Premee'' (1980) Moushmi

''Dhan Daulat'' (1980)

''Karz'' (1980) Tina Munim

''Katilon Ke Kaatil'' (1981) Tina Munim

''Naseeb'' (1981) Kim

''Biwi-O-Biwi: The Fun-Film'' (1981) Poonam Dhillon

''Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai'' (1981) Padmini Kolhapure

''Yeh Vaada Raha'' (1982) Tina Munim/Poonam Dhillon

''Deedar-E-Yaar'' (1982) Tina Munim

''Prem Rog'' (1982) Padmini Kolhapure

''Bade Dil Wala'' (1983)Tina Munim

''Coolie'' (1983)Shoma Anand

''Duniya'' (1984) Amrita Singh

''Tawaif'' (1984) Rati Agnihotri

''Aan Aur Shaan'' (1984)

''Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasan'' (1984) Padmini Kolhapure

''Sitamgar'' (1985) Poonam Dhillon

''Saagar'' (1985) Dimple Kapadia

''Rahi Badal Gaye'' (1985)

''Naseeb Apna Apna'' (1986)Farah/Raadhika

''Dosti Dushmani'' (1986) Kimi Katkar

''Nagina'' (1986) Sridevi

''Pyaar Ke Kabil'' (1987)Padmini Kolhapure

''Hawalaat'' (1987) Mandakini

''Sindoor'' (1987) Jaya Prada

''Vozvrashcheniye Bagdadskogo vora'' (1988)

''Vijay'' (1988) Sonam

''Janam Janam'' (1988) Vineeta Goel

''Hamara Khandaan'' (1988) Farah

''Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani'' (1988)Jaya Prada/Anita Raj

''Naqab'' (1989) Farah

''Hathyar'' (1989) Sangeeta Bijlani

''Chandni'' (1989) Sridevi

''Bade Ghar Ki Beti'' (1989) Meenakshi Seshadri

''Paraya Ghar'' (1989)

''Khoj'' (1989) Kimi Katkar

''Shesh Naag'' (1990) Mandakini

''Sher Dil'' (1990)

''Azaad Desh Ke Gulam'' (1990) Rekha

''Amiri Garibi'' (1990) Neelam

''Ghar Parivar'' (1991)

''Ajooba'' (1991) Sonam

''Henna (film)'' (1991) Zeba Bakhtiyar/Ashwini Bhave

''Ranbhoomi'' (1991) Neelam

''Banjaran'' (1991) Sridevi

''Bol Radha Bol'' (1992) Juhi Chawla

''Deewana'' (1992) .... Divya Bharti

''Shreemaan Aashique'' (1993) Urmila matondkar

''Sahibaan'' (1993) Madhuri Dixit/Sonu Walia

''Gurudev'' (1993)Sridevi

''Anmol'' (1993)Manisha Koirala/Sujata Mehta

''Damini - Lightning'' (1993)Meenakshi Seshadri

''Dhartiputra'' (1993) Jaya Prada

''Izzat Ki Roti'' (1993)Juhi Chawla

''Mohabbat Ki Arzoo'' (1994) Ashwini Bhave

''Eena Meena Deeka'' (1994) Juhi Chawla

''Saajan Ka Ghar'' (1994) Juhi Chawla

''Pehla Pehla Pyaar'' (1994) Tabu

''Prem Yog'' (1994)Madhoo

''Saajan Ki Baahon Mein'' (1995) Tabu/Raveena Tandon

''Hum Dono'' (1995) Pooja Bhatt

''Yaraana'' (1995)Madhuri Dixit

''PremGranth'' (1996)Madhuri Dixit

''Daraar'' (1996) ... Juhi Chawla

''Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha'' (1997)Sridevi

''Jai Hind'' (1999)Raveena Tandon

''Karobaar: The Business of Love'' (2000)Juhi Chawla

''Raju Chacha'' (2000) ...

''Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi'' (2001)Rati Agnihotri

''Yeh Hai Jalwa'' (2002) Rati Agnihotri

''Kucch To Hai'' (2003) .. Kanu Gill

''Love at Times Square'' (2003) Tanuja

''Tehzeeb'' (2003) Shabana Azmi

''Hum Tum'' (2004) Rati Agnihotri

''Pyaar Mein Twist''(2005) Dimple Kapadia

''Fanaa'' (2006) Kirron Kher

''Don't Stop Dreaming'' (2007)

''Namastey London'' (2007)

''Om Shanti Om'' (2007) ... Special appearance

''Sambar Salsa'' (2007)

''Airport'' (2008)

''Kalash'' (2008)... Special Appearance

''Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic''(2008)

''Luck by Chance'' (2008)Juhi Chawla

''Delhi 6'' (2009)Tanvi Azmi

''Love Aaj Kal'' (2009)Neetu Singh

''Kal Kisne Dekha'' (2009)

''Chintuji'' (2009)

''Sadiyaan'' (2010)

''Patiala House'' (2011)

''Do Dooni Chaar'' (2011)

''Agneepath'' (2012)

''Housefull 2'' (2012)

Television

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah...Mr. Duggal

References

External links

Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Rishi Category:Indian child actors Category:Hindi film actors Category:Indian actors Category:People from Mumbai Category:Indian Hindus Category:Indian film directors Category:Indian film producers Category:Hindi-language film directors Category:Punjabi people

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Coordinates	38°37′38″N90°11′52″N
name	Asha Bhosle
background	solo_singer
birth name	Asha Mangeshkar
born	September 08, 1933Sangli, Bombay Presidency, British India
genre	Pop, folk, Indian classical music
occupation	Singer, playback singer
years active	1943–present }}

Asha Bhosle () (born September 8, 1933) is an Indian singer. She is one of the best-known and highly regarded Hindi playback singers in India, although she has a much wider repertoire. Her career started in 1943 and has spanned over six decades. She has done playback singing for over 1000 Bollywood movies. She has recorded many private albums and has participated in numerous concerts in India and abroad. Bhosle is the sister of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar.

Renowned for her voice range and often credited for her versatility, Bhosle's work includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and Nazrul Geetis. She has sung Hindi, Assamese, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Kannada, English, Russian, Czech, Nepali, Malay, Sinhala and Malayalam.

In 2006, Asha Bhosle stated that she had sung over 12,000 songs, a figure repeated by several other sources. The World Records Academy, an international organization which certifies world records, recognized her as the "Most Recorded Artist" in the world, in September 2009. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.

Biography

Asha Bhosle was born in the small hamlet of Goar in Sangli, Bombay Presidency (now in Maharashtra), into the musical family of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, who belongs to Gomantak Maratha Samaj. Her father was a theater actor and classical singer. When she was nine years old, her father died. The family moved from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Mumbai. She and her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar began singing and acting in films to support their family. She sang her first film song ''Chala Chala Nav Bala'' for the Marathi movie ''Majha Bal'' (1943). The music for the film was composed by Datta Dawjekar. She made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song ''Saawan Aaya'' for Hansraj Behl's ''Chunariya'' (1948). Her first solo Hindi film song was for the movie ''Raat Ki Raani'' (1949).

At the age of 16, she eloped with 31-year-old Ganpatrao Bhosle, marrying him against her family's wishes. Ganpatrao was Lata's personal secretary. The marriage failed miserably. Her husband and in-laws mistreated her. After a few years of marriage, Asha was turned out (around 1960) by a suspicious Ganpatrao and she went to her maternal home with two children and pregnant with her third child. She continued to sing in films to earn money.

At that time, prominent playback singers like Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar monopolized the singing for the female lead and the big films, whilst Asha used to get the assignments they refused: singing for the bad girls and vamps, or songs in the second-grade movies. In the 1950s, she sang more songs than most playback singers in Bollywood (not counting Lata). Most of these were in low budget B or C-grade films. Her earliest songs were composed by A R Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain and Ghulam Mohammed, most of which failed to do well. Singing in Dilip Kumar-starrer ''Sangdil'' (1952), composed by Sajjad Hussain, she got reasonable recognition. Consequently, film director Bimal Roy gave her a chance to sing in ''Parineeta'' (1953). Raj Kapoor signed her to sing ''Nanhe Munne Bachche'' with Mohammed Rafi in ''Boot Polish'' (1954), which gained popularity.

O. P. Nayyar gave Asha a break in C.I.D. (1956). She first achieved success in B. R. Chopra's ''Naya Daur'' (1957), composed by him. Her duets with Rafi like ''Maang ke saath tumhara'', ''Saathi haath badhana'' and ''Uden jab jab zulfein teri'', penned by Sahir Ludhianvi earned her recognition. It was the first time that she had got to sing all the songs for the lead actress. B R Chopra recognized her talent and got her to sing in many of his later films including ''Waqt'', ''Gumraah'', Humraaz, ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'' and ''Dhund''. Nayyar's collaboration with Bhosle also produced many hits. Gradually, she established herself and received patronage of composers such as Sachin Dev Burman and Ravi. Bhosle and Nayyar had a professional and personal parting of ways in the 1970s.

In 1966, Asha's performance in the duets from music director R D Burman's first successful movie, ''Teesri Manzil'' won popular acclaim. When Asha first listened to the tune of the song ''Aaja Aaja'', she had felt that she would not be able to sing the Western dance number. R D Burman offered to change the music. She was offended a bit and took it as a challenge to sing the song. After rehearsing for 10 days, when she finally sang the song, an impressed R D Burman handed her a 100-rupee note. ''Aaja Aaja'' and other songs of the film, ''O Haseena Zulfonwali'' and ''O Mere Sona Re'' (all three duets with Rafi, another popular Bollywood singer), became rage of the day. Shammi Kapoor, the actor of the movie, once said – "If I did not have Mohammad Rafi to sing for me, I would have got Asha Bhosle to do the job". Asha's collaboration with R D Burman resulted in numerous hits and a marriage. In 1960s and 1970s, she became the voice of Bollywood's dancer, Helen. It is said that Helen would attend her recording sessions so that she could understand the song better and plan dance steps accordingly. Some of the most popular Asha Bhosle-Helen numbers are ''Piya Tu Ab To Aaja'' (''Caravan''), ''O Haseena Zulfon Wali'' (''Teesri Manzil''), and ''Yeh Mera Dil'' (''Don'').

By the 1980s, Asha Bhosle had been stereotyped as a "cabaret singer" and a "pop crooner". In Rekha-starrer ''Umrao Jaan'', she proved her versatility by singing ghazals like ''Dil cheez kya hai'', ''In aankhon ki masti ke'', ''Ye kya jagah hai doston'' and ''Justju jiski thi''. The film's music director Khayyam, had lowered her pitch by half a note. Asha herself was surprised that she could sing so differently. The ghazals won her the first National Award of her career. A few years later, she won another National Award for the song ''Mera Kuchh Saamaan'' from ''Ijaazat'' (1987).

In 1995, the 62-year-old sung for actress Urmila Matondkar in the movie ''Rangeela''. The soundtrack featured songs like ''Tanha Tanha'' and ''Rangeela Re'' sung by her, and composed by music director A. R. Rahman, who went on to record many more songs with her.

In 2005, 72-year-old Asha's numbers for the Tamil film ''Chandramukhi'' and the pop song ''Lucky Lips'' for Salman Khan-starrer ''Lucky'' were chartbusters. Some of the other popular Tamil songs sung by her are ''Oh! Butterfly'', ''September Maadham'' and ''Vennila Vennila''.

In October 2004, ''The Very Best of Asha Bhosle, The Queen of Bollywood'', a compilation album of songs recorded by Bhosle for albums and Bollywood films that were released between 1966 & 2003, was released.

It has been 70 years since Asha Bhosle began singing for movies, but in 2011, she will finally star in her first film "Maaee." The movie will begin filming in April and is scheduled to premiere in June.

Partnership with music directors

;O.P. Nayyar

Music director O. P. Nayyar's association with Asha is part of Bollywood lore. He was the composer who first gave Asha her own identity. Many people have speculated about a romantic relationship between the two.

Nayyar first met Asha in 1952, at the music recording of ''Chham Chhama Chham''. He first called her for a film called ''Mangu'' (1954), and gave her a big break in ''CID'' (1956). However, it was the success of ''Naya Daur'' (1957), that made the duo very popular. After 1959, she was emotionally and professionally involved with Nayyar.

The team of O.P. Nayyar and Asha Bhosle is best remembered for their breezy and sometimes sirenish songs. Some good examples of their sensuous numbers are ''Aaiye meherbaan'' picturised on Madhubala (''Howrah Bridge'', 1958) and ''Yeh hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera'' picturised on Mumtaz (''Mere Sanam'', 1965). They also recorded songs for many hit movies like ''Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957), ''Howrah Bridge'' (1958), ''Ek Musafir Ek Hasina'' (1962), ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' (1964), ''Aao huzur tumko'' (''Kismat'') and ''Jaaiye aap kahan'' (''Mere Sanam''). O.P. Nayyar used the Asha Bhosle-Mohammad Rafi duo for his most popular duets such as ''Ude jab jab zulfein teri'' (''Naya Daur''), ''Main pyaar ka rahi hoon'' (''Ek Musafir Ek Haseena''), ''Deewana Hua Baadal'' and ''Ishaaron hi isharon mein'' (''Kashmir Ki Kali'').

Asha recorded her last song for O.P. Nayyar in the movie ''Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye'' (1974). The solo number ''Chain se'' got many awards, but it was not included in the movie.

They split on August 5, 1972. It is not clear what made them part their ways. On being asked the reason for their parting, O P Nayyar once said, "I know astrology very well. I knew that one day I had to part with her. Something also happened, that upset me, so I left her." Nevertheless, he also said "...now that I am seventy-six, I can say that the most important person in my life was Asha Bhosle. She was the best person I ever met."

The parting of Asha Bhosle and O.P. Nayyar was bitter, and probably therefore she has hesitated to give Nayyar his due. While talking about O.P. Nayyar in an interview with The Times of India, she once remarked - "Whichever composer gave me work, it was because my voice was suited to his music at that point. No ''one'' musician did me any favor by asking me to sing for him." She gives the credit for her first big break to B. R. Chopra, the producer of ''Naya Daur''.

;Khayyam Another music director who recognized Asha's talent early was Khayyam. Their partnership dates back to his first movie ''Biwi'' (1948). Khayyam gave her some good assignments in the 1950s, including ''Dard'' and ''Phir Subah Hogi''. But the team is chiefly remembered for the songs of ''Umrao Jaan''.

;Ravi Music composer Ravi considered Asha one of his favorite singers. She sang for his first movie ''Vachan'' (1955). The melodious lullaby from the movie, ''Chandamama door ke'' became an overnight hit among young mothers in India. Ravi got her to sing bhajans for the movies ''Gharana'', ''Grihasti'', ''Kajal'' and ''Phool Aur Patthar'', at a time when most of the composers remembered her only when they needed to record B-grade songs picturized on the vamps or the side-heroines. Ravi and Asha recorded a variety of songs, including the popular funny duet with Kishore Kumar - ''C A T...Cat maane billi'' (''Dilli Ka Thug''). The bhajan ''Tora man darpan'' (''Kajal'') is considered one of Asha's best songs.

They also recorded songs for many popular movies like ''Waqt'', ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'', ''Gumrah'', ''Bahu Beti'', ''China Town'', ''Aadmi Aur Insaan'', ''Dhund'' and ''Humraaz''. For ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'', Ravi wanted Geeta Dutt (the wife of actor and producer Guru Dutt) to sing the songs. But when she backed out, Guru Dutt insisted that Asha sing the songs.

;Sachin Dev Burman One of Bollywood's most famous composers, Sachin Dev Burman and his favorite singer, Lata Mangeshkar, were not on good terms from 1957 to 1962. During this period, S D Burman used Asha as his lead female voice. She and Burman gave many hit songs in movies such as ''Kaala Pani'', ''Kaala Bazaar'', ''Insaan Jaag Utha'', ''Lajwanti'', ''Sujata'' and ''Teen Deviyaan'' (1965). They recorded many songs together after 1962 as well. Most famous of these songs were Asha's duets with Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar. The song ''Ab ke baras'' in Bimal Roy's Bandini (1963) consolidated her position as a lead singer. The seductive song ''Raat Akeli Hai'' from Jewel Thief (1967), picturised on Tanuja, became very popular.

;Rahul Dev Burman (Pancham) Asha first met Rahul Dev Burman (a.k.a. "Pancham") when she was the mother of two and he was in 10th grade having dropped out to pursue music. Their partnership was first noticed in ''Teesri Manzil'' (1966). She went on to record a variety of songs with him - cabarets, rock, disco, ghazals and Indian classical music.

In the 1970s, Asha and Pancham's youthful Western songs took Bollywood music by storm - the raunchy cabaret ''Piya tu ab to aaja'' (''Caravan'', picturized on Helen), the rebellious ''Dum Maro Dum'' ('' Hare Rama Hare Krishna'', 1971), the sexy ''Duniya mein'' (''Apna Desh'', 1972) and the romantic ''Chura Liyaa Hai Tumne'' (''Yaadon Ki Baaraat'', 1973). Pancham also recorded many hit duets with Asha and Kishore Kumar such as ''Jaane jaan'' (''Jawani Diwani'') and ''Bhali bhali si ek soorat'' (''Buddha Mil Gaya'').

In 1980s, Pancham and Asha recorded subtle numbers for films like ''Ijaazat'' (1987)- ''Mera kuch saaman'', ''Khaali haath shaam aayi hai'' and ''Katra Katra''. They also recorded the popular duet ''O Maria'' (''Saagar'').

Asha used to call R D Burman "Bubs". She married him in 1980. Their partnership lasted until his death.

R D Burman made her sing some of the most legendary songs in Bengali language as well, namely ''Mohuyae Jomechhe Aaj mou go'',''Chokhe Chokhe kotha bolo'' ''Chokhhe naame brishti''(Bengali version of ''Jaane Kya Baat hai''), ''Baanshi sune ki ghore thaka jaye'',''Sondhya Belae tumi aami'' and ''Aaj Gungun gun gunje amar'' (Bengali version of ''Pyaar Deewana hota hai'').

;Ilaiyaraaja Prolific south Indian film composer Ilaiyaraaja began employing Asha's vocals in the early 1980s, their earliest collaboration being for the film ''Moondram Pirai'' (1982) (remade in Hindi as ''Sadma'' in 1983). Their association continued, mostly through the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s. Another notable song from this period is ''Shenbagamae'' (''Enga Ooru Paattukkaaran'', 1987, Tamil). In 2000, Asha sung the theme song for Kamal Haasan's political film ''Hey Ram''. The song, ''Nee Partha Parvai'' (''Janmon Ki Jwala'' in Hindi) (or Aparna's Theme), was a duet with singer Hariharan.

;A. R. Rahman A. R. Rahman is credited with Asha's 'comeback' with ''Rangeela'' (1994). Songs like ''Tanha Tanha'' and ''Rangeela Re'' were chartbusters. She and Rahman went on to record more hits like ''Mujhe Rang De'' (''Thakshak''), ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' (''Lagaan'', duet with Udit Narayan), ''Kahin Aag Lage'' (''Taal''), ''O Bhanware'' (''Daud'', duet with K. J. Yesudas), ''Venilla Venilla'' (''Iruvar'',1999) and ''Dhuan Dhuan'' (''Meenaxi'',2004).

;Jaidev When S D Burman's assistant Jaidev started giving music independently, he got Asha to sing some of his songs as well. They worked in ''Hum Dono'' (1961), ''Mujhe Jeene Do'' (1963), ''Do Boond Pani'' (1971) and other movies. In 1971, the pair released an LP of eight non-film devotional songs and ghazals called ''An Unforgettable Treat''. Asha considered Jaidev a close friend who stood by her when she was struggling personally and professionally. Upon his death in 1987, she released a compilation album of lesser-known songs he had composed for her, called ''Suranjali''.

;Shankar-Jaikishan Shankar-Jaikishan worked relatively little with Asha. However, the trio produced quite a few hits including the seductive ''Parde mein rehne do'' (''Shikar'', 1968). Asha got her second Filmfare Award for the song. She also sang ''Zindagi ek safar hai suhaana'' (''Andaz'') for Shankar-Jaikishan, in which she tried to yodel like Kishore Kumar, whose version of the song is more better known. When Raj Kapoor was not on speaking terms with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha got to sing the songs of Mera Naam Joker (1970), composed by Shankar-Jaikishan.

;Anu Malik Composer Anu Malik and Asha have recorded many hit songs together, including songs for his first movie ''Sohni Mahiwal'' (1984). Their most popular songs include ''Filhaal'' (''Filhaal'') and ''Kitabein bahut si'' (''Baazigar'') among others. The four lines sung by Asha in Malik's ''Jab dil mile'' (''Yaadein'') stood out among voices of Sukhwinder Singh, Udit Narayan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Asha had also sung for Anu's father Sardar Malik in the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in ''Saranga'' (1960).

;Other Composers Madan Mohan recorded a number of songs with Asha, including the popular folk number ''Jhumka Gira Re'' from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966). In ''Chhoti Si Baat'' (1975), Asha sang the ''Jaaneman Jaaneman'' number with K. J. Yesudas for Salil Chowdhury. Salil's 1956 movie ''Jagte Raho'' also had a number recorded by Asha, ''Thandi Thandi Saawan ki Phuhaar''. Another Asha patron is the young composer Sandeep Chowta, who got her to sing ''Kambakht Ishq'', a duet with Sonu Nigam for the movie ''Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya''(2001). The song gained major popularity among the Indian youth.

Asha has worked with Lata-patrons like Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Naushad, Ravindra Jain, N Dutta and Hemant Kumar. When Naushad was asked to sum up the essential difference between Lata and Asha, he said that Asha "lacks certain something which Lata, and Lata alone has". Later he accepted in an interview, "May be I said it because I then had a closed ear on Asha". Naushad, later in his life, also admitted that he has been unfair to Asha. Asha has also worked with other noted Bollywood composers like Jatin-Lalit, Bappi Lahiri, Kalyanji-Anandji, Usha Khanna, Chitragupt, and Roshan.

Non-Bollywood music

Private albums

In a rare feat, noted lyricist Gulzar, music director R.D. Burman and Asha Bhosle, came together in 1987, to create a double album, titled, ''Dil Padosi Hai'', which was released on September 8, 1987. In 1995, Asha underwent the ''gatha bandan'' (thread-tying) ceremony with Hindustani classical music maestro Ali Akbar Khan to learn a classical repertoire held within the Maihar ''gharana'' (stylistic school of Indian classical music), as handed down to Khan by his father Allauddin Khan (the guru of Ravi Shankar). Later, Asha and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan recorded eleven fixed compositions (or ''bandish''es) in California for ''Legacy'', a private album that earned them a Grammy Award nomination.

In 1990s, Asha experimented with remixed R D Burman songs. She was criticized by many, including Khayyam for tampering with old melodies. Nevertheless, albums like ''Rahul And I'' became quite popular. In 1997, Asha did a private Indipop album ''Janam Samjha Karo'' with Leslie Lewis. The album was hugely popular and won her many awards including the 1997 MTV Award.

Asha had been once asked by director B R Ishaara to compose music for one of his films, but she had politely declined. In 2002, she turned music composer with the album ''Aap Ki Asha'', an eight-song music and video album. The lyrics were written by Majrooh Sultanpuri (his last lyrics). The album was released by Sachin Tendulkar on May 21, 2001 at a lavish party in Mumbai. The album received mixed reviews.

Asha had spotted Pakistani singer Adnan Sami's talent when he was about 10 years old. At that time, she was performing in London, with R D Burman. It was she who had asked him to pursue his interests in music seriously. When Adnan grew up and became a professional musician, Asha sang the title duet with him for his best-selling album ''Kabhi to nazar milao''. The two came together again in the album ''Barse Badal''. The album comprises eight songs, based on Indian Classical music. She contributed the song ''Yun Na Thi'' to the recording ''Womad Talking Book Volume Four: An Introduction to Asia 1'' on Womad Records.

Asha has sung ghazals for many albums like ''Meraj-E-Ghazal'', ''Aabshar-E-Ghazal'' and ''Kashish''. In 2005, Asha released a self-titled album as a tribute to the four ghazal maestros - Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum and Jagjit Singh. The album features eight of her favorite ghazals like Farida Khanum’s ''Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo'', Ghulam Ali’s ''Chupke Chupke'', ''Aawargi'' and ''Dil Mein Ek Lahar'', Jagjit Singh’s ''Ahista Ahista'' and Mehdi Hassan’s ''Ranjish Hi Sahi'', ''Rafta Rafta'' and ''Mujhe Tum Nazar Se''. These classic ghazals were recreated with modern sounds by musician Pandit Somesh Mathur. The album was aimed at the younger generation, who, according to Asha, are "turned off" by the traditional sounds of tabla and sarangi.

Numerous compilations of Asha's songs have been released as well. To commemorate her 60th birthday, EMI India released three cassettes: ''Bala Main Bairagan Hoongi'' (devotional songs), ''The Golden Collection: Memorable Ghazals'' (non-film ghazals by composers such as Ghulam Ali, R D Burman and Nazar Hussain), and ''The Golden Collection: The Ever Versatile Asha Bhosle'' (44 popular film songs).

In 2006, she recorded an album ''Asha and Friends'', singing duets, with film actors Sanjay Dutt and Urmila Matondkar and famous cricket player Brett Lee, with whom she sang, You're the One for Me (''Haan Main Tumhara Hoon''). All these songs composed by Shamir Tandon were shot on video by journalist turned director S Ramachandran.

Concerts and collaborations with foreign artists

In 1980s and 1990s, Asha went globe-trotting, staging concerts in Canada, Dubai, UK, U.S. and many other countries. In 1989, during a world tour, she performed in 13 US cities in 20 days. Immediately after this, she had an already sold-out concert scheduled in Stockholm, Sweden. Due to the stressful schedule, Asha suffered a massive attack of colitis, together with fever, cough and weakness. In Stockholm, a pre-concert crisis meeting was called, attended by Asha's son (and manager) Anand and the sponsors. It was decided that the orchestra will play many instrumental tracks, the accompanying singers like Suresh Wadkar will shoulder the load, and Asha will make a small appearance. But Asha rejected all such proposals, and sang at the concert with great difficulty, in a not-so-good voice. Her first set of six Bollywood songs did not receive any response from the audience, which consisted mostly of Indian and Pakistani expats. Before the start of the second set of songs, a fan in the crowd requested her to sing a Marathi song. Asha obliged and sang ''Naach-naachuni ati mi damale'' ("I'm very tired of this endless dancing"). When the song ended, the auditorium erupted with claps and the encores started. After the concert, Asha was in bed for a month, recuperating from overexertion. In October 2002, she did a concert with Sudesh Bhosle and others, in London, for "Help the Aged" to help raise funds for the elderly in India. In 2007 she toured the USA, Canada, and West Indies in a tour called "The Incredibles". In this tour, she was accompanied by singers Sonu Nigam, Kunal Ganjawala and Kailash Kher. This tour, originally scheduled for only 12 concerts, went on to hold more than 20.

In the mid-1980s, Asha sang with Boy George (''Bow down mister'') and Stephen Lauscombe. In 1997, she sang a love song with the boy band Code Red, at the age of 64. She also recorded the song ''The Way you Dream'' (One Giant Leap, ) with Michael Stipe that was used in the English movie, ''Bulletproof Monk''. The song was also released on the album 1 Giant Leap for 2002.

In 1997, the British band Cornershop paid tribute to Asha with their song ''Brimful of Asha'', an international hit which was later remixed by Fatboy Slim. In 2001, the CD single of Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like A Bird" included a "Nellie vs. Asha Remix" created by Digital Cutup Lounge.

In 2003, British opera pop singer Sarah Brightman sampled her song "Dil Cheez Kya Hai" on her album ''Harem''. It was used as the intro for her song "You Take My Breath Away".

In 2005, American string quartet Kronos Quartet re-recorded R D Burman compositions like ''Chura Liya'', ''Piya Tu'', ''Mera Kuchh Saaman'' among others and got Asha to sing them. Despite her age, she recorded three to four songs in a day, leaving the quartet members stupefied. On August 23, 2005, ''You've stolen my heart - Songs From R D Burman's Bollywood'' was released in US. The album was nominated for Grammy Awards 2006 in the category of "Best Contemporary World Music Album". In the 1990s, a friend had introduced David Harrington of Kronos Quartet to the song ''Aaj ki raat''. Harrington was mesmerised, and the song ended up on the album ''Kronos Caravan''.

Also in 2005, The Black Eyed Peas sampled her songs "Ae Naujawan Sab Kuchh Yahan" (''Apradh'', 1972) and "Yeh Mera Dil Pyaar Ka Diwana" (''Don'', 1978) in their hit single "Don't Phunk with My Heart". In late 2006, Asha collaborated with Australian test cricket star, Brett Lee. The single, You're the One for Me, debuted at number 4 on the charts and reached a peak position of number 2.

In 2006 Asha recorded one song for the soundtrack of Pakistani movie ''Mein Ek Din Laut Kay Aaaonga''. She sang the song, titled ''Dil Key Taar Bajey'', with famous Pakistani pop singer Jawad Ahmed. It was aired as part of the film's promotional campaign and became very popular, featuring on top music charts.

Personal life

Asha's house is situated in Prabhukunj Apt on Peddar Road area of South Mumbai. She has three children and five grandchildren. The eldest of her three children, Hemant Bhosle (named after Hemant Kumar), spent most of his early years as a pilot and quit to have a brief career as a music director. Asha's daughter Varsha worked as a columnist for ''The Sunday Observer'' and ''Rediff''. Asha's youngest child, Anand Bhosle, has studied business and film direction. He manages Asha's career. Her grandson, Chaitanya (Chintu) Bhosle (Hemant's son) is a part of the world of music. He is a member of India's first & only boy band, "A Band of Boys". Her sisters Lata and Usha Mangeshkar are playback singers. Her other, sister Meena Mangeshkar and brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar are music directors.

Asha is an excellent cook and cooking is her favorite hobby. She often gets flooded with requests by Bollywood celebrities for ''kadai ghosht'' and ''biryani'' dishes and has rarely turned down a request. In fact, her ''paya curry'', ''Goan fish curry'' and ''dal'' are very popular with the Kapoor family of Bollywood. Once, when asked in a ''Times of India'' 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."

Asha is a successful restaurateur and runs restaurants in Dubai and Kuwait, called Asha's. Asha's offers traditional north-western Indian cuisine. It has a presence in the Wafi City development in Dubai, as well as three restaurants in Kuwait, at The Avenues Mall, the Marina Mall and a brand new third outlet at the Spoons Complex. Other restaurants can be found in Abu Dhabi's Khaldiya Mall, Doha's Villagio and Bahrain's City Center Mall, with future outposts planned for Dubai's Mall of the Emirates and Cairo, Egypt. Asha Bhosle has a 20% stake in the business. Asha is not involved in day-to-day running of the restaurant which is looked after by the Wafi Group. She takes care of the kitchen and the décor. She personally trained the chefs for almost six months. According to a December 2004 report in the Menu Magazine, Russell Scott, a former head of Harry Ramsden's (the fish and chips chain), secured the UK rights to the Asha's brand and planned to open up to 40 restaurants over the next five years. As part of her chain of restaurants, Asha has recently opened a new restaurant in Birmingham, UK.

Asha's fashion statement is white saree with sparkling embroidery, pearls around her neck and a touch of diamonds. Harrington said "The first time I met Ashaji she was dressed in the most beautiful sari with diamonds and looked very regal. Then I looked down and saw that she was wearing tennis shoes! I thought I love this woman."

Asha is a good mimicry artist as well. At a concert at World Trade Center in Dubai on April 22, 2004, she mimicked the song ''Kabhi To Nazar Milaao'' in the voices of Noor Jehan, Lata Mangeshkar and Ghulam Ali.

Nowadays, apart from singing and her restaurant, Asha is also working on her autobiography.

Rivalry with Lata Mangeshkar

Asha's sibling rivalry with Lata Mangeshkar is often talked about, in spite of their insistence that these are just tales. As young children, they were very close. As a child, Lata used to carry Asha all the time. They were so inseparable that when Lata went to school she would take Asha with her. One day the teacher protested and said that they cannot have two students on one fee. Lata refused to return to school without Asha and quit her studies.

Lata considered Asha's act of eloping with her lover as irresponsible, leaving her alone to sing and earn for the family. This led to tensions between them. Asha herself accepted in an interview — "It was a love marriage and Lata ''didi'' did not speak to me for a long time. She disapproved of the alliance." At one time, their relationship was very adversarial and there have been periods of non-communication.

In her initial days in the industry, Asha always played second fiddle to her elder sister. Some say that Lata had once criticised Asha's relationship with O. P. Nayyar. This widened the rift between the two sisters and O P Nayyar also decided that he would never work with Lata. O.P. Nayyar had once revealed "Asha and Lata, staying in opposite flats at Bombay's Peddar Road, had a common maidservant. Now this maidservant had merely to come and tell the younger sister that Lata had just recorded something wonderful for Asha to lose her vocal poise. Such was her Lata phobia that it took me some months to convince Asha that she had a voice individualistic enough to evolve a singing style all of her own." Asha once said that she has worked for years to create a voice and a style that was different from Lata, so that she could carve her own niche and not be banished to live in her sister's shadow.

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), ''Sakhi ri sun bole papihaa us paar'' (''Miss Mary'', 1957), ''O chaand jahaan woh jaaye'' (''Sharada'', 1957), ''Mere Mehboob Mein Kya Nahi'' (''Mere Mehboob'', 1963), ''Ai kash kisi deewane ko'' (''Aaye Din Bahar Ke'', 1966), ''Main Chali Main Chali'' (''Padosan'', 1968), ''Chhap tilak sab'' (''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'', 1978), and ''Man kyun behka'' (''Utsav'', 1984). While singing, Lata used to hold her notebook in her right hand, while Asha held hers in the left hand. This meant Lata had her face away from Asha, making it difficult for them to "anticipate" each other.

The movie ''Saaz'', was supposedly based on Lata and Asha's rivalry. Asha said about the movie — "To have two women in long plaits, take a couple of incidents and exaggerate them into a 3-hour film is such a waste of time." In the last few years, Asha and Lata have often been seen in public, enjoying each other's company. In an interview with ''The Times of India'', Asha once said - "I remember, sometimes both of us would be at a function and some industry types would ignore me and interact only with her, as if to prove their loyalty. Later, didi and I would have a good laugh!"

Awards

;Filmfare awards Asha Bhosle has won seven Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards of 18 nominations. She won her first two awards in 1967 and 1968. (Mangeshkar asked not to be considered for the award nominations after 1969 to promote new talent). After receiving the award in 1979, Bhosle emulated her elder sister and requested that her name not be considered for the nominations hereafter. Despite this, Bhosle is the most frequent winner of this award to date, tying with Alka Yagnik. She was later given a ''Special Award'' for ''Rangeela'' in 1996, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Following is the list of her Filmfare Awards:

Filmfare Best Female Playback Award:

1968: "Garibon ki Suno" (''Dus Lakh'', 1966)

1969: "Parde Mein Rehne Do" (''Shikar'', 1968)

1972: "Piya Tu Ab To Aaja" (''Caravan'', 1971)

1973: "Dum Maro Dum" (''Hare Rama Hare Krishna'', 1972)

1974: "Hone Lagi Hain Raat" (''Naina'', 1973)

1975: "Chain Se Humko Kabhi" (''Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye'', 1974)

1979: "Yeh Mera Dil" (''Don'', 1978)

Other Awards:

1996 - Special Award (''Rangeela'', 1995)

2001 - Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award

;National Film Awards Asha has won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer twice:

1981: ''Dil Cheez Kya Hai'' (''Umrao Jaan'')

1986: ''Mera Kuch Samaan'' (''Ijaazat'')

;Other awards Asha has won numerous other awards, including: 1987: Nightingale Of Asia Award (from the Indo–Pak Association, UK). 1989: Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Madhya Pradesh). 1997: Screen Videocon Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samajha Karo''). 1997: MTV Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samajha Karo''). 1997: Channel V Award (for the album ''Jaanam Samjha Karo''). 1998: Dayawati Modi Award.

1999: Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Maharashtra)

2000: Singer of the Millennium (Dubai).

2000: Zee Gold Bollywood Award (for ''Mujhe Rang De'' from ''Thakshak'').

2001: MTV Award (for ''Kambakht Ishq'').

2002: BBC Lifetime Achievement Award (presented by the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair).

2002: Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer - Female (for ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' from ''Lagaan'').

2002: Zee Cine Special Award for Hall of Fame.

2002: Screen Videocon Award (for ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' from ''Lagaan'').

2002: Sansui Movie Award (for ''Radha Kaise Na Jale'' from ''Lagaan'').

2003: Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding contributions to Indian music. 2004: ''Living Legend Award'' by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 2005: MTV Immies, Best Female Pop Act for ''Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo''. 2005: Most Stylish People in Music.

;Honours and recognitions

In 1997, Asha became the first Indian singer to be nominated for the Grammy Award, for ''Legacy'', an album with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

She has received seventeen Maharashtra State Awards.

She received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 for her outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

She holds honorary doctorates from the University of Amravati and University of Jalgaon in Literature.

She has received ''The Freddie Mercury Award'' for Outstanding Achievement in Arts.

The Birmingham Film Festival paid her a special tribute in November 2002.

She was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. She was among top 20 music icons of the past 50 years.

Footnotes and references

Further reading

External links

Asha Bhosle: The Voice Of Bollywood And More - audio report by ''NPR''

Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:English-language singers Category:Female guitarists Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian guitarists Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Nepali-language singers Category:People from Maharashtra Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Russian-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers

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