Legendary Indian Singer Asha Bhosle Passes Away at 92

Mumbai. Legendary Indian singer Asha Bhosle has passed away at the age of 92. She breathed her last on Sunday afternoon at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. She was admitted to the hospital on Saturday evening after suffering a heart attack. 

Her granddaughter, Zanai Bhosle, had mentioned that Asha was experiencing fatigue and some chest discomfort. "She passed away today. Those who wish to pay their final respects can come to her residence tomorrow at 11 AM. The funeral will be held tomorrow at 4 PM at Shivaji Park," her son Anand Bhosle informed.

Asha sang over 12,000 songs. Her tracks like 'Dum Maro Dum', 'Piya Tu Ab To Aaja', and 'Chura Liya Hai Tumne' remain evergreen today. Asha was the daughter of renowned theater actor and classical singer Deenanath Mangeshkar and the younger sister of the legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar. Asha was only 9 years old when her father passed away. She and her sister Lata Mangeshkar began singing to support their family.

Asha Bhosle eloped and married at the age of 16. She married Ganpatrao Bhosle, the 31-year-old secretary of Lata. Lata and her family strongly opposed the marriage. After the wedding, the relationship between Asha and her family became strained, and she faced many hardships.

She was also a victim of domestic violence. Frustrated with life, she separated from her first husband in 1960. Asha returned to her maternal home with her three children, Hemant, Varsha, and Anand. Gradually, the distance between the family and Asha began to decrease.

Asha's Second Marriage

Asha Bhosle's second marriage was to music composer R.D. Burman. The two first met in 1956. Their close friendship and musical journey began during the 1966 film 'Teesri Manzil'. While working together, their friendship slowly turned into love. However, because Asha was 6 years older than Burman and a mother of three, Burman's mother became an obstacle to their marriage.

Burman then quietly accepted his mother's request; however, after the death of Burman's father, S.D. Burman, his mother's mental state deteriorated. To improve her condition, Burman married Asha Bhosle in 1980. Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman did not have any children.

Asha Bhosle worked with many music composers such as O.P. Nayyar, R.D. Burman, Khayyam, and Bappi Lahiri between the 1950s and 1990s and sang many evergreen songs. However, she was once kept away from the recording studio after a sound recordist criticized her voice.

In a conversation with RJ Anmol, Asha Bhosle revealed that she and Kishore Kumar were once told to leave the recording studio due to their "weak" voices. She also recalled going to J.B. Rungta's famous studio in 1947 with Kishore Kumar to record a song for the film 'Jaan Pehchan', starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis.

The music director for that film was Khemchand Prakash. That is how she lent her voice to numerous songs.