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Asha Bhosle, the most versatile and veteran singer of Indian music, has passed away at the age of 92. He breathed his last at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday. Asha ji was an integral part of Hindi cinema for more than 70 years and on Saturday night she was admitted to the hospital due to chest infection.
Asha, who sang her first song at the age of 10, had a singing career of 82 years, in which she got her name registered in the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ by singing more than 12 thousand songs. From classical music to cabaret, pop, jazz and ghazal, he proved his mastery in every genre.
Asha Bhosle has won 9 Filmfare. These include 7 Best Female Playback Singer Awards. According to a report, Asha received more than 100 prestigious awards. Asha was nominated for the Filmfare Award a total of 18 times. Asha’s last song was released in 2026.
First read some unique stories related to Asha ji’s life…
When Shahrukh picked up Asha ji’s false cup
Shahrukh was sitting with Asha Bhosle during the 2023 Cricket World Cup final. When Asha ji drank the tea, Shahrukh took the empty cup from her hand with great respect and went to put it on the other side. Asha ji and her granddaughter Janai also forbade him, but King Khan got up from his seat and did this. This video is going viral again on social media after his death.
Bet of Rs 500 with Rafi Saheb
Asha Bhosle had once told that she had made a bet of Rs 500-500 with Mohammad Rafi regarding the song ‘Aaja Aaja Main Hoon Pyaar Tera’ that who among the two would sing better. This bet was won by Asha ji. Regarding the practice of this song, she had narrated a funny story that she was practicing this song so much that her driver thought she was having trouble breathing.
Sonu Nigam had washed feet
Singer Sonu Nigam shared memorable pictures on the death of Asha ji, in which he is seen washing Asha Bhosle’s feet with water. In the photo, Sonu is happily washing Asha ji’s feet with water. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is also seen sitting in it. In the second photo, he is touching Asha Bhosle’s feet on the stage.
Recorded while crying ‘Now ke baras send bhaiya’
The song ‘Ab Ke Baras Bhej Bhaiya’ from the film ‘Bandini’ used to describe the pain of women. Asha ji had told that during the recording of this song, she missed her brother so much that she cried. He recorded this song in just one take while crying. At the same time, his famous song ‘Dum Maro Dum’ was banned on radio and TV, but for this song he received the Best Playback Singer Award.
Pressure and milk-cream hobby with Lata Didi
Asha ji was fond of sports and food in her childhood, her weakness was especially milk and cream. His relationship with his elder sister Lata Mangeshkar during his singing career was special. She had told that when she used to sing the song ‘Mann Kyun Bahka’ with Didi, she used to pick the lines by looking at each other’s eyes. He always felt that his singing should not fall short in front of his sister.
Now read the story from birth to the last song…
Birth and struggle of poverty in Sangli
Born on 8 September 1933 in Sangli, Maharashtra, Asha Bhosle’s childhood was spent in extreme poverty. His father Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar was a theater artist and classical singer. There was a musical atmosphere in the house, but the financial situation was very bad. Such was the state of poverty that he was expelled from school due to non-payment of fees.
There is an emotional story from childhood that when elder sister Lata Mangeshkar used to go to school, she used to secretly take Asha with her and make her sit in the class. She studied for two days hiding from the teacher, but was caught on the third day.
Asha Bhosle had 3 sisters and one brother.
Masterji clearly said that only one child can study at one fee and excluded both of them. That day Lata decided that she would not study herself but would teach her younger sister. He got Asha admitted by deleting his name, but destiny had something else in mind.
When Asha was just 9 years old (1942), her father passed away. Suddenly a mountain of financial crisis fell upon the family. Then elder sister Lata took over the responsibility and the Mangeshkar family moved from Pune to Mumbai. To support the family, both Lata and Asha started singing and doing small roles in films at an early age.
Beginning of career and rejection in 1947
Asha started her singing career in 1943 with the song ‘Chala Chala Nav Bada’ from the Marathi film ‘Majha Bal’. After this, at the age of 15, he got the song ‘Sawan Aaya’ from the Hindi film ‘Chunariya’ in 1948. During that period, big singers like Noor Jahan, Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt were dominant. Asha used to get only those songs which the big singers either left or the filmmakers could not pay their fees.
Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar.
During this struggle, in 1947, an incident happened with Asha Bhosle which shook her to the core. She had gone to ‘Famous Studio’ with Kishore Kumar to record a song for the film ‘Jaan Pehchaan’. Musician Khemchand Prakash was present there. As soon as Asha and Kishore Da started singing in front of the mike, recordist Robin Chatterjee said to the music director in Bengali – “The voices of these two are not sounding good in the mike, their throats are bad, call someone else.”
He was humiliated and thrown out of the studio. It was 2 o’clock in the night, Asha and Kishore Da were sitting near Mahalaxmi Railway Station, crying over their fate and discussing where they had gone wrong. But Asha did not give up. He consoled Kishore Da and said that no one can stop his voice.
The pain of running away from marriage and domestic violence at the age of 16
Asha’s personal life was also full of struggles. At the age of just 16, she fell in love with her elder sister Lata’s secretary, Ganpat Rao Bhosale, who was 15 years older than her. Despite opposition from her family, she ran away from home and got married. This decision spoiled his relations with Mangeshkar family and especially with Lata Didi.
Asha Bhosle with Ganpat Rao and children.
Asha did not find happiness in her in-laws’ house. She faced ill-treatment and domestic violence from her husband and in-laws. Due to suspicion and tension this relationship reached the verge of breaking. In 1960, when Asha had two children and was pregnant with her third child, Ganpat Rao threw her out of the house. Under compulsion he had to return to his maternal home. Even in this difficult time, she did not give up and made singing her weapon to raise her children.
OP Nayyar’s support, when Asha came out of Lata’s shadow
In the 1950s, musician OP Nayyar recognized the ‘jingle’ of Asha Bhosle’s voice which the world was considering bad. Nayyar Saheb was the first to use the ‘Western modulation’ of his voice properly. His journey, which started with ‘Mangu’ in 1954, reached its peak in 1957 with the film ‘Naya Daur’.
Mohammed Rafi (left) with OP Nayyar and Asha Bhosle in the middle.
Songs like ‘Ude Jab Jab Zulfen Tumhari’ and ‘Maang Ke Saath Tumhara’ made Asha a superstar. Nair Sahab swore that he would work only with Asha and would never turn to Lata Mangeshkar. He composed 324 songs for Asha, including the cult classic ‘Aaiye Meherbaan’ from ‘Howrah Bridge’. These songs helped Asha to come out of the shadow of Lata and create her own independent identity.
Interestingly, when Asha became successful, she went to record in the same studio from where she was fired. Robin Chatterjee was also present there. Then Kishore Kumar interrupted the recordist and said – “Why, you said that we cannot sing. Now see where we are.”
RD Burman (Pancham Da) and the era of ‘Queen of Indiapop’
Asha Bhosle’s pairing with RD Burman revolutionized Indian music in the 1960s and 70s. Pancham Da adapted Asha’s voice to cabaret, jazz and rock music. Songs like ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ (Hare Rama Hare Krishna) and ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’ (Caravan) earned Asha the title of ‘Queen of Indiapop’.
Asha Bhosle rehearsing with Pancham Da.
The professional relationship soon turned into love. Pancham da was 6 years younger than Asha. When they decided to marry, RD Burman’s mother was strongly against. He even said, “If you want to get married, you will have to pass over my dead body.” Pancham Da waited and in 1980, when his mother’s condition changed, the couple got married. However, Pancham Da’s death in 1994 left Asha alone again.
Won hearts with Umrao Jaan and classical singing
When the world started feeling that Asha could only sing flirtatious or cabaret songs, the film ‘Umrao Jaan’ came in 1981. Under the direction of music composer Khayyam, she proved that she is at par with Lata Mangeshkar in classical singing by singing ghazals like ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’ and ‘In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke’.
Achievements and World Records
Guinness World Record: In 2011 she was recognized as the artist with the most studio recordings in the world (12,000+ songs).
Awards: She won 9 Filmfare Awards (7 Best Female Playback). In 1979, he withdrew his name from the nomination so that new singers could get a chance. He received more than 100 prestigious awards.
Highest Honor: Was awarded ‘Dada Saheb Phalke’ in the year 2000 and ‘Padma Vibhushan’ in 2008.
Jugalbandi: He sang about 900 songs with Mohammad Rafi and more than 600 songs with Kishore Kumar.
successful business with singing
Asha Bhosle was also an excellent cook. Veterans like Raj Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor were fond of his handmade ‘Kadhai Gosht’ and ‘Biryani’. He started a global chain of restaurants named ‘Asha’s’, which is still famous in cities like Dubai, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi.
Asha Bhosle was very fond of ‘Kadhai Gosht’ and ‘Biryani’.
However, the series of sorrows did not stop in his life. His elder son Hemant Bhosle died of cancer in 2015. His daughter Varsha Bhosale committed suicide at the age of 55. His younger son Anand Bhosle managed his career.
In the poster of this album, Asha is seen standing in a green saree.
International collaboration and last song
The voice of hope echoed beyond the borders. In 2006, he sang the song ‘You’re the One for Me’ with Australian cricketer Brett Lee, which was a superhit. The last song of his career was released in March 2026 for the album ‘The Mountain’ of the British virtual band ‘Gorillaz’.
In this track named “The Shadowy Light”, she was seen on the poster wearing a green saree. Damon Albarn of ‘Gorillaz’ was a big fan of her voice. Till the age of 92, his voice remained with the same freshness and tinkling sound as it was in 1950.
