Asha Bhosle is an Indian playback singer, businesswoman, actress and television personality from Sangli, Mumbai. She is active in Indian cinema and works mainly in Hindi film music, with a career that spans several decades.

Background

Born in 1933 into a musical family, she is the daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti. After her father dies when she is nine, her family moves several times before settling in Mumbai. Her siblings include Lata Mangeshkar and Usha Mangeshkar, who are singers, and Meena Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar, who work as music directors. Bhosle says she learns through listening to her father and sister and describes herself as an “accident singer”; she also keeps up daily practice throughout her life.

Early career

She makes her first film recording with the Marathi song “Chala Chala Nav Bala” for Majha Bal in 1943. Her Hindi playback debut follows with “Saawan Aaya” for Chunariya in 1948, and she sings several songs in both Chunariya and Andhon Ki Duniya that year. Her first solo Hindi film song is for Raat Ki Rani in 1949.

From the early 1950s, she sings in a large number of Hindi films, often in lower-budget productions before wider recognition arrives. Early collaborations include work with A. R. Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain, S. Mohinder, Sardar Malik and Ghulam Mohammed. Her performance in Sangdil in 1952 brings wider attention, and she sings most of the songs for Chham Chhama Chham in the same year under O. P. Nayyar. She also works with Bimal Roy on Parineeta in 1953 and Raj Kapoor on Boot Polish in 1954.

Major collaborations and songs

Her collaboration with O. P. Nayyar continues through the 1950s, including Naya Daur in 1957, where duets such as “Maang Ke Saath Tumhara”, “Saathi Haath Badhana” and “Uden Jab Jab Zulfein Teri” gain attention. She later works with composers including Sachin Dev Burman and Ravi, and with B. R. Chopra on Dhool Ka Phool, Waqt in 1965, Hamraaz in 1967, Aadmi Aur Insaan in 1969 and Dhund in 1973.

In the 1960s, her work with R. D. Burman includes songs from Teesri Manzil in 1966, including “Aaja Aaja”, “O Haseena Zulfonwali” and “O Mere Sona Re”. She also becomes closely associated with songs performed for Helen in several films, including “Piya Tu Ab To Aaja” from Caravan in 1971 and “Yeh Mera Dil” from Don in 1978. After a long professional partnership, she and R. D. Burman marry.

Awards and recognition

She receives two National Film Awards, four BFJA Awards, eighteen Maharashtra State Film Awards and nine Filmfare Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and seven awards for Best Female Playback Singer. She is also awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008. In 2011, the Guinness Book of World Records lists her as one of the most recorded music artists in history. She also receives two Grammy nominations.

Later work

In 1981, she sings the ghazals for Umrao Jaan, including “Dil Cheez Kya Hai”, “In Aankhon Ki Masti Ke”, “Yeh Kya Jagah Hai Doston” and “Justju Jiski Thi”, and receives her first National Film Award. She wins another National Film Award for “Mera Kuchh Saamaan” from Ijaazat in 1987. In 1995, she sings for Rangeela, including “Tanha Tanha” and “Rangeela Re”, with music by A. R. Rahman.

Her later songs include “Radha Kaise Na Jale” from Lagaan in 2001, “Kambakht Ishq” from Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya in 2001, “Yeh Lamha” from Filhaal in 2002 and “Lucky Lips” from Lucky in 2005. A compilation album, The Very Best of Asha Bhosle, The Queen of Bollywood, is released in 2004.

Other work

She serves as a judge on Sur Kshetra in 2012. In 2013, she makes her acting debut in Mai, playing the lead role of an elderly mother affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and receives generally positive reviews. In 2020, she launches a YouTube channel called Asha Bhosle Official.

Final years

She is hospitalised in Mumbai in April 2026 after exhaustion and a pulmonary chest infection, and dies on 12 April 2026 from multiple organ failure. Her final rites are scheduled to be performed with state honours at Shivaji Park.