RMIM Archive Article "192".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Asha's Filmfare Interview. (excerpts)
#
# Posted by: iakhan@eesun2.tamu.edu (Ikram Ahmed Khan)
# Source: Filmfare
# Author: Khalid Mohamed
#
Filmfare had an interview with Asha on the occasion of her receiving a
special Filmfare award. She was interviewed by Khalid Mohamed.
Since I would like to avoid being bawled out for infringeing copyright I
have the interview written down in a different format. I have grouped
together the related topics and put them together. *Hopefully*, this means
that I've not done anything bad. In any case, the intention was to share
with fellow rmim-ers some knowledge about a great favorite of most
rmim-ers.
Comments in curly braces are my own. So are the typos. Any facts that I
may present are accurate to my knowledge. But then how much do I really
know?? :)
Asha has received several filmfare awards for her singing.
In 1960 the first award was instituted for playback singers. Males and
females competed in a single category. This continued until '68 when
separate categories were made for males and females. Asha won it for the
first time in '68, she is truly the first female playback singer to win
the Filmfare Award (:) ). Lata has won only 3 awards, last being in 1970.
Sharda won it in 1971 with the other competing songs being Lata's Bindiya
Chamkegi[Do Raaste] and Babul Pyare[Johny mera naam].
Asha won 7 filmfare awards -
1968 Garibon ki suno Dus Laakh.
1969 Parde meN rehne do Shikar
1972 Piya tu ab toh aaja Caravan
1973 Dum maaro dum Hare Rama Hare Krishna
1974 Hone lagi hai raar jawaN Naina
1975 Chain se humko kabhi Pran jaaye par vachan na jaaye
1979 Yeh mera dil Don
And since you would now like to hear from Asha, let me scramble out of the
away quickly. I introduce you to Asha, "the absoloot queen of Indian pop
music" {as referred in an ad for Raful & I}
Later,
Ikram.
ps. I never knew that about Ae mere watan ke logoN!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASHA'S SPECIAL FILMFARE AWARD INTERVIEW
=======================================
{ KavitaK won the female playback singer for Mera piya ghar aaya.
Asha won a special award for Rangeela. }
Affected by the death of her mother.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'd like to start by saying that I used to inform my mother about
every little thing that happened to me. If she couldn't hear what
I was saying, I would write down what I had to say on a piece of
paper for her. I would pour my heart out to her during the time
when I didn't have much work.. and she would very sweetly say
"Asha, there is no one else like you... there isn't even any
heroine who can be like you".
Maybe some people will say that I', making up things or that I'm
sounding very dramatic, but six to seven days before my mother
passed away last year, she took one look at me and laughed a
lot. She said that I should never worry, that God would always be
with me.
In 1996.
~~~~~~~~
Some months later, I was in San Fransisco where I had gone to cut
a record [Legacy] with the great Ali Akbar Khan saheb. And I
started getting numerous phone calls, informing that my songs of
Rangeela had become extremely popular. 'Tanha Tanha' had started
topping the charts.
It was almost as if what my mother had said had come true. It's
because of what my mother and my father made me believe in ; in
honesty and straight-talk, that I'm still here after a career
spanning 52 years. Imagine I've won the Filmfare Award at the age
of 62. I am sure it is because of the aashirwad of God and my
parents.Lata didi had their aashirwaad too.
On the self-imposed retirement from the Filmfare Award.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why? Because the Filmfare awards would mostly go to didi, Rafi,KK
and me. New female singers who were coming in were missing out on
the awards.Moreoveroften I would feel that an award-winning song
is the result of teamwork. It would be written well and composed
well. I would feel that it was unjust for me to walk away with all
the credit and the the trophy.
To cite a specific instance, I got the award for 'Garibon ki suno'
[Dus Laakh] but neither Rafi sahab or Ravi were awarded for this
song. Similarly, I got the trophy for 'Chain se humko kabhi'
[Pran Jaaye par Vachan Na Jaye] but OP Nayyarsahab didn't. I won
for 'Piya tu ab to aaja' [Caravan] and 'Dum maaro Dum' [Hare Rama
Hare Krishna] But RD Burman didn't. I was honoured for 'Yeh mera
dil pyaar ka deewana' [Don] but Kalyanji-Anandji weren't.
I don't feel like returning to the Awards. Why should I? Now that
I've received the Special Award, why should I want more? *smile*
And this special trophy is so pretty.
{ Note: 1968 - AB wins for Garibon ki suno Best Male playback-
MKaps for Neele gagan ke tale Best Music- LP for Milan
1975 - Ab wins for Chain se humko kabhi Best Music - KA for Kora
Kaghaz 1972 & '73 - AB wins for Piya tu and Dum maaro Best Music -
SJ for Mera naam joker and Be-imaan resp.
1979 - AB wins for Yeh mera dil Best Music - LP for SSSundaram }
Her relationship with Lata
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't know anything {about the so-called love-hate nature}
except that ours is a blood relationship which can never be
altered. When I am ill, she is by my side and vice versa. When we
meet, we don't discuss the music business at all.
She's older than me by four years. I give her the izzat that is
due an elder sister. I touch her feet ...... and at times I ever
press her feet before she goes to sleep at night because I know
she enjoys that very much.
I don't think much should be made about who is the No. 1 and who
is the No. 2 between us. In classical music, if you say Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan is No. 1, then would you say that Amir Khan,
Vilayat Khan, Annapurnaji or Ravi Shankar are No. 2? Why tag us
with numbers? It's wrong... such things are brought up only by
those who want to create a rift between us. But let me tell you
that they'll never succeed.
In fact, I'm very proud of the fact that we are a complete family
of singers. My brother (Hridaynath) and my other sisters (Usha and
Meena) are also singers. Where else would you find such a family?
Perceived Injustices
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Injustice? *laugh* Lekin us meN bhi mazaa aata hai.
There was a time when I would feel angry, very angry. I would want
to explode - yeh boloon ke woh boloon? There were attempts to set
up obstacles in my way. I wouldn't be given the best songs, only
the secondary one. Yet, I was loved by the public. I won my share
of the awards, too, despite everything. If I'd won them easily,
then there would have been no sense of achievement.
Anyway, right to this day the injustice persists. But then out of
the blue, something providential happens to me, something willed
by God. Otherwise, why should A. R. Rahman have given me songs? I
must have done something good in life to deserve them.
{ Note: High praise for ARR, huh? But it's not like she is going
overboard. In another interview, she has said that he must have
heard my songs as he was growing up. He must have felt like using
her voice at some point too. I thought that there was a hint of
justifiable pride in these words. }
Youthful voice and love for singing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Everyone asks me, "what do you do to keep your voice the way it
is?". And I say nothing, nothing at all. I eat the same food, the
same daal chaawal. And I do my daily riyaaz.
When I have to record a song for a film, I ask for the name of the
heroine and then sing, keeping her face and personality in
mind. Like I knew for Rangeela, I was singing for a dubli patlisi
ladki - Urmila.
I still enjoy singing only some of the songs now. Like I really
enjoyed singing a number for Saawan Kumar... the song has a lot of
rhythm and grace. In recent times I also enjoyed singing 'Zara sa
jhoom looN main' [Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge]. Surprisingly,
though this number did become very popular it hasn't received
sufficient airplay on RV or on radio - despite repeated requests
for it. I did talk to Pam Chopra about this, who's a very dear
friend, and she said that she would look into the matter.
The line 'thandi thandi pavan' was sung with a slightly anglicised
touch at the spur of the moment. I knew Kajol would be enacting
that song. I kept her personality in mind, and since she's so full
of life and sweet, i added that naughty angrezi-style touch.
On the "Rangeela" music director A. R. Rahman.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While singing the numbers, I would ask Rahman " How is
it.. allright?" And he would quietly say, "Yes, it sounds
allright." Since he doesn't know Hindi fluently, we speak in
English. It was almost like recording in a London studio... He
understands the youth of today, he has brought about a freshness,
a new sound to film music.
After Rangeela, I've sung a number for Rahmanbhai's score for Tara
Rum Pum Pum and for Mani Ratnam's new Tamil film. He's always
experimenting, doing something different which is very inspiring
for a playback singer. When he gets some time off from his
assignments, I thing a non-film album with A. R. Rahman will go
through. I have a feeling that it'll be a groundbreaking album.
{ In another interview, she had noted the ease of recording with
Rahman. "KyuNke recording bhi wohi karta hai, music bhi wohi
banata hai, mixing bhi wohi karta hai, cues bhi wohi deta" etc
etc. were her words. }
MDs coming back to her after Rangeela.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I shouldn't say who has come back and who hasn't. All I can say is
that there was a certain amount of hesitation which has
disappeared now. There were some producers... like Ramesh
Behl.. who would always work with R. D. Burman. With time, they
have either passed away or scattered into different direction.
And I must also say that I've never mixed with the film
industry. I've never gone to parties or tried to strike
friendships for professional gain from the very beginning. I've
never sent bouquets of flowers and tiffins of food to film
people. I haven't indulged in fake wah-wahi.
Instead I devoted my time to bringing up my children and looking
after the house. I've been quite content in my own little world. I
should thank my lucky stars that I've always been able to maintain
my dignity and integrity. And when some of my songs are
appreciated by the public and the critics, I regards that as one
more feather in my cap.
On the making of the remix album, 'Rahul & I'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did it simply because others were doing it. And they were doing
it in such a careless, haphazard way! Making dhaad dhoodh of the
excellent compositions of Pancham. I was a bit upset that the new
generation would identify him with the re-mix versions which had
flooded the market all of a sudden. For instance, I met the
classmates of my grand-daughter who's studying in a Panchgani
school and they knew of 'Chura liya hai tumne' [YaadoN ki Baraat]
only from Bally Sagoo's re-mix. They didn't know the original song
or composer.. which is sad.
Everyone seems to be into re-mixes. Didi's songs, my songs like
'Jaane jaaN' [Jawaani Diwaani] and 'sona re' [Teesri Manzil] as
well as the melodies of Madan Mohan are being mangled out of
shape. A day may actually come when I'll have to inform my
grand-daughter about who originally sang 'Dum maaro' [Hare Rama
Hare Krishna]. In fact, I would sincerely request living singers
to re-do their own songs.
For two months, Leslie Lewis (the re-mix engineer) thought about
the pros and cons about re-mixing RD's songs. After much
deliberation, we decided to go ahead with the project.
Frankly I was troubled when I heard Bally Sagoo's re-mix of 'Chura
liya hai'. It just didn't have the right feeling.... Obviously
sufficient labout hadn't gone into it. I didn't like the voice of
the female singer either.
Am I satisfied with the version of 'Mehbooba Mehbooba' [Sholay]
originally sung by RD Burman? How can I comment on this? It's for
others to tell me if I've done justice to the song or not. For me
it has a lot of sentimental value attached to it. Initially, it
was going to be performed on the screen by an artiste made up like
a fat gypsy woman. Somehow, I felt that I wouldn't be right for
the song then. I told Pancham to sing it himself. I know my
version can't be as good as the original. But someone else would
have done it... so I gave it a go myself. Even my children can't
recognize my voice immediately because I've sung in a style which
has never been associated with me.
I did wonder whether did would feel bad about the version of 'Jai
jai shiv shankar' [Aap ki Qasam]. But then other singers have made
a terrible mess of her songs... Am I referring to Anuradha
Paudwal? *laugh* I never take names! Samajhnewalon ko ishara kaafi
hai.
Music companies and politics in the industry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I don't know what to say on this subject. But I will say
that quite often music directors are told by certain record
company artistes to use certain singers. They refuse to buy the
music rights if the composers don't give in.
I am not identified with any one music company; neither do some
music composers insist that they will only record with Asha
Bhosle. In Mumbai, favoritism and patronage have become the
rule. I was fortunate perhaps that Rangeela came from the south
and the rights were purchased by the Time Music company.
I want to start my own music label. And my son has been
encouraging me to establish my own label. So, let's see.
Ever since I was a 10 yr old, my major work has been with
HMV. Even if there has been some indifference on their part at
times, I've felt it was like my own family home. When other music
companies arrived on the scene, I did record for a few other
companies. But the politics and monopolies are bhayankar. This
time around, I've recorded my album with Polygram. Let's see how
they maintain the relationship. They've been very good to me so
far. The working atmosphere was very courteous and
result-oriented.
As for politics, oof, don't even talk about it. I have had to
contend with politics in the music industry from day one right to
today. I suppose it'll go on right to my dying day. I've always
been honest and straight in my dealings but then honesty isn't
always the best policy in this trade.
See, as a child I was so quiet that my mother would pinch me to
see if I was allright. She would be alarmed, "Why isn't this child
crying - is she mute?". After my marriage to Bhoslesahab, I would
accept a lot. But then I saaw that this world indulges in lies and
deceit. I would be angry , very very angry. I wanted to hit out,
get my revenge. Gradually, I realised that this was aa waste of my
energy and feelings. That's why ab gussa naheeN aata hai - ab
mazaa aata hai.
When the Filmfare Special Award was announced on stage, the
reaction of the general public was supportive; I could almost hear
them saying she deserves it. At the same time I could feel that
people from the film line weren't too happy. I received telegrams
and bouquets of flowers only from those who are genuinely fond of
me. Only the person who was once chief of HMV sent me a bouquet.
Guiness Book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I shouldn't talk about it myself, but anyone who cares to check
the records will discover that I've sung 200 short of 11,000. Yes,
my name has never appeared in the Guinness book but that is
because I've never thought about it seriously enough - because
I've never filled up the necessary application forms. If someone
else does that for me, it's okay. But I won't personally fight for
a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.
My children and my close friends do care about this. And there's a
gentleman named Farid Malik who knows more about my life and my
songs that I do. He even knows which colors I like and which I
don't.
Ae mere watan ke logoN.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Was I the first choice for Ae mere watan ke logoN? Yes. I went
through six rehearsals for the song. I was supposed to sing it as
a solo number. All of a sudden, I was told that it would be a
duet. So, I said I wasn't feeling well and got out of it.
{ On further probing - Are you being diplomatic?? } *laugh*
Sometimes, you have to be diplomatic.
Her story.
~~~~~~~~~
{ On being told that a film was being made inspired by her life
story }
Who can get to the heart of my life story? Only I know the
truth. If anyone is trying to make a film on my life, it'll be
imaginary and based on hearsay. In my book, I did write about what
I have gone through. I talked about what happened to me - who did
what is not important - which is why I didn't name any names.
Suicide.
~~~~~~~~
On one occasion, I did feel I should kill myself. I was ill, I was
4-months pregnant and I found myself in a hospital where the
conditions were so bad that I thought that I had landed in hell. I
was in mental agony and I swallowed a bottle of sleeping
tablets. But then my love for my unborn dhild was so strong that I
relented - I was dragged back to life.
I've also gone throught terrible times, for 2 years after the
death of my husband R. D. Burman. But time heals. I've survived
the odds and all the nasty allegations and accusations flung at
me.
I won't say that our love was the love of a conventional husband
and wife. Our love was on a different plane. Music was our
life. There's a vacuum today. I don't feel the loneliness that a
woman feels when her man goes away. I feel the loneliness when a
piece of beautiful music stops playing. The silence remains
forever.
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian