Legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle dies at 92

• Legendary playback singer Asha Bhosle passed away in Mumbai on April 12. She was 92.

• Born on September 8, 1933 in Maharashtra’s Sangli, Asha was initiated into music by her father Dinanath Mangeshkar. 

• Of the four sisters, Lata, Usha and Asha were playback singers while Meena is a music composer. As is their brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

• Asha ruled the Hindi playback singing world along with her sister Lata Mangeshkar for seven decades.

• Her first song was in 1943 at the age of 10 for the Marathi film ‘Majha Bal’. 

• She made her Hindi cinema debut with the song ‘Saawan Aaya’ in the movie ‘Chunariya’ in 1948.

• Her career took an upswing when O.P. Nayyar gave her a break in ‘Naya Daur’ where she sang for Vyjayanthimala. The song was ‘Maang Ke Saath Tumhara’.

• She continued to sing until the late 2010s and beyond, making her the longest performing singer in global music history.

• She holds a unique record for singing more than 12,000 songs in around 20 languages.

• She was the voice for many leading ladies, from Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Zeenat Aman to Kajol, Urmila Matondkar and also South actors like Padmini and Vyjayanthimala.

• Her elder sister Lata died in February 2022, also at the age of 92.

• A recipient of some of India’s highest civilian and cinematic awards for her contribution to music, Bhosle was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan — India's second-highest civilian award — in 2008. She was also honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award — the nation's highest award in the field of cinema — in 2000.

• She won the National Film Awards twice — for Best Female Playback Singer: ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’ from the film ‘Umrao Jaan’ in 1981; and ‘Mera Kuch Saaman’ from the film ‘Ijaazat’ in 1986.

• Among Asha’s most popular songs are ‘Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar’, ‘In Ankhon Ki Masti’, ‘Dum Maro Dum’, ‘Piya Tu Ab To Aaja’, ‘Dil Cheez Kya Hai’, ‘Duniya Mein Logon Ko’, and ‘Zaara Se Jhoom Loon Main’, among others.

• She was the first Indian singer to be nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997 for the album ‘Legacy’, a collaboration with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

• Asha got married to Ganpatrao Bhosle in 1949 when she was 16.

• She later married collaborator and composer R.D. Burman.