Asha Unlimited: B'wood's original diva
Breaking stereotypes
Then along came Muzaffar Ali and his all-time classic Umrao Jaan. And even as Lata hesitated to lend her voice to a common prostitute, her loss became Asha’s gain. Asha and Khayyam jointly created immortal melodies.
By the late eighties Asha realised that there were many songs that she could not handle due to increasing age. By then she was confident of her expatriate audience and she turned to stage shows. She performed in innumerable stage shows in the UK, USA Canada and Dubai, which helped her to generate large sums of money.
When the era of music albums set in, Lata Mangeshkar was nowhere on the scene. Lata had worked hard to create an, 'austere' 'holier than thou' image. There is no way the audience would have accepted her in music videos. Once again Asha capitalised on the changing industry trends. She shed her extra flab and danced, twirled and crooned with co-stars half her age. All the while her attire remained the same—the evergreen saree!
Her indi-pop album Janam Samjha Karo was a smashing success. She recorded one album in California with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, which won her a Grammy nomination.
Today, Lata Mangeshkar has almost retired whereas Asha is continuing to experiment with newer trends by recording songs with achievers from different walks of life. It is interesting note that Lata Mangeshkar has always been considered more popular of the two. Yet, Lata has received four Filmfare awards (the only award in its time) whereas Asha Bhonsle has received seven.
