Bollywood classics, rock music, and Michael Stipe duets: 10 of Asha Bhosle’s greatest records | Asha Bhosle

Chala Chala Nav Bala (Baal’s Labyrinth, 1943)

With over 12,000 songs to her name, Indian playback singer Asha Bhosle is one of the most recorded and recognized voices in Bollywood cinema. Born into a musical family, where her father Dinanath Mangeshkar worked as a singer for regional Marathi theater and cinema throughout the 1920s and 1930s, and her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar became a Bollywood singer in her own right, Bhosle entered the industry at the age of just 10 with that first performance in the Marathi film Maze Baal. Duet with Lata, Bhosle’s haunting voice in the song gives voice to the playful innocence of the film’s central love child. Keen and crystal clear, her voice cuts instantly through the rolling instrument and already displays the feelings of longing that will become her signature as her voice matures.

Aya Mehriban (Howrah Bridge, 1958)

Throughout the 1950s – the so-called golden age of Hindi cinema – Bhosle established herself as one of Bollywood’s leading playback singers thanks to her collaboration with composer O. B. Nayar. The Casablanca-influenced Howrah Bridge is a classic example of Bhosle and Nayyar’s musical chemistry, pairing Bhosle’s vibrato-filled upper register with melodramatic chanting strings and undulating hand percussion to embody the film’s raucous atmosphere. The seductive set piece Aaiye Meherbaan is one of Bhosle’s earliest singing performances for a leading lady, lending a whispered intimacy to cabaret singer Edna’s attempt to woo leading man Prem Kumar. Bhosle’s seductive and seductive voice soars through the slow tempo of the song.

Ao Huzur Tumku (Kasmet, 1968)

One of Bhosle’s most popular performances, Aao Huzoor Tumko, became a hit in the charts after the release of the romantic thriller Kismat in 1968. Opening with a gorgeous series of finger-picked flamenco guitar solos, the song evolves into a perfect showcase of Bhosle’s range and virtuosity, reaching a lower level in the chorus that breaks away from the typical shrill sound of a female Bollywood playback performance. It’s also a great example of Bhosle’s ability to act behind the microphone, adding languid one-liners and the occasional hiccup to embellish actor Babita’s performance as a drunken heroine on screen.

Dum Maru Dum (Hare Rama, Hare Krishna, 1971)

If Aao Huzoor Tumko is one of Bhosle’s most popular songs in India, then Dum Maro Dum is perhaps her greatest hit, which has since been sampled by rappers Busta Rhymes and Tricky. Marking the beginning of her collaboration with composer R. D. Burman – whom she would marry in 1980 – the duo’s music for the 1971 hippie-influenced film Hari Rama, Hare Krishna distorts the Maharishi and Krishna consciousness movement through an imitation of Beatles psychedelia and Indian vocals. Channeling the propulsive groove of The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows, Dum Maru Dum sees Bhosle in new territory, singing over Western instruments without missing a beat, highlighting a new ability to transcend musical genres away from Indian classics as Bollywood opened itself up to newer influences.

Piya Tu Up Tu Aga (Caravan, 1971)

Continuing the theme of Western fusion, on Bhosle’s second 1971 collaboration with Burman, Caravan, the duo delves into jazz cabaret territory, creating numbers filled with trumpet fanfare and bombastic swing, as well as dramatic, reverb-laden guitar lines in the style of Ennio Morricone. The film’s central number for actress Helen, Piya Tu Ab To Aaja, was controversial at the time thanks to Bhosle’s breathy, sexually suggestive vocals between the lines, but behind the innuendo lies another intelligent performance that veers between animalistic urges and soaring falsetto to longing and long notes, all of which serve Helen’s graceful performance as the film’s vamp.

Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko (Yadon Ki Baaraat, 1973)

One of the prime early examples of a masala film in Bollywood cinema – mixing genres like drama, thriller, romance, music and crime together – Yaadon Ki Baaraat has gone on to achieve cult status since its release in 1973. The film’s soundtrack is equally ambitious, and Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko showcases new, lower-tempo territory for Burman and Bhosle. Over a softly strumming guitar, Hussle hums a long melody and delicate, beautiful lines, demonstrating her ability to sing through quiet intimacy as much as explosive drama.

In Ankhun Ki Masti (Umrao Jaan, 1981)

After her marriage to Burman in 1980, Bhosle embarked on a series of new collaborations, including with the composer Khayyam in a completely different genre – Urdu ghazals. Based on ancient Sufi poetry, ghazals are devilishly complex and usually performed after decades of training, but in the 1981 film Umrao Jaan, Bhosle delivers a pitch-perfect rendition of the ghazal in Ankhon Ki Masti. Gliding through melismatic tracks and displaying a lower, huskier register in her middle age – thanks to Khayyam lowering the composition by a half-step – Bhosle’s run on Ankhon Ki Masti highlighted that, as the singer approached 50, she was still as creatively and experimentally expressive as ever.

Master Bows Down (1991)

Continuing this spirit of journey, as the 1990s dawned, Bhosle took a new international approach and began collaborating with artists from further afield. An early example is her role in the song Stealing Bow Down, Mister, a track taken from Boy George’s first post-Culture Club project, Jesus Loves You. Although the first two minutes of the song are played through a rather gentle interpretation of Hare Krishna chanting, when Bhosle comes in with soaring, wordless vocals over a dizzying drum beat, the track turns into rave-influenced new age music. Uncredited in the initial release, Bhosle deserves her due for this unexpected twist.

Radha Kaisi Na Gali (Lagaan, 2001)

By the new millennium, Bhosle’s status as a major legend was firmly established, and her collaboration with young composer AR Rahman on the 2001 historical epic Lagaan was an anointing. In a duet with male singer Udit Narayan, the celebratory love song Radha Kaise Na Jale showcases Bhosle’s indefatigable vocals, still capable of shy intimacy and gentle melody, as well as full-throated power and a stunning closing note that quickly sings through the classical Hindustani scale. Sung on tabla and flute, the song returns full circle to Bhosle’s Indian musical traditions.

The Way You Dream (2002)

REM frontman Michael Stipe delivers the perfect, unexpected blend of vocal tones with Bhosle on this expansive new-age collaboration. Taken from the debut album by electronic duo 1 Giant Leap, featuring Faithless co-founder Jimmy Cato, The Way You Dream beautifully ripples through a drum beat and simple guitar melody as Stipe and Bhosle weave their English and Hindi lines. The extraordinary shift comes five minutes into the eight-minute song, when Bhosle’s haunting solo heralds the hammering jungle beat and soaring strings. It’s a delightful late-career example of how Bhosle’s vocals fit into almost any genre and provides the surest indication that they will continue to be discovered, sampled and enjoyed by generations to come.