Asha Bhosle :: Yeh Kya Kur dala Toonay Dil Tera Hoh Gaya …… Yeh dard Hua Deewana…Tum Hi Rehnuma Hoh……..

AAA BHOLAY BHALAY NAINA MERAY JANAY KYA ISHARAY , HUM BHI CHALANGAY SAIIYA SUNG TUMHARAY  this is ONE line that I could understand this GREAT singer who has been singing from 1943 when she was only 10 years of age till now when she is 86 years of age, SINGING FOR THE LAST 75 YEARS

  

It is very Hard to describe someone who has a dimension which appears to be ONE but within that it has a multi-dimensional quality and personality . If there has been a singer whose range was UNLIMITED and who could continue to mould the ONE song in a mnay way to completely throw the Music Directors in a sea of confusion and doubts it was Kishoreda but if ever there was an singer who was MANY-IN-ONE it is still Asha Bhosle who we refer her as Asha tai The younger sister of Lata Mangeshkar ie Latadi .

It was Latadi once who had remarked that I do not know why she has to struggle a lot.She is no way inferior to me at all and her versality is as same as me but do not know why she has to be no where where in reality she ought to be everywhere in the world of Indian films and it’s music .

Initial days of tremendous struggle : walking on the bed of thorns and the sea of fire

It was NOT thet Asha Tai started much later Than her sister Latadi. Infact in 1943 Asha Tai had sung for a film when  she was only 10 years of age in Marathi.It was just a one line of a song .Thereafter in 1949 she sang her first solo in a Hindi film .However she really made it to make the people to understand that in her she was an OCEAN of magnanimous  gallons which in it not only had the FLOW but the deep serenity of everything that the flow of an Ocean could have in it.

That she made it known to everybody with the song “” Piya Piya Piya Mora Jiya Pukare Hum Bhi Chalengay Saiiya Sung Tumharay “”” which had Kishoreda singing with her from the film Baap-Re-Baap. That film released in 1955, had Chand Usmani a very natural actress and ofcourse the second Muslim woman after Madhubala in the film industry then as a lerad heroine and Kishoreda, and this song made the entire world of the film industry to understand about the depth that Asha tai had as an singer but the credit got covered under the Houdini act of Kishoreda  whose therapy of the voice in the song coupled with his song modelling and yodeling gave him many more marks .Yet with Mohammed Rafi ruling the sway and having all the say both were under the deep cloud of OBLIVINOUSY .Both Kishoreda and Asha tai were struggling to make their way. Asha Tai was the WORST sufferer as compared because Kishoreda was still acting to make up the deficit and the loss.

One can now listen to this song in the U Tube if one wishes and he or she would be swept away by the song Beautiful composition of the music by Mr O P Nayyar who CONSTRUCTED the TAJ MAHAL in Asha tai and a BEAUTIFUL lyrics written by that GREAT Jan Nissar Akhtar .That was in 1955

Reason for Asha tai’s struggle : Geeta Dutt,  Shamsad Begum and Suraiya were the TOAST OF THE TOWN

Indian film during those days NEEDED the EXACT element that the one’s who were paying the money from their pocket  to make or produce the films . There was NOTHING which could be said as COMPROMISE and it was the PERFECTION that ruled the era .It was an era when the people were GLUED to the DIVINE of the voice and one who attained that would be the ALWAYS CHOICE of the people . There would be NO compromise on those quality

To cite an example in the Film “ PAYING GUEST ”  there is a song-Ah Chhodh Doh Aanchal Zamana Kya Kahega   The Music Director S D Burmanda made Asha Bhosle to throw that word AH! 150 times before that song moved ahead . He needed Asha tai to potray the EXACT BOISTEROUS HAPPINESS of the SAD feeling that the word  “ AH ”  could convey  For that was the WORLD of Indian music then- full of ACTUALITY  and PERFECTION and full of MELODY. NO COMPROMISE on the quality

One can hear to this song in the U-Tube where Dev Anand and Nutan would be seen singing and acting in this song Just see the way Nutan potrays the acting on that word  “ AH ” You would realize what 100% of PERFECTION is all about when Asha tai pronounces that word AH and was the quality of the perfection that even a singer behind the screen had to perform to move ahead with the song and the Directors for the films that they would Direct and produce

It was that the voice of Suraiya had taken over for which even Latadi had to struggle for eight years in a row before in 1958 she displaced Madam Suraiya for that top position. In between the world of Indian cinema got Geeta Dutt and Shamsad Begum. The one was ie the former was if it is NOT Latadi then it is me for the song and she made her place and the later was an automatic choice for the Quabwali the Ghazals and the Thumri’s . Slowly but surely with the release of the film Mughal-E-Azam , Latadi made her place in the spheres of Quabwali the Ghazals and the Thumri’s  but because of the presence of these trio Asha Tai was pushed back far too corner to have any place. All the songs that were from the B-Grade and the C-grade films were the one’s which made her to survive in the UNCOMPROMISING arena of the Film industry but she and Kishoreda very surely made a TERRIFIC DUO when it came to singing in those B-Grade films The B-Grade and the C-grade films generally did not make any impact in the box office and hence the payment for these two singers always was a PEANUT as compared to Latadi Mohammed rafi and Geeta Dutt to be precise

Race against the time, Asha tai simply moved around to get an opportunity for singing

In that era and in that time seeing and looking into the affairs of the younger sister being grinded to dust to get the songs for singing the entire film industry would buzz- with the elder one so accomplished can’t she get the songs for the younger to make it easy for her .This buzz went aound for many a days and for some years before Latadi came out with an answer. It was- I had to run from pillar to post from 1945 to 1958 for 13 years before I made my ground. That was the run I had to do. If I get her some songs , she would be given some two or here before she goes to oblivion. Again I would have to ask some to give her some songs and again it would be the same in terms of the end result. The ultimate result would be that she would be LOST for ever. Instead if she runs and walks for miles and makes her room that would be her room for always in this UNCOMPROMISING arena of the film industry . Let her make the room and not a TOMB for herself .s

O P Nayyar meets S D Burman meets Asha tai and makes a TAJ-MAHAL once again in India

Initially the Music Director O P Nayyar did not give too much of a room to both Kishoreda and Asha though he had them singing for a few numbers in Baap Re Baap which was released in 1955 . The duo did extremely well for the songs that they sang in the film and the one to catch everybody’s imagination was the Song- Piya Piya Piya Mora Jiya Pukaray as explained above. But box office failure for too many and too much for them to get any accreditation . The money paid was also very poor .

However it was just a chance that Mr Nayyar got  of meeting S D Burman that made the difference. Speaking to S D Burman about the GLORIOUS success that the film made it in the box-office then, and the impact that the songs of that films had , the credit was the illustrious music and the song that the film had enjoyed. Ofcourse Kishorda had a long role to play for the success of the songs in it but Mr S D Burman spoke highly about Asha Tai and the THROW that she could produce in that song Chhod Doh Yeh Aanchal Zamana Kya Kahega particularly with that word “ AH ”  This turned the imagination.

Loggerhead of Mr Nayyar and Latadi :: O P Nayyar creates ASHA TAI and a TAJ MAHAL once again

Infact the destiny had to script it’s own tale.  There was a song which Mr O P Nayyar wanted to do with Latadi and the date was fixed. It was late in the afternoon that  Latadi had to report for the song and it’s recording. However that very day she caught a choked voice and fell sick and she could not report the matter to Mr Nayyar .In those days the telephone facilities were FAR & FEW and it was a LUXURY and not a necessity. Today we have the cell-phones but those days were different with a different class of the people who would own a telephone or a refrigerator. Those were considered to be a HIGH CLASS PEOPLE with a class . Latadi could NOT convey the message to Mr O P Nayyar and THAT WAS THAT . Mr O P Nayyar took a decision- NEVER WITH LATADI NEVER AGAIN.

This opened an avenue for Mr Nayyar to look in for a inger who would be available for EVERYTIME and for MOST OF THE TIME for his songs.Other thing was Mr Nayyar NEVER believed in paying a HEFTY amount to any singer. During those days the amount that Latadi was charging was Rs 20 per song and Rs 80 to 100=00 per set of the songs for the films if there were four to six songs that she had to sing in the entire films. If it was FOUR song that she would sing in the entire film the charge would be about Rs 80=00 in toto but if it was SIX then it would be Rs 100=00 and more than it but less than EIGHT then it would be Rs 125=00 That was her charge

Mr Nayyar was the ONE who would pay Rs 20=00 as the maximum and that too to Kishoreda for a song.If it was Mohammed Rafi the rate would be Rs 50=00 for a song . That was it He was finding these payments very excessive to pay and hence he was looking out for some substitution and he got Assha Tai as the FIRST and one. Kishoreda was always fixed for the rate ofd Rs 20=00 per song by Mr Nayyar.

It was Howrah Bridge and it’s song that brought Asha tai to the fore. The picture was released in 1958 and it was a hit . The song that made it hit were the one’s AAYEYE MEHERBAAN, BAITHIYE JAAN-E-JAAN, SHAUKH SE LIJIYE BHI, ISHQ KA IMTIHAAN  and the other one was “ YEH KYA KAR DAALA TOONAY, DIL TERA HOH GAYA ”

Taj Mahal : Asharfee of1,00,000=00 given but hands were chopped off, was “ Howrah Bridge the same

There was a HUGE BIG article in the Times of India then. It compared the Taj Mahal constructed by Shah Jehan to the film that was named as Howrah Bridge

The reason was the Taj was built for Rs 32 million rupees during that era and it was completed in 1653. In this present era it would be around Rs 75.8 billion of Rupees. However the Taj has a black history Those who put their hand to complete that edifice were paid ASHARFI worth Rs 1,00,000=00 and their pairs of the hands were chopped off by Shah Jahan .The reason was THERE SHOULD BE NO HANDS AND NO BRAINS AT ALL TO CONSTRUCT ANYTHING BETTER THA THIS AT THE WORLD. The same happened with the film “ HOWRAH BRIDGE ” This was the FIRST film in the annals of the Indian film industry during that period that the film ran for over 50 weeks on a run during that time in a cinema hall  at Bombay and at Calcutta then. The name itslf symbolized a famous bridge that stands at Howrah and it stands even now. Flocks and locks went to the two cities to witness the film and it brought in over a booty of Rs 2 Lakhs as an overall collection during those days This was phenomenal looking into the affair that during those days the balcony were priced at Rs 2=00 , the Reserve calss as Rs 1=75 , the First class as Rs 1=25 and the second class as Rs 1=00 with the tird class priced as and at 0=55 paise during that era . With this pricing of the ticket the box collection was over Rs 2.00Lakhs but  DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WERE THE SINGER BY THE NAME OF ASHA TAI WAS PAID AND THE HEROINE MADHUBALA ?

Well here is it for you- ASHA TAI WAS PAID RUPEES TWO BY Mr O P NAYYAR FOR THE SONG THAT SHE SANG FOR THE ENTIRE FILM AND THE HEROINE MADHUBALA RECEIVED RUPEE ONE ONLY FOR HER EFFORT. The villain K N Singh was paid Rs 175=00 for his effort and ofcourse Dada Muni ie Ashok Kumar was paid Rs 750=00 which also included a bonus for Rs 250=00 for the film to run into the jubilee That was the payment that asha tai and Madhubalaji received for their effort

The Times Of India comparing this to the Taj Mahal created by Shah Jahan came up with an article CRYING THAT- TAJ MAHAL CREATED AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF INDIA.That was the HEADLINE for the success of that film during that era. It had a SLUG-  MADHU BALA AND ASHA BHOSLE THE LABOUR NEW TAJ MAHAL, HANDS AND THROAT SLITTED AGAIN .It compared to the beauty of the edifice Taj that the film  it received as a success but the TWO who made it RUN so far got nothing and compared their effort to the hands-chopping activity that the Music Director and the Director of the film did to these two and their effort and  the act to Shah Jahan was similised in terms of comparism

In other words Mr O P Nayyar created another TAJ-MAHAL by his music and it’s composition in Asha Bhosle and this FILM went on to the extent of the newspapers at Soviet Union, America and some other part of the European continent saying that MADHUBALA was the BEST EVER NATURAL FACE and the BEST EVER NATURAL HEROINE that the WORLD ever has produced  Look into the U Tube that I have pasted it here and look into the acts of Madhubala . You would understand what NATURALISM and BEAUTY is all about . Mind you- this was a BLACK and a WHITE movie and see the BEAUTY that is oozing out of Madhubala .That conveys many a thing.

No End To The Struggle : Asha Tai relaton with Latadi severes

There was no end to the struggle for Asha tai. Her struggle continued. She was dubbed and classed as singer who was fit enough to sing in the B-Grade and the C-grade films and those item-numbers. The song RAAT AKELI HAI, BUJH GAYE DIYE from Jewel Theif or AAGEY BHI JAANAY NO TU, PCHHEY BHI JAANEY NA TU  from the film WAQT in between would give her some solace but NOT the money In between her relationship with her Didi severed

There was a film “ INTEQUAM “ which has Sadhana and sanjay in the lead role .That film had a song- AA JAANAY JJAN, AA MERA, YEH HUSNA JAWAN, JAWAN, JAWAN, TERAY LIYE WHO AAS LAGAYI.It was a PURE cabaret song.This was the only and these kind of the songs were the only one which gave her ie, Asha Tai some place, some recognition ad some booty to keep her alive. No sooner that one from Intequaam became a DIAMOND HIT, the market of Asha tai took a nose dive. It was here that she completely stopped talking to her elder sister. Some in the industry made her to believe that the elder sibling could have refused to sing that kind of a song as she was more into playback kind of a singing and not these numbers. The Director of that film actually did not want to add many singers to his film because the theme of the film was such. Too many changes in the voice that would lend the song would change the behaviour and the character of Madam sadhana in the film and to keep it unaltered and constant the Director gave that song to Latadi to sing and she CREATED another TAJ-MAHAL with that song .That was enough to send Asha tai to a zone of FRENZY and MARKETLESS with nothing at her disposal to sell

Bits-and-pieces were too come but that made no difference to her fortunes.Ofcourse there was S D Burman and there was Mohammed rafi who had decided NOT to sing with Latadi and so Asha tai was getting some place for her to fight for her right in the world of Indian music but that decent packet was not there for her to make her very comfortable with life.

On-and-off it went for some more years that there was a FILM  ‘’ DO-RAHA ” which came into the scene .It had a song- TUM HI REHNUMA HOH, MERAY ZINDAGI KAY….. It had to be filmed on Anil Dhawan and Radha Saluja, a actress who was from Jammu and Kashmir during that period. The Music composer were Sapan Chakravorthy who was a far relative of Mr Pramod Chakravorthy and Jagmohan Singh Many would NOT know that these two music composres gave many an original and HEART-RENDERIMG music to many a songs the class of an example were the songs from the Film Zameer and the songs were- TUM BHI CHALO, HUM BHI CHALAY, CHALTI RAHEIN ZINDAGI and PHOOLON KAY DERAY HAIN, SAYEIN GHANERIEN HAIN, JHOOM RAHI HAI HAWAEIN….  One an listen to these songs of the film Zameer especially the second one  PHOOLON KAY DERAY HAIN, SAYEIN GHANERIEN HAIN, JHOOM RAHI HAI HAWAEIN  where Amitabh Bachchan in the second one creates a WAVE with the guitar in the YOU-TUBE/U TUBE  One would know the CLASS of Sapan-Jagmohan  Unfortunately they went into oblivion and were lost into the dust of the film industry So genuine had been the music composed by them for a little film that they got to do as a composer and this one from DO-RAHA made Asha Bhosle to at last cement and concrete a place once again after that release of the film INTEQUAAM . The success of the song especially that one TUM HI REHNUMAA HOH got her the BEST CRITICS AWARD as a singer and NONE other than the DUO of Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand chose it for her.

The demise of Geeta Dutt in and on July 19^th 1972 or maybe July 18^th 1972 gave that vacant place to her but her salary was that rose up to some amount which could have made her feel that she had arrived. From being paid Rs two in the fifties per song to this stage where she started getting paid about Rs 250=00 to Rs 350=00 per set of songs in the films must have given her a GREAT sigh of relief. She was finding herself a bit assured for everything but that place again where she could feel that she was given her rightful due yet did not arrive in a better manner

It was a FILM  MERAY JIVAN SAATHI where there was a SONG – AEY, AAO NAA, GALAY LAGAO NAA, LAGGEE BUJHANO NAA, O JANAY JAA  which Panchamda wanted to picturise on rajesh Khanna and Helen. He wanted latadi to lend the voice.Looking into that number of Latadi at the film Intequaam for the song Aa Jaanay Jaa  on Helen Panchamda wanted Latadi to again lend her voice to Helen to create one mote Taj Mahal . The news came to asha tai. She rushed to panchamda and started saying- YOU HAVE TOTALLY FORGOTTEN ME. DADA BURMAN WAS THE ONE WHO MADE ME AND YOU ARE DETROYING ME YOU CANNOT  DO THIS INJUSTICE TO ME. I WILL SING THAT SONG

Panchamda was very sceptical He just told Ashadi- Listen that song is on Madam Helen and I want to create that kind of a MAGIC for the song and Helen. Kaka sahib ( Rajesh Khanna ) is acting blind on the sequence and the music has been created by me in a manner that it suits Helen, Kaka babu, and the voice of latadi. I cannot compromise. There was another reason as well There was a film released in 1973 The name of the film was  “ SAMADHI ’’ It has a song-  “ BANGLAY KAY PEECHHEY, BERI KAY NEECHHEY, AA AHA PIYA HHAH REH PIYA , KKANTAA LAGAA ’’  The ‘’ USP’’  of that song was-  THAT WAS THE FIRST SONG IN THE ENTIRE ANNALS OF THE INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY THAT LATADI SANG IT IN ONE DEEP BREATHE  She DID NOT take the another one.

This was explained to Asha tai by panchamda and he made it very clear-  I WILL NOT ALLOW LATADI TO TAKE EVEN A SECOND BREATHER WHEN I REHEARSE AND  RECORD THE SONG .Asha tai took it as a CHALLENGE and said she would also do that. By the meantime Kishoreda had finished his recording for the song- CHALA JAATA HOON KISI KAY DHUN MAI and he came out of the recoding  court

Kishoreda would always SPEAK his HEART and his EVERYTHING to Asha tai. He heard the conversation between Panchamda and Asha tai getting into a kind of an argument. He intervened and asked Panchamda- KEE RAY KI HOLO which means HELLO, WHAT HAS HAPPENED  Panchamda explained everything. Kishoreda saw Asha tai. Her eyes were soft but she was holding that. Looking into that Kishoreda turned back to Panchamda and said- SHOUN, DIYE DE, AAMEE BOLCHEE , O DIAMOND JUBILEE KORAY DEBE.  DEKBHI GAANTAA KI OSHADHORON GAIBEY. ASHA TOH, AAMEE OR JAAT CHINI which means Listen, Give it to her, she will covert that song into a DIAMOND JUBILEE She will sing it in an UNBELIVEABLE way. She is Asha is it not. I KNOW her CLASS

That song was given to Asha tai . ONE deep BREATHE , NO SECOND BREATHE TAKEN, NO  REHAERSE and NOTHING of that sort that happened. The song was recorded and that is a HISTORY .When Latadi heard it she rushed to her younger sister and said- CHHAN ATA CHHAN  which means EXCELLENT AND SUPREMELY EXCELLENT in Marathi. and her eye became soft Ashatai could not stop herself. She ran to her elder sister HELD her tight by embracing her and started sobbing and later crying hard. That was the that the elder sister was waiting for.She ran her palm over her head and said- TUJHAA ANNANT GAANA ANI FILM MILNAAR.  It means you would from now get many songs and many films to sing in Marathi.The elder sister knew that the younger one was on her leg from that day Infact it was Kishoreda who took the leverage of all the risk that could have happened and made a space for Asha Tai to get what she was NOT getting it al all. Panchamda gave it on the request of Kishoreda and a HISTORY was created.

It was here and from this song in 1974 that asha Tai started to demand the PRICE from the INDUSTRY for her songs HOWEVER THAT SONG ‘’  TUM HI REHNUMA HOH MERAY ZINDAGI KAY ‘’  turned her singing career for ever and that one from Howrah Bridge made the WORLD of MUSIC and the Indian Film industry connected with the music to really believe that ASHA TAI WAS A UNCUT DIAMOND THAT WAS IN THE MINES OF INDIA WHICH EXPLORED MUSICS AND SONG

Mr O P Nayyar was the ONE who used this DIAMOND to give it a CUTTING EDGE and  it started with those two songs from the FILM ‘’ HOWRAH BRIDGE ’’ actually it was Mr Sapan Chakraborthy and          Mr Jagmohan Singh ie the duo of SAPAN-JAGMOHAN  who converted her into a TAJ-MAHAL on the basis of the song- TUM HI REHNUMA HOH, MERAY ZINDAGI KAY the Taj  that was built and created by the world of MUSIC of Indian film industry

For the convenience of the one’s who would like to connect themselves to the history- I’m putting the clippings of the two songs that holds importance of Asha tai and to the late Mrs Madhubala Kishore Kumar to see and feel what they were alike and to what an extent they had to  struggle and sacrifice inspite of possessing such a HUGE wealth of talent which was so NATURAL .

Just watch that song Yeh Kya Dala Toonay filmed and screend on Madhubala in terms of every act, every mood, every thing that she does in the song to simply GUAGE what a TREMENDOUS acting ability that she possessed and  coupled with NATURAL, VERY VERY SIMPLE, YET ATTRACTIVE  acting sense, with SUCH A GRACEFUL MOVEMENT and ACT  

The remaining songs that I have mentioned here for Asha tai  could be seen on the U-Tube

That is it

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Regards

Shyamal Bhattacharjee