Dubai: You know you are in the presence of a legend when you get gooseflesh with the first note she sings.
At 80, Asha Bhosle can give the most talented young singer a run for their money, as she proved on Friday night at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Speaking to an almost full Shaikh Rashid Hall, Bhosle said the reason she’s still able to perform is because of the love her fans bestow on her and said her show would be very different from the typical music and dance show.
“Main aapke dil mein samayi hoon kyonki aapne mujhe apni palkon mein bhithaya hai [I feel I’ve entered your hearts because you keep on your eyelashes],” the National-Award-winning singer said. “Tonight we don’t have back-up singers or dancers for your entertainment but what you’ll witness is pure fun.”
And it was, gauging by the audience response as Bhosle took them through a musical journey from a challenged childhood to being with legends such as Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Majrooh Sultanpuri and the Burmans (fatherand son Sachin Dev and Rahul Dev), to being a sister, mother and wife, ably prompted by Farooque Shaikh, the evening’s host.
“My father died when I was very young and we were not affluent though he had a successful natak mandli [dance troupe]. And he always told my mother and us five siblings — two of them were barely two and four when he passed away — that I may not be leaving you with a big house or lots of money, but what I am leaving you with will make the whole world remember you to eternity,” said Bhosle, to resounding applause.
Bhosle then sang a classical hymn that her father had taught at the age of four, before launching into many of her hit numbers that had the audience dancing in their seats.
In an interview with tabloid!, Bhosle had spoken of bringing expression into the song. I had expected it to be just a play of notes, but watching her sing racy numbers such as C. Ramachandran’s Eena Meena Deeka (Aasha, 1957), O.P. Nayyar’s Kajra Mohabbat Wala (Kismat, 1968) and Madan Mohan’s Jhumka Gira Re Bareilly Ke Bazaar Mein (Mera Saya, 1966) one could witness the happiness she felt on her face.
“As a singer one has to understand the situation for which the song has been created. You need to understand what the heroine has to express on screen and that same emotion and expression should be in your voice so it shows on the actor’s face also”.
The same she applied for her National-Award-winning ghazal Dil Cheez Kya Hai from Muzzaffar Ali’s 1981 blockbuster Umrao Jaan, starring Rekha and Shaikh.
“When Khayyam [the music director] gave me the song, I visualized a very beautiful Rekha and I stepped into the character ‘Rekha’. And what she portrayed on screen is not hidden from anyone”.
Rekha, who won the National Award for the said performance, obliged Bhosle by dancing on stage to the song.
Dressed in a red and gold kanjivaram sari, she joined Bhosle and Shaikh for the last hour of the three-hour show. Though the actress looked glamorous and made the octogenarian singer dance to her own songs, the atmosphere that Shaikh had carefully created was altered.
Rekha, who said it was a lifelong dream come true to dance on stage when Bhosle performed, requested Bhosle to sing numbers she had already sung in the early part of the show. Yet, the audience seemed to enjoy it.
Bhosle however excelled, leaving behind all contemporary and following singers, with her rendition of R.D. Burman’s Dum Maaro Dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna, 1971) and Piya Tu Ab To Aaja (Caravan, 1971) at the end of the show, leaving the audience wanting more — even after three hours.
