Veteran singer Asha Bhosle has been declared the greatest Bollywood playback artist of all time by the UK-based Eastern Eye newspaper.
The 81-year-old singer beat her older sister Lata Mangeshkar for the top spot on the list that takes into account factors including number of songs, honours, international impact, versatility, fan base and popularity amongst fellow music industry professionals.
The singer was surprised by the news.
“I thought being called the greatest was the prerogative of boxer Muhammad Ali. I thank Eastern Eye and everyone for tolerating me all these years,” Bhosle said.
Whilst Mangeshkar came second in the list of talented singers, Mohammad Rafi came third and Kishore Kumar was fourth. Other names who featured in the top 20 included Mukesh (5), current Bollywood music queen Shreya Ghoshal (7), Geeta Dutt (10), Sonu Nigam (14), Kumar Sanu (17) and Kavita Krishnamurthy (19).
Eastern Eye entertainment editor Asjad Nazir, who compiled the list, said, “Asha was a deserved choice to top the list. Apart from being the most prolific singer the world has ever known, Asha’s versatility has given her the widest body of work.
“An incredible career stretching across eight decades has seen the record-breaking singer take Bollywood music across new frontiers and with Brimful Of Asha [by British band Cornershop] had a globally successful chart-topping song dedicated to her.”
