Dressed in a saree, with fresh flowers in her hair, and 36 or 48 bangles clinking on her forearms, singer Usha Uthup stands tall, as she talks about her work, which spans over five decades. “I just have one regret though, that I never learned a note of music in school or right through my life,” says the 74-year-old, whose recently released authorised biography, The Queen Of Indian Pop, gives an insight into her life.

“I wish I had learned sight-reading or notation, because that would have helped me in my career. But I didn’t have the opportunity to learn... My music teacher didn’t think I was good for music, so she put me out of the choir class. Years later, I was performing at a hotel in Delhi and my music teacher was in the audience. I dedicated a song, To Sir, With Love, to her; we both cried,” says the singer, who performs in 17 Indian and eight foreign languages. She adds, “It’s not that I’m a good singer or bad singer; I’m a 100% original singer.”

Uthup started singing around 1968, but she’s never really spoken about the difficulties she faced: “I am a very non-controversial person.” But, some of her candid confessions have been documented now, including the time when a “politician tried to ban me from singing”.

The veteran singer recalls, “It was overwhelming that a sadharan person like me would have people ban me. When I think about it, the songs Hari Om Hari (Pyaara Dushman; 1980), Rambha Ho Ho Ho (Armaan; 1981) and Koi Yahan Aha Nache Nache (Disco Dancer; 1982), all of them became really popular. And, the banning came because of these songs. Can you imagine how many songs you would have to ban today if we go by the lyrics? There would be no music left.”