Showing posts with label Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Show all posts
We were hoping Asha Bhosle would live another eight years and reach a hundred-A R Rahman
2:14 PM
In a conversation around Asha Forever, his tribute to Asha Bhosle, A R Rahman reflects on grief, legacy, and why India must celebrate its artistes while they are still alive
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; June 22, 2026)
When Lata Mangeshkar passed away, A R Rahman was devastated. Her death also brought another thought into focus: one of India’s last living legends, Asha Bhosle, was ageing and, too often, the country waits until its icons are gone before celebrating them. Here was an artiste whose career stretched across eight decades, who had sung Indian classical, semi-classical and pop, who had helped define every era of modern Indian film music, and who, even in her ’90s, was singing.
That realisation led to Asha Forever, a collaboration between Rahman and Bhosle – a tribute to her life, work and legacy. The project brought together Rahman, students from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, and Asha Bhosle, who listened to the young musicians over video calls.
“Everything happened beautifully,” Rahman recalls. But the song’s journey took an unexpected turn. It was delayed by logistical hurdles and pending approvals. Rahman assumed there would be time.
Rahman says, “We were hoping she would live another eight years and reach a hundred.” Asha Bhosle passed away before the song could be completed. “I was pretty shaken. I was constantly following her health. Last year she had a serious issue, but she survived. She became okay. She was walking. She was joking. I thought she had a few more years,” recalls Rahman.
Unable to immediately return to the project, he put it aside. Months later, on World Music Day on June 21, Rahman chose to release the first glimpse of Asha Forever.
‘I DECIDED TO MAKE A SONG WITH HER TO CELEBRATE HER LEGACY’
For Rahman, the song is also an attempt to change the way India remembers its artists. Rahman shares, “Asha ji – we all know what a legend she is. But in India, we celebrate people only after they’re gone, not when they’re alive. In the West, you see great artistes being celebrated. Everybody comes together and shows appreciation. Here, we give someone a lifetime achievement award and move on. So I thought, why don’t we do something more? She was alive last year and still singing beautifully. I decided to make a song with her to celebrate her legacy and everything she had achieved in life.”
He adds, “We recorded the song last year. Even though she wasn’t keeping well, she came to the studio. We shot the video too. Everything was in place, but unfortunately it got delayed. We were hoping she would live another eight years and reach a hundred. Sadly, that didn’t happen.”
‘I’M A HUGE FAN OF BOTH SISTERS – LATA JI AND ASHA JI’
When asked what he thinks the legacy of someone as legendary as Asha Bhosle, Rahman says, “The proof of the pudding is when people come on stage and sing, or when they give interviews and talk. All of that is artistry, not just hearing somebody on a music streaming app. Then people know who’s the real deal, and who’s been produced, or made into an artiste. In this case, I’m a huge fan of both the sisters – Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle – and, in fact, all three, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, too. Through this song, we are not only celebrating Asha ji, but the entire family. We adore people like them – who are relentless, who form a very strong foundation. They’re embedded in the veins of India, in the motion. Both sisters have such strong personalities that they don’t overlap. They were not in competition with each other, and that’s fantastic.”
Grief has to be beautified in music: Rahman
Can music help cope with grief? For Rahman, “Grief is part of the true self.” He explains, “If somebody has empathy, they have love. And if they have love, they have empathy. Music is all about that. Every chord, every melodic counterpoint – if it doesn’t affect you, if it doesn’t stir a feeling within you, it’s not music at all. I come from both the old school and the new school, so for me, all of that becomes notes — notes through which to express something.”
“And grief is not...” he pauses. “Grief has to be beautified in music. It has to be coloured in a way that people can experience that grief and still find beauty in it. You know, like ghazals are. It’s beautiful.”
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‘An artiste’s true legacy is not just the songs’
There is often much discussion about an artiste’s legacy after they pass away. For Rahman, that legacy is far beyond the songs. “For me, it’s not just the songs. It’s the way they’ve handled life, the way they’ve navigated musical complexities, the way they’ve remained relentless in pursuing excellence.”
Discussing Asha Bhosle’s attention to detail and her commitment to excellence, Rahman says that even when she was unwell last year, she never compromised.
“Even then, she would say, ‘Use the right voice, okay? Use the right takes.’ She was very, very particular about it. She’d say, ‘I know you’ll do it, but I still have to tell you.’ She cared deeply about how she sounded. All of that is part of the legacy. The whole 360 degrees of who they are.”
Today’s Bollywood music is the demand of the changing times-Khayyam
8:41 AM
In an exclusive interview with BT, veteran composer Khayyam talks about the changing sound of Hindi film music, and why A R Rahman is his favourite composer
Soumya Vajpayee (BOMBAY TIMES; October 26, 2018)
“By the grace of God, I’ve had a great journey in Bollywood. There were many hardships on the way, but God and my love for music kept me going. I fulfilled my responsibilities to the best of my ability,” says National Award-winning music director Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, better known as Khayyam.The man behind classics like Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein Khayal Aata Hai (Kabhi Kabhi, 1972) and Dil Cheez Kya Hai (Umrao Jaan, 1981), Khayyam embraces the changing sound of Hindi film music, rather than criticising it like many of his contemporaries. “I feel change is the only constant, and you should know how to go with the flow. The kind of music that’s made for a film completely depends on the subject of a project. My seniors, colleagues and I were privileged to get amazing subjects to work on, because the music, poetry and melodies were all dependent of the stories. The music you make depends on the demands of the filmmakers. So whatever is happening is the demand of the changing times,” says the veteran, whose favourite new-age music maker is Academy Award-winning composer, A R Rahman. “He does some amazing work. His song, Dil Hai Chota Sa, Choti Si Asha (Roja, 1992) is incredible, and among my favourites. I listen to it over and over again.”
Though the composer is 91, he’s still so passionate about music that he doesn’t mind stepping inside a recording studio. “Music is my only love. Though I’m not working on anything at the moment, if something interesting comes my way, I’ll definitely take it up,” says Khayyam, who is being conferred with the Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement today.
“The Mangeshkar family is laden with the best gems from the world of music. Ishwar ne khaas taur par sangeet ki saari shaktiyan Mangeshkar pariwar ko de di hain. It’s a matter of pride for me to be honoured by the family,” says the composer.
Asha Bhosle takes it personally when a particular dish had not turned out as well as the last time-Baiju Mangeshkar
7:55 AM
Baiju with his aunts, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 6, 2018)
On September 8, Asha Bhosle turns 85, but for her nephew, Baiju Mangeshkar, she’s an evergreen 16 — the epitome of inexhaustible energy and a sparkling effervescence who has been inspiring him since his childhood. When he was a boy of four-five, Baiju remembered his Asha aunty as a tornado, sweeping in and out of the house. She was so busy with recordings that they hardly saw her even though she lived next door. But as he grew older, he became attached to her cousins, Varsha and Anand in particular, with whom he would chat till late into the night. That’s when he realised that she was a versatile singer par excellence... And also a gourmet master chef who, like her sisters, could not only whip up delicious Maharashtrian meals, but also specialised in pan-Indian cuisine, from Bengali to Awadhi.
“She can take censure about her singing in her stride, but a grouse that a particular dish had not turned out as well as the last time, she takes personally,” informs Baiju, rhapsodising over her chingri malai curry, sheikh kebab, mustard gosht and Awadhi biryani which she learnt from her Umrao Jaan director, Muzaffar Ali. “She has an anecdote for every dish and will rattle off the recipe the minute you compliment her on it. And no matter how exhausted she is, at the end of the day, she will still head to the kitchen and whip up a gargantuan spread in the shortest possible time,” he marvels.
Baiju also vouches for his Asha aunty sari-draping skills. She can do it in under a minute, he says, having seen it happen one night in a London hotel when they were woken up from sleep by the fire alarm at 2.30 am.
“We straggled out, rubbing our sleepy eyes, in our night clothes, to find Asha aunty who must have been 70-plus at the time, already out on the street. And what’s more, she had stolen a minute despite all the chaos around, to change into a sari as it wouldn’t be appropriate to step out in a nightdress,” he smiles at the memory.
Baiju has never seen his aunt lazing around the apartment, not even on a holiday. And no matter how long the day, she is ready to take off on a shopping spree without a second thought. “She only sits down when she is reading or watching a movie,” he informs.
Asha Bhosle is an avid movie buff, and surprising, while she has her Hindi film favourites, her choice usually veers towards Hollywood classics. Top of her list is William Wyler’s 1961 drama, The Children’s Hour (released as The Loudest Whisper in UK), featuring Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine and James Garner. Also in the same list is another comedy from the same year, Frank Capra’s Pocketful Of Miracles, with Bette Davis and Peter Falk.
“I am equally passionate about Hollywood cinema and recently recommended the Academy Award-winning La La Land to her. We went to see it together and on the way home, she thanked me,” smiles Baiju, pointing out that if she had had an English-medium education, he can easily see his Asha aunty singing English songs, like R&B.
Baiju, the son of music maestro Hridaynath Mangeshkar, is a singer and composer himself and confides that his veteran singer aunt has always “pushed” him to sing, even gently admonished him sometimes, after she secretly heard him sing when he was young.
For Baiju, his Asha aunty can sing anything, from “Kambakht Ishq” at 60-plus to Rabindra Sangeet and Natya Sangeet. “It’s incredible that the woman who sang 'Aaja Aaja' with so much oomph could also effortlessly pull off the classical-based 'Nandalala' for my father. She also sang the complex Ravindra Jain composition, 'Saathi Re Bhool Na Jaana' from Kotwal Saab, in one take after just one rehearsal directly on the mic, something that would have taken other singers at least 10 days to perfect. While a challenge would shake up many of us, with Lata aunty and Asha aunty it only stokes the fire in their belly,” he marvels, admitting that it’s his dream to sing a duet with her some day or maybe compose something special for her, like his father has so many times in the past.
Till then, they share something special, he whispers, which sets them apart from their illustrious family. “Her father and my grandfather, Deenanath Mangeshkar, had dimples and we are the only two after him to have them too,” Baiju reveals with a flash of his dimples. One can almost hear his Asha aunty laugh too.
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