Playback singers learned to adapt their voices to suit the many and varied screen characters for whom they had to sing. Females might be called to sing for young boys, young girls or old women.
Additionally, playback singers had to be proficient in a variety of song types employed by the film music directors to suit the needs of the film, the film song situation and the screen characters. Song types varied from the devotional bhajan to the latest Western pop style, from the romantic love duo to the heroic marital chorus.
Playback singers had to be proficient in all. Some formed relationships with specific screen actors or actresses and would sing playback for many if not all of their film songs. Such continuity allowed for a more personal connection between playback singer and actor to evolve, thus allowing the singer to refine his singing to more closely mirror the actor’s emotions.
ANURADHA SHRIRAM. this lady is most remembered for her haunting rendition of Ishq Bina [Taal]. Anuradha does justice to this song with her subtle yet expressive vocals. a. r. rahman stratigically choose shriram for this song. she mostly sings pop style songs and it was so refreshing to hear her in ishq bina. the song almost brought me to tears. anuradha’s singing style is very distinctive and she sings with such energy. this lady will and should go a long way. other hits include chunnari chunnari [biwi no. 1].
ALKA YAGNIK. she reminds me of ashaji in her youthful days. not as powerfully vocal as asha but she is close. this lady is heard in almost every film. some music directors tend to over use her in films making her vocals sound like a drag. a perfect example of this would be jatin-lalit in KKHH. alka sang in every song! but seriously this lady has some major talent and I would like to see her really experiment with her vocals. some of her most memorable songs include, mitwa [lagaan], taal se taal mila [taal] and chamma chamma [china gate].
FALGUNI PATHAK. perhaps the best when it comes to pop music. fulguni brings with her voice a sense of’masti’. she sounds very youthful and is not heard often in films. she mostly sings for private albums but all in all she sounds great. the only complain I have about her is that she needs to sing MORE especially for films. most notable filmi song yaad piya ki anne lage [PKKN].
KAVITA SUBRAMANIUM. formerly known as kavita krishnamurthy. wow where do I begin? I have two words for you: MAAR DALA! the only thing that comes out of this lady’s mouth is’jadoo’. talk about style she has one of her own. i’ve never heard a voice that even comes close to her style. she does not sing as high as the rest of singers but her range is very powerful. she even gave new-comer shreya ghosal a run for her money in dola re [devdas]. I love this woman. her vocals always fit the actress and the occasion. she should be in more demand in bollywood and for some strange reason she’s not. other hits include nimbooda [HDDCS], kay sera sera [pukar] and maiyya yashoda [HSSH].
ASHA BHOSLE. this should be no surprise to anymore. Asha Bhosle has stolen the hearts of millions of music lovers for more than five decades. Hers is a voice that hasn’t aged with time, a voice that has endured over the years, singing for actresses ranging from Nutan, Asha Parekh and Rekha to Urmila Matondkar, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. What goes up must come down. That is the rule of nature. And when Newton discovered the law of gravity, perhaps, he forgot to talk about the exception. Or how could you explain the rise and rise of Asha Bhosle.
The phenomenon is growing by leaps and bounds every day. Yes! One cannot say anything but that she is not governed by the laws of nature. Playful love songs or lusty cabaret numbers, soulful ghazals or funky pop, Bhosle’s trod everywhere, with aplomb. From the early rock’n’ roll Eena meena deeka, to the seductive Burman number Piya tu ab to aaja in Caravan, to the unforgettable ghazals of Umrao Jaan. And at 65-plus, a voice to match oomph for oomph Urmila Matondkar’s gyrations in the sexy Hoja Rangeela Re and Kambakt Ishq. By any count, a hectic vocal pace.
A different Asha for every decade, every heroine and vamp or stars on the ramp. In a world so much in awe of elder sister Lata Mangeshkar, she had to work that much harder. Lata Mangeshkar now says with pride:’Asha’s rebellious nature and never-say-die attitude drives her ever young and versatile voice to scale new heights even now. She has earned all her achievements with a lot of hard work.’ Time has not touched her voice, she can please pop lovers with rap and remix. At the same time, she has the ability to match the tunes of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. This prima donna of popular music at 69, obviously has no plans to call it a day.’Music is like my breathing. The day it stops, my breath will stop too. There is so much to do and I’m afraid there is very little time left. I hope I can continue singing in my next birth.’
Filmfare Award
Ashaji was the only singer who was able to compete with Lata Mangeshkar, she won the filmfare award consecutively in 1967 & 1968 when Lata still used to accept the Filmfare Award. After 1969, with Lata giving up the Filmfare award the coast was clear for Asha Bhosle and she went on to win the award 7 times which is the maximum any female singer ever won.She gave up the award after 1977. Though Kishore Kumar won the maximum number of filmfare awards, it was because unlike the Mangeshkar sisters he never refused the award. So if we compare till 1977 Asha had won the maximum number of filmfare awards( Male & Female).
1967 - Garibon Ki Suno [DUS LAKH]
1968 - Parde Mein Rehne Do [SHIKHAR]
1971 - Piya Tu Ab To Aaja [CARAVAN]
1972 - Dum Maro Dum [HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA]
1973 - Hone Lagi Hain Raat [NAINA]
1974 - Chain Se Humko [PRAN JAYE PAR VACHAN NA JAYE]
1977 - Yeh Mera Dil [DON]
1996: Filmfare Special Award( Rangeela Re - RANGEELA)
2001: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
National Award
1981 - Dil Cheez Kya Hain [UMRAO JAAN]
1986 - Mera Kuch Samaan [IJAZAT]
Other Awards
1987: Nightingale Of Asia
1989: Lata Mangeshkar Award(Madhya Pradesh Govt.)
1997: Screen Videocon Award( Jaanam Samjha Karo)
1997: MTV Award( Jaanam Samjha Karo)
1997: Channel V Award( Jaanam Samjha Karo)
1997: Grammy Award Nomination(Legacy with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan)
1999: Lata Mangeshar Award(Maharashtra Govt.)
2000: Singer Of the Millennium( Dubai)
2000: Kolhapuri Bhushan Award
2000: Sangli Bhushan Award
2000: Omega Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award
2000: Zee Gold Bollywood Award(Mujhe Rang De - Thakshak)
2001: MTV Award( Kambakt Ishq)
2001: Dada Saheb Phalke Award
2001: Dayawati Modi Award
2002: Zee Cine Award(Radha Kaise Na - Lagaan)
2002: Zee Cine - Hall Of Fame Award
2002: Screen Videocon Award(Radha Kaise Na - Lagaan)
2002: Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar
2002: Sansui Movie Award(Radha Kaise Na - Lagaan)
2002: Rajshree Shahu Purskar
Honorary Doctrates from the University Of Amravati & Jalgaon in Literature.
Ashaji has also recieved the Freddy Mercury Award.
Ashaji has recieved 14 Maharashtra State Awards & the Sur Singar Award.
Ashaji is also the first Indian Singer to be nominated for the Grammy Award.
Asha Bhosle Award
In recognition of Asha’s extraordinary talent and her services to the field of music, the Asha Bhosle Award has been instituted in 2002. The first recipient of the award is none other than Lata Mangeshkar
http://www.asha-bhosle.tripod.com
- LATA MANGESHKAR and NOOR JEHAN are both greats and although I did not mention them on my list they are not forgotten. T