Asha Bhosle: the voice of Bollywood

The Guardian's Rob Fitpatrick has a long, loving profile of the amazing Asha Bhosle, Bollywood's most famous singer, who has been making film soundtracks since she was 11 years old. Bhosle was immortalized in the west through Cornershop's hit Brimfull of Asha, but as catchy as that tune is, it's nothing compared to her own work (try Bolo Bolo Kuchh To Bolo for starters, as it never fails to get my blood moving). In the profile, Bhosle comes through as charming and likable as her music:

"My son Anand first heard [Brimful of Asha] in San Francisco and told me all about it," she says, via a friend and translator, from Australia where she is appearing in concert. "I was at the immigration counter at Heathrow Airport once and the young officer read the profession listed in my passport as 'singer'. He was intrigued, so I told him I was the Asha from Brimful of Asha, and he was so excited he left his post and called his friends over to meet me. So I guess, at the very least, that song helped me clear UK immigration faster than usual."

When Bhosle thinks back to the start of her career she remembers dusty movie sets, people running around, lights and cameras. "And there was little me," she says, "falling asleep and being woken up to sing my part. I think of that time fondly – it was pre-independence India. Only my sister Lata [Mangeshkar, a hugely popular singer in her own right], Manna Dey [the 91-year old Bengali singer] and I are left from those who began their careers in what was British India."

Asha Bhosle: The voice of Bollywood

(Image:Asha_Bhosle_-_still_47160_crop, www.bollywoodhungama.com/Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY)