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Asha, the evergreen voice

Asha Bhonsle reveals her beloved Pancham Da and a bit of her lucid self too

A PICTURE OF POISE Asha Bhonsle Photo: SHANKER CHAKRAVARTY

How many times has Asha Bhonsle been asked the secret of her ageless strength in the music industry! She's not aging gracefully, she's graceful, period.

In New Delhi to promote her latest album, Asha Reveals Real RD, brought out by Sa Re Ga Ma, she is a picture of poise in a daunting schedule of media interactions.

Does she sometimes feel the labour involved in producing an album - selecting songs, recording, mixing, et al - is nothing compared to the effort that goes into publicising it? She laughs the characteristic dimpled laugh. "Aaj kal aise hi hota hai! But you have to, the times are such."

She certainly epitomises moving with the times, in terms of musical genres, technical developments or media relations. "One who does not move with the times comes to a standstill," she notes.

For this album she has taken up songs of R.D. Burman, which she feels, have not received the attention they deserved. Asha Reveals... is in more ways than one a step further from her earlier album, the Grammy-nominated You've Stolen My Heart: Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood, on which she collaborated with the Kronos Quartet.

This time she worked with two new arrangers. "Nitin Shankar has done the rhythm section and Yogesh Pradhan has done the instrumental part. The two make a great combination."

In an industry known for opulent orchestras and a penchant for picking up influences from across the world for background scores, it is not often that the arrangers get into the limelight, though they are the ones who, it might be said, wave the magic wand over a tune and make it into a popular sensation. The veteran sits silently for a moment.

"In the old days, everyone used to get fair credit. Today, maybe because there is a lot of computerisation, they don't pay much attention to those who help create the music. Look at the music channels on TV. The credits are not given at all. Maybe the producer thinks the artistes will get big-headed!"

Such debates however will always remain. As for names, who can mistake that voice anyway, over 20,000 film songs strong and still going? A voice with an enviable expression. "Training in classical music helps, because it makes the voice flexible. But to get expression, you have to immerse yourself in the role. Like telling yourself, `I am Helen.' If one is going to feel shy about such things, one might as well sit at home," says the playback singer famous for Bollywood cabaret numbers. Besides film tracks, she takes in her stride a spectrum of genres, whether remix or original, classical or folk, or collaborative ventures with bands from other countries.

In this kaleidoscopic diversity, there is one constant: the sari. "I have been wearing a sari since I was 13. Wherever I went, even in the snow, I have never worn anything else."

It's not as if she was never tempted.

But if ever she thought of trying out a salwar-kameez, she would be overruled. "Oh ma!" she imitates the chorus of protestors, raising her hands to her face.

Pants and shirts

"Even recently I said to my daughter-in-law that I want to get a nice Punjabi suit stitched. She said, `What has come over you!' But actually I don't find saris inconvenient. People say it's not easy to walk fast. That's not true though."

She adds after a pause, "I like girls wearing pants and shirt, if they are slim."

With so much behind her, what musical project remains to crave for?

She muses, "I wanted to sing in English, I have done that...

ANJANA RAJAN

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