New Delhi: Rich, moist, potent, silky and sublime, just like the delicious Italian dessert Asha Bhosle's exquisite rendition impacts the soul of her listeners in equal measure.
Born on September 8, 1933, Asha Bhosle is all set to embrace the 81st year of her life with open arms.
Asha Bhosle started her career as a playback singer with Chala chala nav bala in the Marathi film Majha Bal (1943) at the tender age of 10 to support her family. But she first tasted success with BR Chopra's Naya Daur (1957), in which she sang Maang ke saath tumhara, Saathi haath badhana and Uden jab jab zulfein teri.
In a career spanning over half a century filled with music and milestones, one of India's most loved singers has battled many a personal crisis but never lost either her magic or her masti.
Apart from Hindi, she has sung in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. In 2006, Asha Bhosle stated that she had sung over 12,000 songs, a figure repeated by several other sources.
The World Records Academy, an international organization which certifies world records, recognised her as the “Most Recorded Artist” in the world, in September 2009.
In 2011 she was officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. The Government of India honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2008.
Have a look at her ten most popular songs…
Raat akeli hain (Jewel Thief)-Tanuja plays the sexy seductress in this song. Dev Anand tries hard to resist her charm and occasionally flashes his infamous mischievous smile.
Asha's sensuous voice along with Tanuja's coquettish moves makes this the sexiest number of the '60s. The song was reused in the recent Ekta Kapoor's Ragini MMS.
Do lavzon ki hain (The Great Gambler) - While Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bachchan enjoyed the Gondola ride in Venice, Asha Bhosle created the perfect romantic ambience with her soothing voice.
We continue swaying to this awesome song even today.
Chura liya (Yadoon Ki Baarat) - The attractive Zeenat Aman happily strums the guitar and grooves to this amazing tune.
A perfect song for serenading and wooing your lover, Asha yet again proved that it's her versatile voice that made her sail through every genre, right from romance to sexy item numbers so effortlessly.
O mere sona re (Teesri Manzil) - The two powerhouse performers, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi got together and presented us with this soulful rendition. In the song Asha Parekh is trying to reconcile with her lover boy Shammi Kapoor.
Dum maro dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna) - Zeenat Aman, in a state of trance crooning Dum maaro dum was a huge hit in the '70s. Asha's magic takes us back to the hippy culture and the vagabond lifestyle that is portrayed in the film.
This song was remixed as Mit jaaye gham in Dum Maaro Dum with a very sexy Deepika Padukone gyrating to it.
Yeh mera dil (Don) - Another sexy cabaret number, Helen and Asha together have always been a lethal combo.
The song made a comeback in Farhan Akhtar's remake of the film and Kareena Kapoor got the golden opportunity to groove on this fast paced song.
Ek pardesi mera dil le gaya, (Phagun) - The sheer exuberance of Asha's delivery matches the determination of the snake charmer's in this O P Nayyar classic.
The song got remixed later and was again a huge hit.
Aaiye meherban (Howrah Bridge) - Nayyar and Asha collaborated on countless chartbusters but the seduction of Aaiye meherban on screen or off it hasn't lost an ounce of its sizzle.
Tanha tanha (Rangeela)-After a long hiatus, Asha made a comeback in 1994 with AR Rahman. This soft number topped the music charts.
Along with Urmila Matondkar's erotic moves, this song became the next big thing in Bollywood.
Hungama Ho Gaya (Queen) - Yet another peppy number from Asha Bhosle. Asha Bhosle's sensuous crooning voice Maine hothon se lagai toh hungama ho gaya added million stars to ‘Queen'.
This song is a Bollywood retro club hit from the 1973 movie Anhonee featuring the sexy Bindu as a cabaret dancer.
