KOLKATA: Saikat Mitra remembers seeing Asha Bhosle for the first time as a toddler at their south Kolkata home. “She came to our house, chatted with my father (Shyamal Mitra), and had tea. She was lively,” he said. Years later, in 1988, he got the chance to sing a small portion alongside her in Tarun Majumdar’s ‘Agaman’, which also featured Debashree Roy and Tapas Paul. He fondly called her “Asha aunty” and recalled how she once encouraged his father to move to Mumbai.
Bhosle also sang several memorable Bengali songs composed by Shyamal Mitra for films like ‘Amanush’, ‘Ananda Ashram’ and ‘Kalankini Kankabati’. In 1992, Mitra again recorded a duet with her in Purushottam, directed by Prosenjit Chatterjee. “She attended my wedding reception. I remember, she sang for my first music direction for Mishti Madhur,” he said.
Like Mitra, many are grieving the loss of the legend, who passed away at 92 in a Mumbai hospital on Sunday. What set Bhosle apart was how she went beyond Bollywood and embraced regional music, especially Bengali songs, leaving behind a rich legacy. Even today, her music is a staple at Durga Puja pandals across Bengal.
Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty called her “a rare versatile artist” and “a true gem of India”. For Debashree, Bhosle was closely tied to her journey as a performer. She has lip-synced to her iconic songs like Aar Koto Raat Eka Thakbo, Kotha Hoyechhilo, Aro Kachakachi and Aj Ami Achena Je. “Ashaji would adapt her singing style to match the actress I might be one of the few actresses in Bengali cinema who had the rare privilege of so many songs of Ashaji,” she said.
Rituparna Sengupta feels blessed that she had the legend to sing for her in several films. “That I was able to lip-sync on screen to the greatness of this artist in several songs is a debt I can never repay. Her passing leaves a profound void in the cultural firmament. Yet what she has left us with, the way she sang and entertained us right up to the age of 92, is unparalleled. She was a real entertainer,” she said.