Asha on the way downunder

Asha  Bhosle  is making a long journey to Australia in what will almost certainly be her last visit. She  is the living legend and the singing diva of Bollywood. To date, she has captivated billions of listeners around the world and her concerts have been super successful all over the world. She was recently named among the world top 20 music icons of the past 50 years by CNN.

The concert theme  ‘Rahul and I’ – A Musical Journey is a tribute to R D Burman – one of the greatest music directors. It has been designed in a way to give the audience a glimpse of R D Burman’s glorious music career. This bollywood musical journey will be presented through the magical voice of the legendary singer  Asha  Bhosle  accompanied by the versatile singer Amit Kumar (son of Kishore Kumar) and backed up by world class Bollywood musicians.

The legendary composer Rahul Dev Burman (R.D. Burman) and melody queen  Asha  Bhosle  were a highly successful pair in the 1970s and 80s. At the start of their fourth album Rahul recalled ”˜No matter how much I talk about Ashaji’s singing it’s just not enough. There are so many facets to her talent that perhaps do not exist in any other singer’.

Songs like  Dum maro dum (Hare Rama Hare Krishna),  Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay), Mera kuch samaan (Ijaazat),  Piya tu ab to aaja  (Caravan) and  Chura liya hai tumne (Yaadon Ki Baraat) bear testimony to the amazing creativity of the  Asha-Burman combination.  Asha’s old numbers are also quite unforgettable ”“  Ye hai reshmi zulfon ka andhera,  Jaaiye aap kahan jaayenge from  Mere Sanam,  Aaye hain door se milne huzoor se of ”˜Tumsa Nahin Dekha’ had a flirtatious quality to them. They created a certain unique signature to  Asha  which virtually defined her voice.

Asha  has sung more than 12,000 songs in 18 languages, honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, and is still raring to go as she has celebrated her 77th birthday a few months back, but her position in Bollywood is still strong and her legion of fans intact. Even after being in the industry for over six decades, her voice remains seamless. A playback singer in over 900 films,  Asha  has maintained and stayed young  as she has evolved by recording with Western artists which include Boy George and American classical ensemble the Kronos Quartet. She has also sung with cricketer Brett Lee a song ”˜Han mein tumhara hun tumhara hi rahoonga ”“ Ashaji I’ll be yours for ever’. And as she rustles her beautiful silk saris, with jewellery to match,  Asha’s style too makes a lasting statement.

In 2007, thousands of lucky Bollywood music lovers had the privilege to witness the legend perform in Australia. Such was the demand for tickets that the promoters had to organise an additional show in Sydney:  Asha  performed at two sold out shows at the Sydney Opera House and another at the Melbourne Arts Centre.

Now, the legend will be back in Australia where her die-hard fans will celebrate the melody queen  AshaBhosle  live in a premium concert in a grand style, which will become a lifelong memorable event as she visits down under may be for the last time. See ad in this paper to book tickets for the Sydney concert in March next year.

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